FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, August 6, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
As the Trump Slump batters Nevada's economy, Culinary Union asks why Governor Lombardo won't fight for workers and stand up to Trump
BROLL / LIVESTREAM / PHOTOS
Las Vegas, NV – As the Trump Slump batters Nevada’s economy, Trump visited Las Vegas on August 5th and held his event at Red Rock Casino, a Station Casinos property. Culinary Union held a press conference with Nevada Congressional Representatives Dina Titus, Steven Horsford, and Susie Lee along with Culinary Union members and Station Casinos workers, to highlight the real impact of the Trump Slump on working families and ask why Governor Lombardo has not stood up to Trump or to Station Casinos, one of his largest campaign donors.
Nevada is in the Trump Slump. Trump’s tariffs, chaotic immigration and mass deportation policy, the war in Iran, and high grocery and gas prices are hurting working families and driving away the Canadian, Mexican, Southern California, and international tourism Nevada depends on.
“Trump came to Las Vegas and of all places, he hosted his event at the worst labor law violator in Nevada gaming history: Station Casinos," said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union. "We're currently in a four-year federal labor trial with that company, after over a decade of workers being denied the chance to have a union. The federal government sued Station Casinos in the largest labor law case in American history, alleging the company broke election law and discriminated against union supporters. The U.S. government also says Station Casinos owes those workers over $200 million. It turns out the biggest contributor to Governor Lombardo's campaign is that same labor law breaker - Station Casinos. Over a third of the donations Lombardo raised last year came from Station Casinos, the very company President Trump chose to stand with yesterday. Right now, working families are hurting, this country is off the rails, and we've got to get it back on track."
Governor Lombardo has done nothing to protect workers from the Trump Slump. He hasn’t done anything to stand with workers employed at Station Casinos, a company federal labor regulators found carried out "extensive, coercive, and unlawful misconduct" against its own employees, including illegally firing workers and using the pandemic as cover to discriminate against workers trying to organize.
"I've been working at Station Casinos since 1991, but I still have nothing to show for it," said Casiano Corpus Jr., a casino porter at Station Casinos’ Palace Station Casinos for 34 years. "I wear my union button every day inside non-union Station Casinos and I'm proud, because a union contract there could provide a better life for our families and give us a voice and representation. When I retire after two decades with this company, I get nothing. Zero. I don't believe I'm just a second class worker and I believe the pension and raises the Culinary Union members have, we deserve that too. I will not stop until we finish this fight and I know for sure Station Casinos will be unionized."
The Fertittas, who control Station Casinos, each donated $1 million to a Lombardo-affiliated PAC, while Station Casinos itself donated another $1 million. They collectively were responsible for about one-third of all money raised by Lombardo in 2025.
Trump came Las Vegas to highlight No Tax on Tips, but his short-sighted plan includes a marriage penalty, leaves out banquet and restaurant workers who get tips through service charges/buyouts, penalizes immigrant workers, and is temporary - set to sunset when he leaves office. As tourism continues to decline under Trump's policies, many hospitality workers already don't make enough in tips to tax in the first place.
"All across my district, families are worried about the cost of housing and rent, putting food on the table, and their utility bills, and hospitality workers are worried about getting enough hours, customers, and tips to support their families," said Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV-04). "Working people are doing everything right, but still far too many are falling behind, which is why I helped write the TIPS Improvement Act to make the tax relief for tipped workers permanent, eliminate the marriage penalty, and make sure hospitality workers keep more of the hard-earned money they deserve. We'll keep fighting until every hardworking Nevadan has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead."
"Donald Trump came to town yesterday and while we didn't put out the welcome mat for him, he came nonetheless," said Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV-01). "He is the most corrupt, greedy, unethical president we have had in 250 years. He came with the mantra of more for me and less for you, because his only real policy is the one that enriches himself, his family, and his big corporate friends. We don't need those gold horses in Washington, DC. We need Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security protected, and we need good union jobs with good benefits and safe working conditions. We've got to turn this around, tell him this is unacceptable, and fight like hell to throw out his policies because they are not helping us."
“Nevada Democrats have been fighting for tipped workers long before Trump came onto the scene. Southern Nevadans aren’t going to buy what he’s trying to sell, because we feel what he’s been doing to our pocketbooks,” said Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV-03). “While you’re paying more for gas, groceries, and health care, Donald Trump is getting richer. He’s cutting health care for the most vulnerable members of our community to pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans, setting reckless tariffs that are making groceries more expensive and dragging us into foreign wars that are raising fuel prices. It’s not an accident, it’s cruel corruption.”
"I have been a cocktail server for over two decades on the Las Vegas Strip and right now we are seeing a drop in tourism everyday,” said Sherie Cummings, a cocktail server and Culinary Union member for 27 years. "The current tax proposal only offers a short-term solution and it's misleading to call it no tax on tips when it's really just a $25,000 deduction that isn't even permanent. My husband and I have seen our tips decrease by 25% within the last year, forcing us to make hard cutbacks on things like our daughter's college tuition and repairs we need for our home. This proposal isn't serving the purpose it's supposed to for tipped earners like me.”
As Lombardo runs for re-election in a state built and run by unionized hospitality workers, Culinary Union continues to demand to know why the governor stands with Station Casinos and Trump's harmful economic agenda instead of fighting and delivering for the working people who power Nevada's economy.
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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 120,000 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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