FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Saturday, October 20, 2018
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union members to drive turnout in Nevada during midterms
Endorsement guide: https://www.culinaryunion226.org/blog/text/Election2018.pdf
New bilingual digital voter guide: https://www.culinaryunion226.org/vote
Las Vegas, NV – The Culinary Union, the largest affiliate of UNITE HERE, and one of the strongest political forces in the state will be mobilizing workers and immigrant voters to elect politicians who will fight for our families.
The Culinary Union has registered over 10,300 Culinary Union members and their families to vote since the last presidential election and helped over 650 immigrants become American citizens this year. Since the Culinary Union founded the Citizenship Project in 2001, the nonprofit has helped over 18,000 hospitality workers and their families become U.S. Citizens for free. The Culinary Union has over 82,400 members and their families who are registered and ready to vote early or on Election Day.
The Culinary Union’s comprehensive political organizing program is the largest political effort in Nevada and is comprised of workers who have taken a union contracted leave-of-absence from their hospitality jobs to talk to their coworkers everyday by phone, in employee dining rooms on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas, and on the doors in neighborhoods in Reno and Las Vegas – a field program unmatched by any other in the country.
The field team, currently comprised of 250 guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers, spend up to 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week (Monday-Saturday) canvassing, and will ramp up to 300 canvassers for days prior to Election Day (11/4-11/6). The field team launches their canvass everyday between 9am-9:30am with last knock at 7:30pm. The Culinary Union’s political field team in seven weeks has knocked on over 190,000 doors and had one-on-one conversations with approximately 40,000 voters across Nevada statewide.
The Culinary Union has also worked with the Las Vegas Strip casino resorts to ensure that thousands of workers will be able to vote early everyday of Early Vote during their lunch break at the nearby early Strip vote center with an organized bus program.
Early Vote: Saturday, October 20th – Friday, November 2nd
Election Day: Tuesday, November 6th
Culinary Union members and the public are welcome to call (702) 383-7917 if anyone needs a ride to the polls.
ABOUT THE CULINARY UNION:
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 the 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, 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 143,000 Nevadans, the Culinary Union’s members and their dependents.
The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest immigrant organization with over 57,000 members - a diverse membership that is approximately 55% women and 54% Latino. Members - who work as guest room attendants, bartenders, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, and kitchen workers - come from 173 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 83 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226