John Yang:

Sixty thousand Nevada hotel and casino workers are represented by the Culinary Union, by far the state's largest and most politically influential.

The majority-Latino, majority-female union reflects the changing face of U.S. organized labor and Nevada's increasingly diverse population, now nearly 30 percent Latino. The union has negotiated generous employer-paid benefits, including top-tier health insurance.

More than 140,000 workers and dependents get free care at the union's clinic and pharmacy. Loli has relied on that for her family, and for herself when she needed surgery after an on-the-job injury.