Nevada
Lombardo says Nevada teachers should not be allowed to strike
By Rocio Hernandez
The Nevada Independent
Gov. Joe Lombardo is opposing an initiative by the Clark County teachers union that would allow Nevada public school teachers to go on strike.
Under Nevada law, strikes by public employees — including teachers — are illegal.
Faten Alkulifi, left, gathers signatures on March 6, 2024, for a petition by the Clark County teachers
union that seeks to change the state’s anti-strike law.
The governor’s opposition, which he expressed during The Nevada Independent’s IndyTalks event Wednesday came two months after the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) filed a petition to put a measure on the ballot that, if enacted, would exempt public school teachers from the state’s strike prohibition. It came about a month after the union’s contract dispute with the district came to an end following a nine-month battle that entered into the arbitration process when the district, then led by former Superintendent Jesus Jara, declared an impasse in September.
State law defines a strike as any concerted stoppage of work, slowdown or interruption of operations by public employees, including absences based on false pretenses, such as illness.
It’s illegal for teachers to go on strike in 37 states, including Nevada, and Washington, D.C.
During the Wednesday event, Lombardo said he did not think teachers should be able to go on strike. He said he thought the state’s current collective bargaining process works, and called it a successful model.
“I think their decision to want to strike was out of frustration on the previous negotiations and I think the issues with that angst and that frustration should be addressed,” Lombardo said during Wednesday’s event.
CCEA Executive Director John Vellardita pushed back on Lombardo’s comments in a Thursday interview, and called the arbitration process that kicked in after the school district declared an impasse “destructive.” The union has said its contract negotiations with the district have entered lengthy arbitration processes four times in the past 12 years.
“It takes too long to find resolution and it bleeds into the school year, and sure, it’s easy for us to say it affects teachers when it clearly affects students and their learning,” he said.
Last year, as the district and the union butted heads over proposed pay increase for teachers, an unprecedented number of teacher absences or sickouts led to canceled classes at 10 schools — a situation the court declared to be a form of a strike. CCEA denied any involvement in the rolling sickouts that took place in September.
The labor dispute was resolved in December, when the school district and CCEA settled on a new contract that was approved by an arbitrator.
Lombardo’s comments came about two weeks after the union began gathering signatures from voters.
Vellardita said the union hired Advanced Micro Targeting, a company headed by Republican former Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, to gather signatures. CCEA worked with the political consulting firm in 2021 when it was pushing forward two initiatives that would have raised gaming and sales taxes.
Vellardita said the petition hasn’t received any challenges so far.
In order to get an initiative or referendum on the ballot that proposes or repeals language for state law, a petitioner must obtain signatures from at least 10 percent of the voters in the previous general election. This means it needs at least 102,362 valid signatures from registered Nevada voters. At least 25,591 signatures would need to come from each of the state’s four congressional districts.
The deadline for submitting these signatures to the county clerk or registrar of voters for verification is Nov. 20.
Vellardita said he’s confident that the union will have the signatures it needs well before that deadline and isn’t deterred by the governor’s opposition.
If the union is able to gather the necessary amount of signatures, the petition goes before the state Legislature for consideration in the 2025 session. If the Legislature approves the initiative, it becomes law. However, if the Legislature rejects the initiative or fails to take action on the initiative within 40 days, the initiative is presented to the voters at the next general election in 2026.
Vellardita said he continues to be open to considering other solutions suggested by Lombardo and state lawmakers.
“There’s an opportunity in the ‘25 session to find some solution and if there isn’t a solution in the ‘25 session, clearly the law allows the voters to be the final judge on this,” Vellardita said.
During a January press conference, Vellardita said if a compromise on an alternative solution was reached, the union could withdraw the initiative as it did in 2021 when it used the two tax-hiking ballot initiatives as leverage to secure more mining tax revenue for schools.
The Las Vegas Raiders have orchestrated many groundbreaking moves this offseason, but none as important as the impact they made at a fundraising event.
Over the weekend, the Raiders hosted the Silver & Black Gala, raising $2.5 million for mental health in Nevada. Sunday marked the third time the organization had hosted the event, which has produced a tremendous turnout.
Several individuals spoke during the event, including Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Sandra Douglass Morgan, who each highlighted the importance of acknowledging mental health.
Davis’ Thoughts
- “We’re here to raise money for mental health, which is one of the most important things we can all deal with,” Davis said. “Every one of us is impacted by mental health and our families, friends, or anywhere else, we are all directly affected. That’s why it’s so critical to raise money for our community. We’re grateful for you all, and appreciate you being here.”
Morgan’s Thoughts
“Mental health remains one of the most urgent issues across Nevada,” Morgan said. “Through the Silver & Black Gala, the Raiders Foundation is helping expand access to trusted, community-based resources that meet people where they are. This year’s recipients reflect the depth and complexity of that work, supporting our community in schools, clubhouses, homes, shelters, and family systems statewide.”
The Raiders also honored former player Carl Nassib and NFL broadcaster Jay Glazer on Sunday night as the winners of the Commitment to Excellence award. Here is what each of them had to say.
Glazer’s Thoughts
- “First, this is incredible what the Raiders are doing,” Glazer said. “God blessed me with the ability to communicate, so I’m going to use that to try and help other people. When we’re willing to share our scars, we turn them into strength—into something that connects us as teammates with nothing to hide. That’s what builds a true team, a championship team. I’m proud to stand with you and be part of this team tonight.”
Nassib’s Thoughts
- “It is truly a privilege to be up here,” Nassib said. “We’re creating space for people to be vulnerable—and that work is truly lifesaving. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and reminding people they’re not alone.”
Overall Thoughts
This has been a tremendous event over the last few years, and the Raiders’ organization has done a great job of raising awareness for mental health. This will be an event that the team will continue to host in the future.
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Nevada
Nevada workers fear homelessness as housing, jobs vanish before July deadline | Fox News Video
The final casino resort in Primm, Nevada, will close this summer after years of declining tourism, ending gaming operations in the once-busy border town and putting hundreds of employees out of work.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is shutting down its remaining hotel and casino operations in July as experts point to increased competition, changing travel habits and post-pandemic losses behind the decline.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R) is in a strong position heading into the thick of his 2026 reelection bid — a huge war chest, almost universal name recognition and strong favorability numbers among the electorate.
Though Lombardo is likely focusing on the general election already, he faces 6 longshot candidates in the GOP primary seeking to upset him in June.
Nevada Governor GOP primary: 6 longshot candidates taking on incumbent Joe Lombardo
The challengers face a ‘Herculean’ task, said Mike Noble, CEO and founder of Noble Predictive Insights, an Arizona-based nonpartisan pollster focusing on the Southwest region.
“I see it as a Herculean task for anyone. If someone was coming in with like, I don’t know $10 million or something to spend, sure I can see that might be competitive, but I don’t see any of them coming anywhere near close to that. And so again, I just think I think it’s a non-factor at this point,” Noble said.
RELATED | Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast: Early Noble poll shows dead heat in governor’s race
Despite the long odds, News 4-Fox 11 reached out to all candidates requesting an interview as part of our commitment to 2026 election coverage and our Know Your Candidates series. Three of the 7 running interviewed with us — Irina Hansen, Kameron Hawkins, Lombardo and Jose Zelaya did not respond to multiple emails requesting an interview.
We asked them similar questions about Gov. Lombardo’s leadership as governor, how they would pass a balanced budget and whether they support taxpayer subsidies for sports teams or major projects.
Click the candidate’s name to watch their full interview. Quotes below have been edited for space and clarity.
Donald J. Beaudry Jr. is an entrepreneur who founded BlkEdgeAi, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven trading systems and market strategy, according to his campaign website.
He told News 4-Fox 11 that Nevada has been drifting the last four years with ‘no captain, no vision.’ He believes his Wall Street-like trading market called NGEX (Nevada Global Exchange) would generate enough revenue to eliminate sales taxes, property taxes, business taxes and vehicle registration fees.
“I completely blueprinted it out and calculated that this model could generate enough revenue in this state that we could eliminate all the state taxes and fees that are currently in place and use that as the revenue source for the state and make everybody, every man, woman and child throughout Nevada, a shareholder in the dividends of that exchange … it would be a kind of Wall Street type of stock market, but far broader, more advanced, and exponentially more profitable.”
Matthew Rian Winterhawk is the founder of SmartSlaps foundation, a nonprofit that works to help schools and students with civic engagement and community responsibility.
If elected, he described going through a DOGE-like review of the state budget to determine which areas can be cut or kept depending on their ‘dollar to impact’ ratio.
“What I would like to do is go through every department, I’m talking top to bottom, from here from the primary to the beginning. We will cut every piece of administrative bloat across the system … I need more money for my teachers. Teachers never see it, students never see it, the impact never reaches the classroom. It’s 100% administrative bloat.”
The son of immigrants, Barak Zilberberg is now an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Las Vegas. He ran for governor in 2022, earning 0.2% of the vote in the GOP primary. He told News 4-Fox 11 he’s also running for President in 2028.
He said he’s running for governor to improve the educational system, bring jobs to Nevada and open up federal land to build more affordable housing.
“We’ve got get high-speed railing systems in here where we can transit very easily, efficiently, and basically moving around between economies of both cities. Not only that, I’d like to bring Disneyland here and the Olympics, sponsor the Olympics here. I just want to make this a well-known place of entertainment, a hub.”
To help voters make informed decisions this election year, News 4-Fox 11 is publishing and broadcasting dozens of interviews with candidates who will appear on the June primary ballot.
In fairness to all candidates, they were asked a series of similar questions. We are posting the full interviews online so voters can watch their responses in their entirety.
Visit our Know Your Candidates 2026 page to view other race previews and meet other candidates.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.
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