FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, March 18, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
New app launched by Goodwrx will ensure temporary workers have access to quality temp jobs with Culinary and Bartenders Union wages, health care benefits, and protections
Culinary and Bartenders Unions are proudly setting a new standard in Las Vegas, alongside Goodwrx, where temporary workers can access quality temp jobs with union benefits and health care!
*Goodwrx App now available for download on APPLE and ANDROID*
Las Vegas, NV – A new App launched by Goodwrx will ensure temporary workers have access to quality temp jobs with Culinary and Bartenders Union wages, health care benefits, and protections. Hundreds of hospitality workers, many of whom were furloughed or laid off since March 2020 due to COVID-19, have been successfully matched to jobs over the New Year holidays, Super Bowl LV, and continue to be dispatched. Goodwrx has agreed with the Culinary and Bartenders Unions that it will follow the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) of covered union employers so that temporary workers have Culinary and Bartenders Union wages, health care benefits, and protections.
“By successfully negotiating CBA coverage for those getting work through the Goodwrx App, Culinary and Bartenders Unions are working to provide strong union jobs with good benefits, even for temporary workers,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Culinary Union has created a strong middle class in Nevada in nearly 9 decades and our union has a long proven track record of making sure no worker is left behind whether full time, part time, or temporary. Culinary and Bartenders are proudly working with Goodwrx to set a new standard in Las Vegas where temporary workers can access quality temporary jobs with union wages, health care benefits, and protections!”
“The Culinary Union has led the fight to comprehensively protect workers over the past 87 years in Nevada with good quality union jobs with family sustaining benefits,” continued Pappageorge. “Over the last 25 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact and while the economy is recovering, a sustainable recovery cannot happen when thousands of workers are still not back to work or working part-time low-wage jobs. Workers are going to be the reason we get through this pandemic and we cannot abandon them after thanking them for being frontline essential workers. The Culinary Union will not allow workers to be discarded as there isn’t a shortage of workers, there is a shortage of good jobs with benefits and wages and that’s why the Culinary and Bartenders Unions negotiated with covered employers and Goodwrx for temporary employees to get strong union wages, health care benefits, and protections.”
“This technology solution is a good way to bring temporary workers up to the Las Vegas union standard with strong benefits and fair wages,” said Terry Greenwald, Secretary-Treasurer for the Bartenders Union Local 165. “With the Goodwrx App, bartenders in Las Vegas can rest assured that they will be paid union wages, have good benefits, and have job security - no matter where they work in this city.”
The Goodwrx App gives hospitality workers more visibility and accessibility to where the good temporary jobs are with comprehensive union benefits and strong union protections.
“Goodwrx is an exciting solution to protect temp workers like me,” said Dean Vassil, a bartender. “Temp workers don’t typically have the protections that union workers have such as job security, health care benefits, grievance procedure, or protections from owners or operators change, so I’m happy to see that I can get flexible work, am better protected on-the-job, and have access to good union benefits.”
“We are very proud of our relationship with the Culinary and Bartenders Unions,” said Nathan Armogan, Goodwrx Co-Founder and CEO. “Together with our client partners we are reimagining the gig economy. One which embraces labor empowerment and a more equitable distribution of value. Goodwrx offers a viable alternative through a labor-centric shift-based model. As W-2 employees, workers can increase their income and enjoy better working conditions, while businesses dynamically meet critical staffing needs.”
“Temporary work is usually low pay, sporadic, and without benefits or protections from bad bosses or managers who are catering to companies who want to pay as least as possible,” said Admat Haile, a food server. “Goodwrx is a great solution to ensure temp workers like me can still have a good job and aren’t exploited.”
Some key benefits offered by the Goodwrx App:
*Premium Culinary and Bartenders Union wage rates and guaranteed overtime pay.
*Temp workers can accrue hours towards eligibility to receive a pension through the Culinary Pension and union health care through the Culinary Health Fund.
*Temp workers may have the opportunity to obtain part-time or full-time status with the employer as positions become available.
*Paid lunch and on-the-clock breaks.
*Temp workers will have access to comprehensive benefits Culinary and Bartenders Union members already have such as protections against sexual harassment or discrimination.
*Goodwrx contributes to Unemployment Insurance, so workers can file much easier for unemployment (directly through Goodwrx) if they ever need to.
*Temp workers can have better working conditions that the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have fought to create over the past 87 years.
*Employers who participate in Goodwrx can be more socially responsible. By being a good employer and social citizen in our community, the entire community benefits.
*Companies who participate can access a steady supply of highly-trained and vetted hospitality workers.
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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 Latinx/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 45% immigrants. The demographics of Culinary Union members are approximately: 54% Latinx, 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 for working families in Nevada for 87 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
ABOUT GOODWRX: Rapidly proliferating gig economy technology has created immense economic benefits, but the distribution of these benefits hasn’t always been equitable. Goodwrx believes that the gig economy has to evolve and embrace the values of labor empowerment and equity. The company offers a viable alternative through a labor-centric shift-based model. As W-2 employees, individuals can increase their income and enjoy better working conditions, while businesses meet critical staffing needs dynamically. Goodwrx: “Let Good Work Find U.” More about Goodwrx can be found at goodwrx.com
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