Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Culinary Union Alleges Station Casinos Violated Workers’ Right to Return

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Members of UNITE HERE’s Culinary Union make Nevada the special place that it is. As the state recovers from COVID-19’s devastating impact on the hospitality industry, the union is supporting current and former employees of Station Casinos who allege that management violated a state law which requires hospitality employers to recall their employees who were laid off during the pandemic. The legal complaint claims that Station Casinos, Nevada’s third-largest private employer, has not recalled its hospitality workers as required under state law.

“It’s such an injustice as a loyal worker to be abandoned by Station Casinos after working there for 16 years,” said Kenia Cobas, a member of the Culinary Union and former cook’s helper at Green Valley Ranch. “Management needs to think about others—not just about their profits and enriching themselves. Station Casinos needs to follow the law and bring us back to work.”