FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, May 1, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union hosted “We Believe in Us” May Day rally on the Las Vegas Strip, over a thousand rallied in support of immigrant workers
May Day Rally: BROLL / PHOTOS / LIVESTREAM
Las Vegas, NV - On International Workers Day, Culinary Union, the largest organization of immigrant workers in Nevada, hosted a “We Believe in Us” rally on the Las Vegas Strip. Over a thousand hospitality workers and community members participated in the rally on Thursday, May 1st at 5pm to stand in solidarity with immigrant workers under attack by those who wish to divide and distract us from winning a better future for our families. Culinary Union reminds all workers: Know and assert your rights. You have rights, regardless of your immigration status, and you are not alone. Your union stands with you.
“The United States of America is a nation of immigrants and our economy depends on immigrant labor - whether in hospitality, construction, agriculture, or health care. We are facing real worker shortages and the Trump Administration’s attack on the working people who power our economy and keep our hotels, casinos, and cities running must end. The mass deportation of workers who are otherwise law-abiding, tax-paying, and contributing members of our community is the wrong direction for Nevada and for this country,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Kilmar Garcia, a union sheet metal apprentice, was wrongfully deported to El Salvador recently by the Trump administration. He was in the United States legally and has no criminal record. His union fought back and the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the government to bring Kilmar home, but Trump is fighting against bringing him back. No family should go through that. This country was built by those who believed in the American Dream and we won’t let fear-mongering or extremist views distract or divide us. Culinary Union’s 90 years of worker power is rooted in our solidarity and we will not be silent as our co-workers, who are DREAMers or have TPS, are under attack. An attack on immigrants is an attack on all of us: It weakens our economy, destabilizes families, and divides workers from their neighbors, friends, and family. Immigrants are essential to the fabric of this country and to the power of working people in our state. Immigrant workers contribute, build, and belong. Those who wish to pit workers against each other will fail because we believe in us.”
“Today, on International Workers Day (May Day), we are here on the Las Vegas Strip, where every single hotel and casino is unionized, because we know that immigrant workers are under attack. ICE raids, family separations, wrongful deportations like Kilmar Garcia - it’s shameful, dangerous, and it must end. We will not allow our families and the people we love to be separated. We will not let fear, intimidation, or hate break our unity. We will not let anyone distract us from what we are fighting for: Fair wages. Job security. Health care. A future our families can count on. Immigrants are the ones who keep this city running. We make the beds., cook the food, clean the rooms, and we keep this economy alive. We belong and we are not going anywhere,” said Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Union. “Because we organized and fought for decades, the Culinary Union has immigrant rights in our contracts. Every union casino on the Strip, including Trump Hotel Las Vegas, has agreed to due process for all workers. But just steps away, at non-union restaurants on the Strip, the non-union restaurant workers don’t have the same guaranteed rights or protections we have. We must stand together because if one worker is under attack, we all are under attack. When our communities are under attack. We stand up and fight back because we believe in us and we are here to stay.”
“If we don’t stand up and fight for our rights to due process, then one day, when you might see someone you know being unjustly deported to another country like Kilmar Garcia, without due process. It could be your brother, sister, mom, dad, your kids, or even your co-worker,” said Joe Spica, a bellman at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas and a Culinary Union member for 15 years. “We demand no more illegal arrests and deportations without due process. We demand no more false accusations without any real proof and representation. We demand no more treating workers, who make our economy strong, like criminals. We will win by standing together and fighting for a better future. We believe in us being united.”
May Day rally community partners included AFSCME 4041, Bartenders Union Local 165, Chicanos por La Causa, Henderson Democratic Club, IBEW Las Vegas, Indivisible Las Vegas, Las Vegas DSA, Make the Road Nevada, NAACP, Nevada AFL-CIO, Nevada Immigrant Coalition, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Red Rock Democratic Club, SEIU 1107, Sheet Metal Workers International Union, Southern Nevada Building Trades, Teamsters Las Vegas, The Centennial Democratic Club, and UFCW 711.
Culinary Union has won strong immigrant rights in our contracts that has been voted on unanimously by workers. Every hotel/casino on the 100% unionized Las Vegas Strip has agreed to due process for all workers. Since mass deportations and ICE raids can result in mistakes, Culinary Union contracts protect workers and ensure that immigrants are given a grace period to return to work if wrongly detained.
Over decades, Culinary Union has fought for and won strong immigrant language in every contract so that workers are protected:
*Employers cannot discipline, fire, or discriminate against an employee who has been detained, as result of deportation proceedings, if they are authorized to work in the United States.
*Employers must give an employee their job back without losing their seniority once all the paperwork has been cleared up and been accepted by immigration.
*Every immigrant worker shall be given 5 days off without pay to appear at immigration proceedings.
*When legal to do so, a company should notify the Culinary and Bartender Unions within 24 hours of receiving an arrest or search warrant from immigration enforcement.
*DREAMers and TPS holders have up to 5 years of job security if they ever need to take a leave-of-absence from work as they adjust their immigration status.
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Culinary Union urges members of the media to inform Nevadans of their rights by including the following Know Your Rights information in any reporting of ICE activity in our community.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS -
🚫 RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT
You have the right to remain silent. Information you provide may be used against you.
🚪 RIGHT TO ASK FOR A WARRANT BEFORE ICE ENTERS YOUR HOME
You do not have to open the door or agree to a search. ICE must normally present a warrant signed by a judge. You have the right to see it.
📞 RIGHT TO SPEAK WITH AN ATTORNEY
You have the right to speak with an attorney before answering questions or producing documents. Have a contact number.
🖊 RIGHT NOT TO SIGN ANYTHING
You have the right to refuse to sign any ICE documents.
Fill in your attorney’s name (if you have one). Give this card to ICE or slide it under your door. Need legal advice? Speak to an attorney!
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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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