MEDIA ADVISORY
Monday, April 18, 2016
Media Contact:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
It’s Time for Donald Trump to Negotiate a Fair Contract!
Workers to March down Las Vegas Blvd to Trump Hotel Las Vegas
What: Over a thousand are expected to march down Las Vegas Boulevard and rally at the hotel co-owned by Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump. Trump International Hotel Las Vegas workers want their boss to start contract negotiations after they won a unionization vote.
Who: Trump Las Vegas employees, Culinary Union members, workers from Station Casinos/Aliante/Palms, local clergy and faith leaders, community allies, and candidate for Congressional District 4 Ruben Kihuen.
When: Thursday, April 21, 2016 from 5-7 p.m.
Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union, Geoconda Arguello-Kline, and Trump Las Vegas workers will be available for interviews in English and Spanish. To schedule, please contact Bethany Khan at bkhan@culinaryunion226.org.
Where: March begins on Las Vegas Boulevard and Riviera Drive.
March route will be on the Las Vegas Strip heading south to the Trump Las Vegas (2000 Fashion Show Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109) where a rally will be held.
Media – Radio ad (Spanish): https://soundcloud.com/culinaryunion/april21march
Why:
The Culinary and Bartenders Union were certified last month by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as the legal collective bargaining representative of more than 500 workers at the hotel. This certification means that workers at the Trump are officially unionized, so the Culinary and Bartenders Union called for contract negotiations begin immediately.
Trump Las Vegas workers voted in an NLRB election on December 4 and 5, 2015 at their hotel. Over 500 employees of the hotel are in the union’s bargaining unit and were eligible to vote. This victory for workers at the luxury non-gaming hotel co-owned by Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump and casino owner Phillip Ruffin, came nine months after workers at the Trump International Hotel Toronto voted to join UNITE HERE, and one week after the Trump Toronto workers ratified their first contract.
Donald Trump’s company has driven an aggressive anti-union campaign since workers began organizing at his property in 2014. The NLRB has issued three separate unfair labor practice complaints against Trump Las Vegas since then, alleging conduct ranging from firing and threatening to fire union supporters, suspending employees, interrogating and intimidating employees, including by a manager pushing them, and maintaining illegal rules that prohibited employees from communicating with each other and the public. Trump Las Vegas has settled many of the allegations, and others remain pending before the NLRB. Most recently, the NLRB’s general counsel issued a complaint in March 2016 alleging the company fired a union supporter and denied a transfer to a full-time job to another, while promising more job opportunities to workers if they abandoned their support for the Union. The hearing date for this case is scheduled for June 21, 2016.
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
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