2/27/2023 0 Comments Don t come knocking at my door![]() In the run-up to the 2020 elections, when he was laid off from his job because of pandemic shutdowns, the union paid him to canvass door-to-door. Padilla has spent more time canvassing than baking bread and pastries. “Turned out it was Culinary that was holding this rally,” he said. He became interested in union work when his brother-in-law, an iron worker, took him to a rally. Padilla started as a pastry chef at Treasure Island, a casino and hotel, nearly 30 years ago, after moving to Las Vegas from Flagstaff, Ariz. “It’s that simple,” he wrote in a text message, adding that the union “has the bodies and experience to do it.” To win in a midterm election that seems to favor Republicans, Nevada Democrats need the union to drive up Democratic voter turnout in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, said Jon Ralston, a veteran Nevada political journalist. “The question is whether the Reid machine is as effective as it was in the past,” Mr. Reid, a political brawler whose close relationship with the union was mutually beneficial. Next week’s elections will be the first since the death last December of Mr. No Republicans in the state legislature voted for two recent union-backed, pandemic-related bills - one that provides workplace protections for hospitality workers, and one that guarantees their right to return to their old jobs. Sandoval broke with his party on issues important to the union, like immigration reform and the Affordable Care Act. One exception to the union’s Democratic tilt was its endorsement of Brian Sandoval, a Republican, in his 2014 re-election campaign for governor. battery plant in Ohio voted to join the United Automobile Workers union, citing pay and safety issues as key reasons. Electric Vehicles: In a milestone for the sector, employees at an E.V.Amazon: A federal labor official rejected the company’s attempt to overturn a union victory at a warehouse on Staten Island, removing a key obstacle to contract negotiations between the union and the company.Nurses’ Strike: Nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai in Manhattan ended a three-day strike after the hospitals agreed to add staffing and improve working conditions. Apple: After a yearlong investigation, the National Labor Relations Board determined that the tech giant’s strictly enforced culture of secrecy interferes with employees’ right to organize.Many candidates are fighting for their political lives, most notably Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who is in a tight race against the Republican challenger Adam Laxalt that could determine which party controls the Senate. The union’s army of hospitality workers has already knocked on more than 750,000 doors this campaign season, according to union leaders, who believe they can tip the election in favor of the largely Democratic slate they’re currently supporting. The average member is a 44-year-old Latina.Ĭanvassing expertise is another big advantage. About 55 percent of members are women, and 45 percent are immigrants. But its diverse membership includes constituencies that political professionals believe hold the keys to power. ![]() The local - often referred to by members simply as Culinary, or 226 - hasn’t always prevailed in this swing state’s races. “Anything they’ve ever asked me to do to help, I’ve done.” Padilla, 53, is among the hundreds of members who take paid leaves of absence from their jobs (another contract provision) to campaign for candidates the union supports. But campaign visits to the union hall by presidential candidates - Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden - over the years attest to this local’s unusual brand: political power. Padilla, all would spend the rest of the day knocking on voters’ doors in a city that has long been an electoral pivot in this swing state, and beyond.Įven in the world of organized labor, hospitality workers have never been much of a force. There were energizing chants (“2-2-6!” “We vote, we win!”) and speeches from politicians pleading for the support of the 400 assembled servers, cooks, bussers and guest room attendants. ![]() ![]() The meeting he’d just attended was part business session, part political rally. Padilla, a pastry chef, was on his way out of the headquarters of the Culinary Workers Union 226. It was 20 days before the midterm elections, and Mr. LAS VEGAS - Carlos Padilla walked to his pickup truck with a shoulder bag full of campaign literature and an agenda for shaping the future of the country. Follow our live coverage of the 2022 midterm elections for the latest news and updates. ![]()
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