CULINARY UNION TRAINING CENTER

The Culinary Union Training Center (CUTC) is a single-union, multi-employer, labor-management partnership that covers nearly 50,000 unionized workers in Las Vegas, the fastest growing city in the United States.

History

Over the past decade, Las Vegas has emerged as the fastest growing service and tourism center in the United States. Recognizing the rapid expansion of the industry, rising consumer expectations for quality, and an increasing demand for trained workers, the Las Vegas Culinary Workers Local 226 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE) negotiated the creation of a jointly trusted training fund and center in its 1989 contract. By 1993, the partnership opened its own facility, the Culinary Union Training Center (CUTC), which provides pre-employment training for hourly workers entering the hotel industry as well as upgrade training for current union members. The CUTC is the main route by which employers find "work ready" employees. It also is the vehicle through which entry level workers and immigrants begin to acquire skills needed to move up in the fast-paced hospitality industries and acquire a practical appreciation of union-provided benefits, such as training. The CUTC is the largest provider of occupational training in Nevada.

Goals

• To provide pre-employment training for new workforce entrants;
• To provide upgrade training for incumbent workers;
• To be recognized as a resource by employers for trained, skilled, and work-ready employees;
• For the Culinary Union to be recognized for its leading role in providing industry with needed, worker-focused skill development and employment opportunities for workers.

Activities

From 1992 through early 1999, the Las Vegas hotel and restaurant industry generated 25,000 new union jobs. The Center opened its doors in 1993. By 1999, it had trained more than 13,000 workers for the industry. With two sites and twelve instructors:

• Training is provided for nine classifications of food service/restaurant workers and seven classifications of non-restaurant hotel workers.
• Training for new entrants and those returning to work after a prolonged period may include life skill training, as well as occupational skill training. English as a Second Language (ESL) and GED classes are also provided.
• Classes, taught by experienced workers, are offered in three shifts throughout the day to accommodate the schedules of trainees. They typically run two to four weeks in length, five hours per day, five days a week.
• Employers are surveyed regarding future hiring needs to shape the Center's training goals and course offerings.

Results

• By 1997, over 2,500 workers per year were graduating from the CUTC. In 1999 the program surpassed 13,000 graduates since its inception.
• Sixty-nine percent of Center graduates land jobs with HERE-represented employers. Their turnover rate is half that of other new hires.
• By 1999, funding had grown to nearly $1.33 million. The Labor-Management partners are moving ahead on a major expansion of their partnership activity.
• The Center boasts the highest placement rates and wages at the lowest cost to students and taxpayers, as compared to private social service and not-for profit training organization agencies. It is the largest training provider for clients of the Nevada Department of Human Services.
• The Center is recognized as the only training provider that will accept every person referred to it, regardless of learning or social disabilities.
• The Center works regularly with community service organizations and religion-based coalitions.
• CUTC plays a critical role in the ability of HERE and its signatory hotels to grow in stride with the breakneck expansion of the Las Vegas hospitality industry.