Look out National Restaurant Association -- your workers are mad, they're organized, and they're playing Bruce Springsteen right outside your building. Workers from NRA subsidiary member U.S. Foodservice stood alongside hundreds of members from the Teamsters this morning to protest the labor practices of their employers. The protests took place right next door to the Prospect's downtown office in Washington, D.C., proving we can't escape labor issues even when we're not writing about them. Workers disrupted early morning traffic and elicited the curiosity of our 17th Street neighbors on both ends of the ideological spectrum -- from the American Enterprise Institute to the Defenders of Wildlife. Frank Solice, who has worked for Arizona's chapter of U.S. Foodservice for 12 years, recounted numerous examples of intimidation and outright union-busting by his employers. A few of his friends have been fired for supporting unionization, and even more have suffered in silence for fear of losing their jobs. "No way we're turning back," he says. "I would hate to see anyone else go through what we've been through." In addition to protesting, the workers officially filed charges against the NRA U.S. Foodservice, citing 177 cases of unfair and abusive labor practices. Their allegations -- the firing of pro-union employees, the elimination of sick days as retribution for attempted union organizing, and the illegal use of mandatory closed-door meetings to coercively discourage unionization -- are emblematic of the larger
problems
we frequently highlight. But Frank and his co-workers have not been deterred. Blocking traffic for nearly three hours this morning, they demanded fair treatment and advocated for EFCA while The Boss' classic American melodies provided thematic support. Whether or not they achieve union representation in the long term remains to be seen (and perhaps largely depends upon the fate of EFCA). But at least for today, the union spirit is alive and well in Washington. --Josh Linden
