A Local 986 shop steward won a seven-way Democratic primary race for a state House seat in Nevada. Susan Martinez, a 30-year employee at the Flamingo Hotel on the Las Vegas strip, won 46 percent of the vote in beating back her opposition.

 Martinez said she understands the needs of her district, which she has lived in for more than two decades. Her top priorities include improving the educational system and repealing the state’s right to work law.

“I want to encourage people and businesses here to have respect for labor unions and their contracts,” Martinez said. “Labor is the engine that keeps this state moving. Unions should set the standard for things like prevailing wage and working conditions. Workers across the whole state benefit when unions are strong.”

 Local 986 has her back the whole way.

“Susan is a tremendous leader and shop steward,” said Chris Griswold, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 986. “She will be a terrific representative for working people across Nevada. She will make a difference for working families.”

 Martinez noted that both her parents were culinary union members in Las Vegas, and it was due to their union jobs that they could provide for the family of six. She also said she has been able to make a life for herself and her daughter due to being a Teamster. “Two generations of my family have benefitted from union membership, and I want to pay that forward to the next generation of working families in Nevada,” she said.

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