Culinary Union, Senator Rosen Meet to Address Tourism Slump Hitting Las Vegas Workers

Senator Jacky Rosen sat down with Culinary Workers Union Local 226 shop stewards and hospitality employees in Las Vegas on March 9 for a roundtable that put a stark number at the center of the conversation: a 7.5% drop in total visitors to the city in 2025, which union leaders described as the worst decline in a non-pandemic year since 1970.

For workers whose income depends on full hotel rooms and busy restaurant floors, that figure is not abstract. Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge framed the consequences in blunt terms. "Workers are living through what we call the 'Trump Slump,' and it's showing up in their hours and their paychecks," he said. "Las Vegas is a hospitality-dependent economy and we need policies that welcome visitors, respect workers, and strengthen our communities."

The union and Rosen attribute the slowdown to tariffs, immigration enforcement, and trade tensions with Canada, all of which they argue have dampened both international and domestic travel to a city that, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, welcomed more than 40 million visitors in recent years. Fewer visitors means fewer guests spending at restaurants, hotel bars, and casino floors, and that feeds directly into thinner tip pools and cut shifts for the workers Local 226 represents.

Rosen pulled no punches in her characterization of the cause. "Donald Trump has been the single most damaging factor for the Las Vegas economy since the pandemic," she said. "His illegal tariffs, harmful immigration policies, and fights with Canada have wreaked havoc on our tourism industry and its workers." She also cited a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figure showing the hospitality sector lost 27,000 jobs last month, a number union leaders raised repeatedly during the discussion.

Rosen's personal connection to the industry added a layer to the meeting. The Culinary Union's press materials identify her as a former union member and tipped worker herself, a biographical detail the union has used to underscore her support for the No Tax on Tips Act, which she and fellow Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto have joined as co-sponsors. The bill would fully exempt tipped wages from federal income tax. Nevada, the union notes, carries the highest concentration of tipped workers in the nation.

The roundtable was one piece of a broader legislative push Local 226 is running in parallel. The union is also pressing Congressman Steven Horsford's introduction of the TIP Improvement Act and has scheduled separate meetings with shop stewards to advance a permanent no-taxes-on-tips policy. The union is also set to picket Oak View Group at Allegiant Stadium over a separate labor dispute.

Rosen said her goal at the March 9 meeting was direct: hear from workers themselves about what policy changes are doing to their livelihoods. "I'll keep fighting in the Senate against the terrible 'Trump slump' and the policies that are hurting our workers," she said. Whether that fight produces legislative results before the next visitor count comes in is a question Las Vegas hospitality workers will be watching closely.