FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, March 18, 2021
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Geoconda Argüello-Kline regarding HOA homeowner protections (SB144):
This pandemic has hit Culinary Union members and their families incredibly hard. While hospitality workers are slowly returning to work, tens of thousands workers are still unemployed and struggling with housing insecurity.
Since last March, the Culinary Union has worked with our Housing Fund and other organizations to keep workers in their homes. Unfortunately, there are still too many Nevadans who have lost their home during this pandemic.
It is shameful that during a pandemic, some Nevadans have either had their homes foreclosed or are in danger of losing their homes - because of unpaid Home Owner Association fees.
Culinary Union member Fabiana, a furloughed buffet cook: “I owe my HOA $900. I’m afraid that they will come after me at anytime. I don’t know where my family and I will go if they foreclose on us and put us out on the streets. I ask Nevada politicians to please not allow us to be foreclosed on during the middle of a pandemic.”
HOAs should not have the power to foreclose on homes for many reasons, including conflicts of interest and racial discrimination. Taking the power of foreclosure out of the hands of HOAs will create a more fair and transparent process for homeowners to stay in their homes and SB144 accomplishes that. The Culinary Union urges the Nevada Legislature to support and pass SB144.
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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 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 86 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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