Labor secretary Tom Perez urges Culinary union members to back Clinton

Labor Secretary Tom Perez encouraged Culinary union members Monday to put their support behind Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Perez also congratulated Culinary Local 226 on the effort to organize at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, a not-so-subtle jab at the Republican front-runner Donald Trump, the billionaire who owns the hotel. The union announced Monday the a successful vote by a majority of workers n support of union representation, setting the stage for potential bargaining for a contract.

The Culinary union hall filled with about 100 union members erupted in loud applause at the comment.

"This presidential election is about workers," Perez said during the campaign stop at the union's Las Vegas headquarters. "It's about what does it mean to be middle class in America."

Nevada is a closely watched state in the presidential elections, with February caucuses that play a key role in determining who gets the Democratic and Republican nominations for president.

Perez, who became labor secretary in 2013, said the U.S. must reject "false choices" that create a conflict between appeasing shareholders and treating workers right. Both can be accomplished, he said.

And of course, there's the Trump factor.

"Before he starts making America great, why doesn't he make his own workforce great?" Perez said, a dig at Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.

Perez said there's unfinished work that remains as the nation continues adding jobs and climbing up from the economic recession that clobbered Nevada.

"We're coming back," he said. "We're doing better, but we've got more work to do."

Perez encouraged the group to look at Clinton's record, which included advocating as first lady during President Bill Clinton's administration to get the State Children's Health Program started. That legislation helped children get insurance, Perez said.

At times, he spoke in Spanish to the group. The union has a membership that is 56 percent Latino and represents 57,000 workers employed in casino-resort jobs such as bartender, cook and housekeeper.

Culinary Local 226 has yet to endorse any candidate for president and has also held events with two other candidates running for the Democratic nomination: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont; and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Coincidentally, Perez served in Maryland under O'Malley's administration as the secretary of Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

Perez made three stops in Las Vegas campaigning for Clinton. The other two included Makers & Finders Coffee and the Service Employees International Union Local 1107 during a voter contact drive.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.