Vegas Union Members Help Democrats Win in NV And Retain Control Of U.S. Senate

The Culinary Workers Union, UNITE HERE Local 226, is known nationally as a “roll up its sleeves and get things done” kind of union.

And this week it did just that when it helped to get a Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate, stopping the GOP from gaining control of the Senate.

Labor journalist, Steven Greenhouse, tweeted, “The nation’s Democrats really need to give HUGE THANKS to the Las Vegas-based Culinary Union. Without the huge political operation of the 60,000-member Culinary Union, Cortez Masto would not have won re-election & the Democrats might not have retained control of the Senate.”

The nation's Democrats really need to give HUGE THANKS to the Las Vegas-based Culinary Union.
Without the huge political operation of the 60,000-member Culinary Union, Cortez Masto would not have won re-election & the Democrats might not have retained control of the Senate.
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) November 13, 2022

He continued,

“@Culinary226 said it had 450 canvassers knock on over 1 million doors statewide & hold over 175,000 conversations with voters. Much of that effort aimed to get low-propensity voters of color to vote That effort made a big difference when the winning margin was just 6,500 votes.”

.@Culinary226 said it had 450 canvassers knock on over 1 million doors statewide & hold over 175,000 conversations with voters. Much of that effort aimed to get low-propensity voters of color to vote
That effort made a big difference when the winning margin was just 6,500 votes
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) November 13, 2022

Local 226 Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge made the following statement on the election win:

“The Culinary Union congratulates Senator Catherine Cortez Masto on her re-election to the United States Senate. Senator Cortez Masto is a champion for working families and Culinary Union is proud to have run the largest political program in Nevada to defend and deliver the Senate Democratic control.

UNITE HERE’s Culinary Union achieved a major milestone by running the largest and strongest political program in Nevada. Statewide, 450 Culinary Union canvassers knocked on over 1 million doors and had over 175,000 conversations with voters. The political team knocked on the doors of more than half of Black and Latinx voters and more than a third of the AAPI voters in Reno and Las Vegas.

Culinary Union was proud to get out the vote for Senator Cortez Masto and pro-worker political leaders who have been elected and re-elected this Midterm. Culinary Union continues to the largest cure effort statewide to ensure Nevadans votes are counted.”