Bernice Thomas

Maid Trainer

A lot of people come to Las Vegas thinking money grows on trees. You can get a job, but it might not be in your classification. So they’ll always fall back on housekeeping. At the maids’ school I’ve had people of all nationalities and from all over the U.S., policemen, teachers.

I’m from Tallulah, Louisiana. I was young, doing farm work, when I had this, I guess you could call it a vision. I said, “I want a white house. I want a husband and a daughter. And I want a nice car.” There were no jobs there, just farm laborer for three dollars a day. I got married. His grandparents was coming to Las Vegas and we came too.

I started out as a guest room attendant, a maid, twenty-five years ago. After five years I told myself, “I want to be an inspector.” Back in those days it was almost impossible to get an inspector job. But I always had faith and confidence in myself, so I got an inspector job. I did that for fourteen years. Then I was promoted to assistant executive housekeeper. I just climbed up the corporate ladder. I always was flexible and willing to work. I had eight children in the meantime and I worked every day.

When I was hired to organize the maids’ school for the Culinary Workers Union I had been in hotels all my life, so this is something I just knowed with my eyes closed. We found a place for the school through the housing authority. It’s a suite of rooms that we set up like hotel rooms. My three instructors set things up, I direct them.

We train thirty-three students every two weeks with a full class. We mess up the bed, put dust and makeup on the floor, lipstick messages on the mirror, McDonald’s packages, beer bottles. It be really trashed. We train them how to make a bed nice, dust the entire room, don’t miss a lick of nothing! Now maids have to worry about needles, blood, all kinds of things. We show them how to use gloves, put that linen in a special bag. We also have a class where they can learn English.

The training is free. They graduate, if they can work up to hotel standards. When they get that certificate the hotels usually will hire them. Sometimes they hire them right there at graduation. At the hotels the maids clean fifteen, sixteen, even eighteen rooms. The starting wage at 80 percent is $8.20 per hour. After six months they go up to 100 percent. They get vacation time according to how many hours they’ve put in.

It’s a goal out there. But it’s not easy. I’ve had them come in here in tears saying, “I can’t do it.” Ain’t no sucha thing as you can’t. You can. You have hard days, you get real disgusted. But the main thing is to do the best you can, keep a positive attitude and you will make it.

That’s what I teach the people here. I say, “Just think about how nice it’s gonna be when you go out there and make that check. Think about that new car, the wardrobe. A maid job is a way to get your feet in the door, cause they hire maids and kitchen workers but you can always work your way up.” They’ll get a job and come back and thank me for it, show me their new car. That makes me proud to feel that I done help somebody.

I reached all my goals. I got a white house, a car, a husband, and a lot of kids and grandkids. Most of my kids live in Las Vegas. And I’m blessed that my mother and auntie live here now. On my off days I drive them places, shopping, to church. Some hot days we just sit here in the shade and watch TV.