FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@cwu226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding the 2026 Election results:
Culinary Union congratulates Governor-elect Aaron Ford, Attorney General-elect Nicole Cannizzaro, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, Congressional Representatives Dina Titus, Steven Horsford, and Susie Lee, State Senators Edgar Flores and Fabian Doñate, Assemblymember and Culinary Union member Linda Hunt, Assemblymember-elect and Culinary Union member Joe Spica, and Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom on their victories in the 2026 General Election, and Teresa Benitez-Thompson on her projected historic win as the first Democrat to represent Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District.
This country is off track and Culinary Union members know it firsthand. The Trump Slump has impacted the hours and paychecks of hospitality workers while gas, groceries, rent, power bills and especially healthcare keep rising. Last night, Nevadans voted for a real course correction and as the Culinary Union celebrates our 90th anniversary we are proud to have helped elect political leaders who have been with us from the picket lines to the legislature and who will work with us to lower costs and protect our healthcare.
Culinary Union is the largest union in Nevada and we know how to win, but we can't do it alone. We need friends, allies, and warriors for workers by our side. Aaron Ford will be a governor for the people. He will be united with workers when it gets tough, whether we’re on strike or fighting the boss, and he will stand up to corporate greed, price gouging, and the for-profit healthcare corporations driving up costs.
We are especially proud of two Culinary Union members, Assemblymember Linda Hunt and Assemblymember-elect Joe Spica. Both are Shop Stewards who have organized to win better futures for themselves and their coworkers and know what it means to clock in for a shift job and work hard to take care of their families. For decades, Culinary Union has fought to elect rank-and-file workers to represent us and we are thrilled to send two of our own to Carson City to be strong advocates for working-class people.
Guest room attendants, cooks, bartenders, food servers, and dishwashers took a leave-of-absence from their hospitality jobs to walk neighborhoods in the heat and rain. 200 canvassers mobilized voters in the largest political effort in Nevada and knocked nearly 250,000 doors and had more than 36,000 conversations. Canvassers reflect the Culinary Union’s diverse membership, which is majority women and majority Black, Latino/a, Asian American, immigrant, and people of color, and are committed to organizing and winning economic and racial justice. Working-class people talking to working-class voters is how we continue to win in the battleground state.
What working families voted for last night in Nevada, they are also demanding across the country. Nationally, Democrats need to be clear about what they will do on day one now that they have taken back the House: Lower healthcare costs by bringing back healthcare subsidies, lower everyday prices by ending tariffs and the war, and rein in ICE and give hardworking immigrant workers - especially DREAMers and TPS holders - the status to work without fear of deportation. Culinary Union will be there to fight alongside political leaders to get it done.
BROLL of Culinary Union canvassers in the field
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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 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 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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