O’Malley rallies in front of Trump hotel

By Kyle Roerink

Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015 | 11:53 a.m.

Like he does over every other presidential candidate, Donald Trump loomed over Democratic presidential contender Martin O’Malley.

O’Malley, the former Maryland governor, spoke to the press 64 stories below the golden marquee atop the luxury Trump International Hotel, joined by workers trying to organize with the Culinary Union Local 226 in Las Vegas.

As Trump cast its metaphorical shadow, O’Malley stood in the baking sun to call for a revamped labor movement and immigration reform in the U.S. "There are a couple things Donald Trump doesn’t understand, “ O’Malley said. “Number one, if we want our economy to grow we need to treat our workers with dignity and respect, pay them better and respect their right to organize. Secondly, in every generation, new American immigrants have made our economy stronger and better."

O’Malley, who supports amnesty for undocumented workers, stood alongside a handful of Latino employees of Trump International who are currently in a battle with hotel management to organize with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. Dozens of workers have signed a petition to organize under a union, as do the majority of hotel and casino workers in Las Vegas.

The culinary union — a long time ally of immigrants --has become more vocal about the workers' battle with Trump. The Trump International doesn’t provide free health care and pays around $3 or $4 less per hour than hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip in which workers are unionized, said Geoconda Arguello-Kline, secretary treasurer for the culinary union.

"The employees want to have the same opportunities to provide like the rest of the workers in the city,” she said. “They are workers that want job security, health benefits and no worries about retirement and pensions.” The culinary union will hold a rally in front of Trump International on Friday.

O’Malley is in town to speak at the closed-to-the-press Nevada AFL-CIO convention. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke yesterday and also met with members of the press after speeches to the AFL-CIO.

The three Democrats vying for an AFL-CIO endorsement visit to Las Vegas as the labor group wages a national battle against a trade deal known as the Trans Pacific Partnership. The AFL-CIO says the deal would send jobs overseas. O’Malley and Sanders are critics of the deal. Clinton hasn’t taken a position on it.

The AFL-CIO and other unions are waging battles against the GOP on issues other than international trade as well. Scott Walker, Republican presidential candidate and Wisconsin Governor, has signed reforms that limit collective bargaining in his state. GOP candidates like US Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have called for similar reforms throughout the nation. Nevada Republicans have pushed for similar reforms in the GOP-controlled legislature.

Looking at the Trump International employees, O’Malley said, "All of these workers here have a lot more guts than the candidates for the Republican nomination. They have the courage to stand up to the hate and the division to the sort of rhetoric that makes it hard for the economy to grow."

O’Malley, who faces long odds against frontrunner Clinton, called for a series of debates before primary voters head to the polls. He declined to attack Clinton over her handling of classified emails during her tenure as Secretary of State, an issue that dogged her in an appearance in Nevada on Tuesday, saying, "I think we are making a horrible mistake as a party if we allow our contest to be defined by the latest questions of the day about classified emails. We need to talk about issues that are on the tables of Americans."