Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 | 2 a.m.
As a proud member and former shop steward of the Bartenders Union Local 165, I’m seeing firsthand how the Trump administration’s policies — especially the rising tariffs, and strained ties with key international markets — are hurting our families and our livelihoods.
Our city sinks or swims on tourism, especially international visitors from Canada, Asia and Europe. But Trump’s rhetoric and policies are alienating those countries and their citizens, severely shrinking the amount of international visitors we’re seeing. The number of tourists coming to Las Vegas has dropped by more than 11%, with an even worse dip from our No. 1 international market, Canada — at over 33%. With room occupancy going down and revenue dropping, that means fewer tips and salaries, fewer tax dollars and higher unemployment.
Nevada already leads the nation in unemployment. As of July, our rate was the highest of any state, at roughly 5.4%, compared with a national average of about 4.2%. That’s tens of thousands of Las Vegans out of work, including thousands of fellow union members.
Even worse, we’re seeing 50% or more drops in tip income due to the tourism slump. One dealer told The Wall Street Journal that Canadian visitors — who make up some 30% of his clientele and are top tippers — had vanished. “We’re all starting to freak out,” he said.
And the reason for all of this is captured in one word: Trump.
Trump’s proposed new $250 visa fee and $15,000 bond for visitors from many countries will also be a direct deterrent. When tourists from Canada, the EU or Asia have to pay that surcharge on top of high airfares, weak dollar exchange rates and expensive resort fees, they often decide to cancel. Canada alone accounts for roughly 30% of our international leisure market. Reports suggest the visa fee could cost thousands more Nevadans their jobs.
For workers like us — the 26% of Nevada’s workforce employed in leisure and hospitality — the math is clear: fewer travelers = fewer rooms to clean, fewer plates to serve, fewer hands to tip, fewer jobs. In venues along the Strip, occupancy has fallen as low as 67%, and daily rates have soared, alienating budget‑conscious middle‑class tourists who used to support our sectors.
But President Donald Trump’s actions are having a rippling effect beyond just tourism.
While Trump’s erratic trade policy and aggressive international moves have spooked global travelers, they have thrown a gut punch to the construction industry. Trump’s tariffs have increased costs for construction, including housing. This not only raises the costs of new homes — at a time of record-high home prices already — but it also reduces construction projects and construction jobs.
That’s thousands more Nevadans out of work and looking for a new paycheck.
On top of that, Trump has knifed one of Nevada’s leading job-creation industries, clean energy, right when we were about to boom. Since 2022, clean-energy projects have created nearly 22,000 jobs and over $15 billion in new investments in Nevada. But with Trump’s new budget bill, all of that is under threat, and Nevada families are facing a whopping $350 more per year for power.
Thankfully, our senior senator is taking the fight to Trump.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has been at the forefront of the fight to safeguard Nevada’s gaming and tourism economy. She introduced the FULL HOUSE Act to reverse the Trump administration’s new tax rule that limits gambling loss deductions to 90% of winnings. As Cortez Masto said, this change forces taxpayers to pay “on money they don’t have,” and could drive professional and recreational gambling offshore — threatening events like the World Series of Poker and Nevada’s entire gaming industry, which supports nearly a third of state jobs.
She has led bipartisan legislation to roll back Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, and she’s introduced the Tariff Transparency Act to require public studies on how tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports affect Nevada workers and hospitality businesses. She’s fighting to hold this administration accountable for its lies about tariff and trade deals, including hammering trade officials responsible for the harm they are doing to Nevada’s tourism industry.
Cortez Masto is also going to bat for our construction and clean energy industries, some of the leading sources of job creation in our state. She strongly opposed Trump’s giant tax increases on solar and renewable energy, and she is working to ensure these job-creating clean-energy projects that are modernizing our technology receive the support they’ve been promised. She is leading the bipartisan effort to strengthen the U.S. supply chain for rare earth materials needed for cellphones, computers and cars. And, she’s pushing to restore the Trump cuts to clean energy — although Republicans and Trump are continuing their attempts to destroy the clean energy industry.
Trump ran on a promise to cut inflation and increase jobs. But now that he’s won, he is cutting our jobs and wages, and jacking up prices while inflation and unemployment continue to climb. As Nevadans, we need to do our part to help leaders like Cortez Masto continue to fight Trump’s destructive policies. Our future depends on it.
Spencer Ridenour is a member of the Bartenders Union Local 165.
