Video / Culinary Union celebrates 85 years of fighting for working families in Nevada

Culinary Union celebrates 85 years of fighting for working families in Nevada

Culinary Union celebrates 85 years of fighting for working families in Nevada - The Culinary Union, a UNITE HERE local affiliate, was chartered on November 1, 1935. 2020 marks the 85th anniversary of an organization that has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nevada hospitality workers and their families with union wages and benefits. In eight decades, the Culinary Union has become an essential economic institution and a strong political force in the Battle Born State.  The Culinary Union has won a middle-class standard of living for over 800,000 hospitality workers in 85 years through rank-and-file organizing and mass actions. Worker membership has risen from 18,000 in 1987 to 60,000 members today.   “In eight decades, Nevada’s working families have seen many changes: From presidents and politicians, to casino buildings and corporations - our community is always changing, but what hasn’t changed is the the real power that workers have built over the past 85 years,” said Geoconda Argüello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union. “Working families are resilient because of the strength and sacrifices made by generations of Culinary Union members. Over our history, hundreds of thousands of workers have demanded to not be left behind and that we must be given seats at the table. The Culinary Union is proud of our 85 year history and we are committed to doing the work everyday to protect our families.” “In 2020, there is no other organization in Nevada that has done more to support working families during this unprecedented crisis than the Culinary Union,” continued Argüello-Kline “From fighting and winning extended health care benefits and access to health care for workers and their families, providing over 150,000 packages of food to furloughed workers, helping thousands of workers sign up for unemployment benefits, securing workers’ right to return to their jobs when business resumes, advocating for an eviction moratorium, passing the first and only-in-the-nation COVID-19 worker safety law, and by defeating the #1 threat to workers and our livelihoods these past four years - Donald Trump.” The Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest Black/AAPI/immigrant organization with members who are originally from 178 countries and speak over 40 different languages. 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, bakers, bellmen, cooks, bartenders, laundry and kitchen workers.