Vice President Harris
In October, I met with Culinary Union Local 226 workers in Las Vegas.
Many union members were concerned about how they were going to pay rent, put food on the table, or make other personal sacrifices. Yet, they were prepared to strike.
In the following weeks, union members won a 32% pay raise over five years, thanks to the power of collective bargaining.
Yesterday, I came back to Nevada to celebrate their historic victory. The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 has shown our nation what is possible when workers fight, organize, and stand together.
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It is great that the cooks in Nevada have unions now, that is wonderful. Cooks are artists and deserve fair pay and good treatment. When I was a cook at a casino in Battle Mountain, Nevada, we were paid the same low pay as the dishwashers, maybe fifty cents more, it was insulting. I worked on the Night Shift, and it was just me and a dishwasher and a waitress from 10 PM to 6 AM, we ran the whole restaurant with just the 3 of us on the Night Shift. I was so busy every night that I did not even have time for a break, I would work constantly from the time I arrived until the time I left. And the cooks did not receive tips like the waitresses. But, I learned how to cook and how to run a casino, it was like attending cooking school, I did not make any money but I learned a lot. Then, after I quit the casino gave me a letter of recommendation that helped me to get into the AADA, they gave me a good character reference, so that was cool. But anyhow, it is good that the cooks in Nevada have unions now.
Salute,
Tony V.