An internal dispute at Culinary Union Local 226 is bringing members to the union's Las Vegas headquarters, where they are challenging leadership over access to union health clinics and the handling of a wage increase due in October. The demonstrations have continued for several weeks at the union's Spring Mountain Road campus.
The protests were covered by FOX5 Vegas. Organizers say more than 2,000 petition signatures call for financial transparency around healthcare funds and how raises are distributed. Charles Pierre, one of the workers involved, said the 60,000 members served by the union's four clinics cannot get timely doctor visits. A union spokesperson countered that the average wait to see a preferred doctor runs about 10 days, while quicker nurse-practitioner appointments are common practice at many medical clinics.
A Reform Movement Takes Shape
The unrest has a name and a timeline. Dissidents organized in late August under the banner of Fair Union Reform Movement 226, criticizing leadership over financial transparency and internal communication, according to The Nevada Independent. Workers have raised concerns about access to the union's four health centers and copays for outside specialists.
One union member called for different leadership that would provide more transparency, and a worker identified as Rocio called for ethical disclosure of acquired funds and clarity in how money is spent. Angela Perez, speaking for the union, said workers are upset because of misinformation and need to know the truth — a framing echoed by other union leaders, who have described the workers' concerns overall as rooted in misinformation.
What the 2023 agreement changed
The dispute follows bargaining that covered both compensation and healthcare. According to a November 2023 Culinary Union announcement, negotiations for the five-year contract involved 24 casino-resort companies that were under contract extensions and in active negotiations. The union says members have received more than $5 per hour in increases since November 2023, while their coverage includes no monthly premiums or deductibles and services ranging from primary care to dental and mental health care. Union representatives have said bargaining allocated some funds to healthcare and some to wages, but the materials cited here do not provide a dollar-by-dollar breakdown or formula for that allocation. The scale of the wage package was also highlighted by Caesars Entertainment, which said in a November 8, 2023 announcement that the tentative agreement included what the union described as the largest wage increases in its 88-year history. The next scheduled increase is October 1, 2026, according to Pappageorge's statement.
The Health Fund Behind the Dispute
The Culinary Health Fund at the center of the fight is a multi-employer Taft-Hartley trust jointly managed by union and casino resort representatives, covering more than 145,000 Nevadans once members' spouses and dependents are included, per the same Nevada Independent account. The fund built its first self-operated health center on Nellis Boulevard in June 2017, added a second on Durango Drive in May 2023, and opened a third on Craig Road in April 2025, according to Culinary Workers Union Local 226. A fourth facility, the $115 million Culinary Health Center – Tropicana, broke ground in January 2025 on a 10-acre parcel across from The Orleans — a project Hoodline covered in an earlier report on the site's launch.
Union officials say the clinics are meant to eliminate copays and deductibles for members, and Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge released a statement laying out what current healthcare coverage includes: free primary care, pediatrics, walk-in care, labs, radiology, physical therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, mental health services, vision, and dental coverage, with no monthly premiums and no deductibles for the union's 60,000 members. Union officials also said rising healthcare costs and the cost of providing free healthcare constrain how much can go toward higher wage increases.
Wages, Wait Times, and What Comes Next
According to Pappageorge's statement, Culinary Union members have received more than $5 per hour in wage increases since November 2023, with another increase scheduled for October 1, 2026. That schedule traces back to the November 2023 negotiations. Claudia Ramos, another union figure quoted in the FOX5 Vegas report, said the negotiations that produced that agreement allocated some portion of funds to healthcare and some to wages — though workers at the protests have questioned exactly how those decisions were made.
Union officials held a meeting with shop stewards Thursday night and provided information for those stewards to share with members, according to the FOX5 Vegas report. Local 226 has roughly 1,000 elected shop stewards, who along with actuaries oversee the union's health funds, pensions, and housing funds. Founded in November 1935, the union represents casino-resort workers in Las Vegas and Reno. It is led by Pappageorge and President Diana Valles.
The protests are taking place at the union's Spring Mountain Road campus, which opened in June 2025 after Local 226 relocated from its Downtown Las Vegas headquarters, where it had operated for nearly 80 years, according to the union's own announcement. Beyond healthcare and pensions, the union's broader operations are under scrutiny from the members it serves.
