This episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast featured Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer of Culinary Workers Union Local 226. Representing 60,000 members in Las Vegas, Pappageorge joined the podcast to celebrate a landmark achievement: the union's first-ever representation across every major casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The conversation highlighted the union’s decades-long fight for workers’ rights, the details and impact of the newly negotiated contracts and the broader effects of federal policies and industry challenges on both union members and the Las Vegas workforce.
Pappageorge began by reflecting on the union’s journey, which stretches back to 1935. He said the Local has overcome challenges such as mass layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic and decades of anti-union tactics by powerful employers. Pappageorge then detailed the perseverance and strategic organizing that have reversed membership losses since the 1980s. Central to their success was a focus on card check neutrality agreements, robust rank-and-file involvement and relentless workplace outreach—even in Nevada’s so-called “Right-To-Work” environment, where voluntary dues are the norm. Pappageorge emphasized the union’s resilience, its grassroots leadership and a culture of daily accountability that made 2025’s milestone victory possible.
The conversation then shifted to contract negotiations at newly unionized properties, including the Venetian and the Fontainebleau. Workers will receive wage and benefit increases—up to 30 percent over five years—addressing rising living costs in Las Vegas, Pappageorge said. He emphasized the importance of holistic contracts that safeguard healthcare and pensions. To combat the threat of job loss due to automation, the union secured extensive language regarding technology, mandating advance notice, retraining opportunities and severance protections for affected employees. Additionally, contract modifications will enable aggressive organizing and job action at nonunion restaurants within these resort properties, ensuring that union power can extend further into the hospitality sector.
Finally, Pappageorge addressed broader policy issues impacting Las Vegas’s tourism and entertainment industries. He explained how shifts in immigration and trade policy—the so-called “Trump slump”—have dampened international visitation and cut into casino revenues. Policies targeting core segments of Las Vegas’s customer base, such as Canadian and Latino visitors, have led to fewer jobs and reduced work hours for union members, with part-time staff being hit the hardest. Pappageorge advocated for fair labor policies, relief for tip earners and a return to sensible trade and immigration strategies to restore tourism and protect worker livelihoods.
For more on the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, please listen to the full episode of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast above.