Workers serving food, cleaning buildings, and working other low-wage jobs under federal contracts in Washington, DC, are striking again Thursday—and they're
expanding their fight again:
Although federally contracted employees organized under the banner of Good Jobs Nation have walked off the job nine times before, Thursday’s strike will be the first to include food service workers from within the U.S. Capitol building itself. Workers who typically serve food to both tourists and members of Congress will instead gather on the Capitol’s lawn and demand changes to labor standards within the building.
Reginald Lewis Sr., a food service worker in the Capitol Visitor Center, said he plans to go on strike for higher pay and benefits — and to gain respect.
"As Americans, you want to live the American dream, and this would help out a whole lot," said Lewis, who currently makes $12 an hour. He said that when he was hired he was told he would be able to work 40 hours a week, but that he sometimes gets scheduled for as few as 30.
In addition to including workers from the Capitol, Good Jobs Nation is, like fast food workers across the country, asking for "$15 and a union." They're pushing for an executive order promoting collective bargaining and asking the federal government to give preference in awarding contracts to companies that pay a minimum of $15 an hour, above the $10.10 minimum wage President Obama established for future federal contracts. The Congressional Progressive Caucus is
backing the workers.
In the District of Columbia itself, the minimum wage is rising to $11.50 in 2016.
The demands of the striking federal contract workers are more or less the same as those of fast food workers across the country because the fight is basically the same. The main difference is that the government should do better than McDonald's. Under President Obama, the federal government has taken steps in that direction, but it could and should do even better.