Culinary Workers Union Local 226: Las Vegas Locals Demand Station Casinos Support Equal Rights For All Workers

Demonstrators Call on the Company to Support New Anti-Discrimination Legislation

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Las Vegas locals are calling on Station Casinos to support any new anti-discrimination legislation in Carson City that would make employers liable for discrimination against employees based on national origin. Thousands are attending a massive demonstration at Palace Station today to call on the company to support full and equal rights for all its employees.

“We hope Station Casinos will support the new anti-discrimination legislation and respect all workers’ legitimate rights.”

Latino workers were affected by over 80 percent of Station Casinos’ alleged illegal Unfair Labor Practice actions, as the National Labor Relations Board continues its prosecution of the company in the largest case of its kind against a Nevada gaming company. Six of eight of the worker organizers who have been fired by the company are Latino.

“A Nevada gaming company like Station Casinos should not use ‘divide-and-conquer’ tactics to prevent its workers from joining unions,” said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, President of the Culinary Workers Union, which organized today’s protest. “We hope Station Casinos will support the new anti-discrimination legislation and respect all workers’ legitimate rights.”

“We want a better life for ourselves and our families, but Station Casinos is not treating us with respect. We want to be able to decide for ourselves whether we want to join a union,” said Martha Montano, a casino porter and an organizer at Red Rock Resort. “It is our choice to make, not the company’s, and they need to respect us.”

“If Station Casinos really loves locals, they should not discriminate against local workers,” said Debra Jeffries, a cocktail server at Bally’s and a 32-year resident of Las Vegas. “There are tens of thousands of us Las Vegas locals who know what it means to organize and work union in casinos. We will do whatever is necessary to help our Station sisters and brothers win their fight.”

For more information on the Station Casinos organizing campaign, go to www.WorkerStation.org.

The Culinary Workers Union Local 226, and Bartenders Union Local 165 are affiliates of UNITE HERE, the union for hotel, gaming, and food service workers. The Culinary and Bartenders represent approximately 55,000 gaming workers on the Las Vegas Strip, Downtown Las Vegas, and Reno.