FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Media Contact:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
STATEMENT TO THE LAS VEGAS CITY COUNCIL:
The Culinary Union urges the Las Vegas City Council to protect affordable housing in Las Vegas and vote in support of the short-term rental ordinance before you today.
The Culinary Union and the 57,000 members we represent, are concerned about short-term rentals and their effects on affordable housing options that many workers rely on since they became prevalent in Las Vegas several years ago.
Short-term rentals have contributed to affordable housing crises in cities like New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. because they take affordable housing units off the market and raise rent for working families. In recent years, these cities have scrambled to try to react to their affordable housing problems by passing ordinances of their own.
The City of Las Vegas has a unique opportunity to get ahead of this problem with this ordinance, which requires all short-term rentals to be owner-occupied.
Researchers, including one from the National Bureau of Economic Research, have found that zip codes where the majority of short-term rentals are owner-occupied, experience minimal increases in housing costs, while properties with absentee landlords saw much bigger increases.
This ordinance will allow homeowners to earn extra money and protect affordable housing while preventing absentee landlords from opening unlicensed hotels and party houses in our neighborhoods.
This is a sensible and much-needed ordinance and the Culinary Union urges you to vote yes.
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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