FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Bethany Khan: bkhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT by Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge regarding the closure of the Tropicana Casino:
The Culinary and Bartenders Unions have been the bargaining representative for approximately 350 unionized hospitality workers at the Tropicana Casino ever since the property was built and opened in 1957. Culinary Union members at the Tropicana Casino have a strong union contract, which means that Tropicana workers are protected, even as the property closes its doors today.
Earlier this year, the Culinary Union negotiated for and won redevelopment and closure language to ensure workers have additional compensation of $2,000 for every year of service and 6-months of extended union health care and pension benefits.
Culinary Union contracts include strong language on layoff, recall, seniority, training, and placement so that unionized workers have access to free job training and seniority right of first-access to available job openings when the property reopens (if they so choose), and placement into other job opportunities as they are available. Culinary Union has already hosted multiple Rapid Response events for Tropicana workers at the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas to connect workers to unemployment, job fairs, union benefits, and other resources.
Today, we celebrate and honor the hardworking Culinary Union members behind the success of the Tropicana Casino. Workers have been loyal and stayed with the property through its ups and downs, multiple owners, and several redevelopment plans (which never came to fruition). Now, that the property is officially closing its doors today to make way for a new A’s baseball stadium, we will ensure workers are centered in the site’s future.
Photos of Culinary Union members from the Tropicana closing week: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=Culinary226&set=a.825439132958256
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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 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% 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 and winning for working families in Nevada for 89 years.
CulinaryUnion226.org / @Culinary226
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