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Women of Clark County
Geoconda Argüello-Kline
1955 -
Geoconda Argüello-Kline held the position of Secretary-Treasurer at the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, where she worked her way up through the union ranks and became the first woman to occupy that role. Originally from Nicaragua, Argüello-Kline arrived in the United States as a political refugee in 1979 and relocated to the Las Vegas Valley in 1983. She began her career as a guest room attendant, and the poor working conditions prompted her to get involved with the Culinary Union to advocate for better working conditions. In 1990, she joined the staff of the Culinary Union and soon after served as a Lead Organizer during the strike at Frontier Hotel and Casino. When the strike ended in 1998, the union ensured that workers received back pay and benefits and retained their seniority and pensions. Latina workers played a pivotal role in the Frontier Strike, which remains one of the longest strikes in U.S. history and is often considered one of the most successful too.
Pictured: Geoconda Argüello-Kline. AFL-CIO.
Sources
- Quinnell, Kenneth, and Aaron Gallant. “Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Culinary Union’s Argüello-Kline Retires After 32 Years of Fighting for Union Members in Nevada | AFL-CIO,” February 15, 2022. https://aflcio.org/2022/2/15/service-solidarity-spotlight-culinary-unions-arguello-kline-retires-after-32-years.
- UNLV Special Collections Portal. “Geoconda Arguello Kline Oral History Interview.” Accessed April 9, 2025. https://special.library.unlv.edu/ark:/62930/f1nw7m.
For questions or comments, please reach out to the Clark County Museum at ccmuseum@clarkcountynv.gov.