Members include a variety of occupations organized along craft lines working in restaurants, hotels and laundries, in the casinos in the Las Vegas metropolitan area[2] and Reno, as well as Harry Reid International Airport and Valley Hospital Medical Center.

While most Culinary members work in casinos, the union does not represent dealers and other employees directly providing gaming services.

According to labor journalist Steven Greenhouse, it has "catapulted thousands of dishwashers, waiters, and hotel housekeepers into the middle class, even though those are poverty-level jobs in many other cities."

Despite Nevada's status as a"right-to-work" state, around 97% of bargaining units choose to join the Culinary Union and pay dues.

During the pandemic, the union provided 18 months of free health insurance to laid-off members and distributed over 475,000 baskets of food to hospitality workers' families in need.

[29] The first day of civil disobedience at the hotel saw 57 people arrested for intentionally blocking a road, including President Diana Valles and Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge.

Jon Ralston has credited its voter education and turnout operations for Democrats' statewide, state legislative, and congressional victories in 2016, 2018, and 2020, and for maintaining many of these gains in 2022.

[46] In January 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris visited Las Vegas to meet with members of the culinary union in what was billed as a "celebration" following the negotiation of the five-year contract with casino employers in the city.

Many union members attended and wore bright red T-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts bearing the messages “Vegas Strong” and “One Job Should Be Enough.”[48]