FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 8, 2016
Media Contact:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Las Vegas Union Calls for Golf Community to
Say “NO” to #TrumpHazard Hosting Next U.S. Women’s Open
San Martin, CA – Donald Trump is a golf hazard and bad for women, says the Culinary Union, the legal representative of hundreds of Trump Hotel Las Vegas employees who voted to unionize last year and want to negotiate a contract with the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee. With Donald Trump’s hotel refusing to negotiate with its largely female and immigrant Las Vegas workforce as equals, the Culinary Union and UNITE HERE will be at the U.S. Women’s Open in San Martin, California on Saturday calling on the golf community to not let Trump host the prestigious event in 2017.
This call to move the next Women’s Open from Trump Bedminster comes in the wake of the PGA Tour relocating the World Golf Championship (WGC) from a Trump course in Florida to a course in Mexico City with different owners. The Culinary Union believes the U.S. Golf Association and its partners like Lexus should join the PGA Tour in selecting a different course for the next Open.
In Nevada, Mr. Trump’s hotel pays his employees less than nearly all the other resort properties on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. And compared to union members on the Strip who pay zero for health insurance and have a defined-benefit pension plan, Mr. Trump's Las Vegas hotel employees pay up $260 per month for health insurance and have no guaranteed pension.
“I’m proud to work at this five-star hotel and am even prouder that we have joined the union,” said Alma Zamarin, a food server at the property. “My coworkers and I need fair wages, good benefits, and job security at the Trump Las Vegas, just like workers at other non-gaming properties on the Las Vegas Strip.”
“We voted for a union so we could negotiate a fair contract with Mr. Trump,” said Jeffrey Wise, a food server at the Trump Las Vegas. “We voted and won – now it’s time for him to listen to us, the voters, and finally do the right thing by making a deal with his employees.”
There are hundreds of women who work at Mr. Trump’s luxury hotel cleaning rooms and serving guests. These women are leaders in the fight for dignity and respect in their workplace. After voting to unionize last December in a National Labor Relations Board election, they have won a seat a seat at the bargaining table and hope that before his courses have the privilege of hosting esteemed golf events he will treat them as equals.
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent over 57,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 270,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest immigrant organization with over 57,000 members - a diverse membership that is approximately 55% women and 56% Latino. Members -who work as guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers- come from 167 countries and speak over 40 different languages. The Culinary Union has been fighting for fair wages, job security, and good health benefits for working men and women in Nevada for over 80 years.
The Culinary Union is encouraging Nevada locals, political candidates, and tourists to avoid staying at/or patronizing hotels under an active labor dispute such as Station Casinos, Palms Casino Resort, and the Trump Hotel Las Vegas. To see the full list properties with an active labor dispute, go to: VegasTravelAlert.org.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
###