MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Monday, September 1, 2025 at 5:30pm
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union hosts Worker’s Labor Day Rally in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV - Culinary Union is holding a Workers’ Labor Day Rally on Monday, September 1, 2025 at 5:30pm at The Sphere, where 700 workers are negotiating for a first-time union contract.
“This year, the Culinary Union is celebrating its 90th anniversary and a proud legacy of fighting and winning for working families in Nevada,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “For nearly a century, our union has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with workers, transforming Nevada’s largest industry into one where hospitality workers have strong contracts, fair wages, and respect on the job. Generations of workers sacrificed and organized to win the union difference. Our history proves that when workers are united, we win. We’ve built real power for the working class in Nevada and we are proud to carry forward the militant rank-and-file organizing and direct action that built our union. We will keep fighting and winning for working families across the state.”
WHO:
*Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for Culinary Union
*Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union
*Hundreds of Culinary Union members
*Sphere workers negotiating for a union contract
*Labor unions: Culinary Union, Bartenders Union, Nevada AFL-CIO, Southern Nevada Building Trades, Teamsters 631, and more!
WHAT: Workers’ Labor Day Rally
WHEN: Monday, September 1, 2025 at 5:30pm
WHERE: The Sphere (Sands Avenue & Koval Lane)
WHY:
Culinary Union is proud to host a Workers’ Labor Day Rally alongside unions across Las Vegas to continue defending the right to organize and celebrate its 90th anniversary of fighting and winning for working families in Nevada.
This Labor Day, workers in Nevada are united to win union contracts, strong worker protections, fair wages, guaranteed benefits, and a better future for the next generation of workers. From casinos in Downtown Las Vegas to non-union restaurants on the Strip, workers are organizing to ensure that one job should be enough.
At a time when the labor movement is under attack and working families are facing skyrocketing prices for housing, gas, groceries, and insurance, Nevada’s unions are standing together to fight back against reckless policies from this administration that benefit billionaires while workers pay the price.
The “Trump Slump” has hit Las Vegas, with fewer visitors from Canada and Mexico, decreased tourism numbers and international customers, and economic uncertainty driven by tariffs, wild threats of annexation, mass deportation that separates families, and anti-worker policies.
But workers in Las Vegas know how to fight and win.
The labor movement is united to push back, organize, and to keep growing stronger. This Labor Day, we celebrate the power we’ve built and remain committed to keep fighting. Together, we will win a better future for working families in Nevada.
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ABOUT CULINARY UNION:
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of the casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America.
The Culinary Union, through the Culinary Health Fund, is one of the largest healthcare consumers in the state. The Culinary Health Fund is sponsored by the Culinary Union and Las Vegas-area employers. It provides health insurance coverage for over 145,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members, and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Latino/a, Black, AAPI, immigrant organization with members who come from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. We are proud to have helped over 18,000 immigrants become American citizens and new voters since 2001 through our affiliate, The Citizenship Project.
The Culinary Union has a diverse membership which is 55% women and 60% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latino/a, 18% white, 15% Asian, 12% Black, and less than 1% Indigenous Peoples.
Culinary Union members work as: Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry, and kitchen workers. The Culinary Union has been fighting and winning for working families in Nevada for 90 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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