WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is leading efforts to raise wages for the U.S. Senate’s cafeteria and catering workers. As the Senate Rules Committee negotiates its contract with the Restaurant Associates, the Senate’s food and catering contractor, Brown and the Democratic Caucus urged Rules Committee leadership to advocate for better wages for these employees.
Brown also met with four Senate cafeteria workers including: Charles Gladden, a Senate cafeteria worker who is homeless and Sontia Bailey, a cashier in the Senate who works two jobs.
“It’s critical that we raise the minimum wage for all Americans, including those who work each day where laws are made,” Brown said. “Americans who work hard and take responsibility should be able to make ends meet and take care of themselves and their families. The U.S. Senate should lead by example and ensure good benefits and wages for those who work in these buildings.”
The letter urged action on wages and working conditions as Restaurant Associates’ contract is renegotiated.
“We are concerned about the treatment and pay of Restaurant Associates’ employees. Numerous news reports have exposed the severe impact of low wages on the workers’ lives,” wrote the Senators in the letter. “If Restaurant Associates is unable to treat and compensate its employees appropriately, we urge you to terminate the contract and find a different vendor. The U.S. Senate should serve as an example for all employers, and the workers who support the work of the U.S. Senate must be given the respect and the opportunities they deserve.”
The letter follows multiple reports of workers employed by Restaurant Associates whose low wages have left them to rely on food stamps to feed their family or take up other jobs. Today, Brown met with workers of the Restaurant Associates who serve the U.S. Senate to hear their stories. Brown is the cosponsor of the Pay Workers a Living Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $15.
“This is the first time I can recall that any of the Senators we serve are standing up to help us get a living wage and a union. $15 and a union means I won’t be homeless anymore,” said Charles Gladden, U.S. Senate Cafeteria Worker.
“This letter is important because it’s the first time ever that so many U.S. Senators are saying workers deserve a living wage – not just the minimum wage – so we shouldn’t have to use public aid programs, like food stamps, to feed our kids,” said Bertrand Olotara, a Senate Cafeteria Grill Cook.
“I’m glad that the Senators are standing up for the people who serve them every day. We need $15 and a union to survive. Because I make so little at the Capitol, I had to get a second full-time job. Working 70 hours a week took a toll on my body – I recently had a miscarriage and buried my baby boy. If I had a living wage and a union, my fiancé and I would be proud parents today,” said Sontia Bailey, a U.S. Capitol Café Cashier.
Full text of the letter is below. A PDF is available here.
August 6, 2015
Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Schumer:
We write to express our concern about the treatment of U.S. Senate cafeteria and catering employees. We ask you to address several issues the workers have raised numerous times with their current employer, the U.S. Senate contractor Restaurant Associates, and to take them into consideration during the company’s contract negotiations later this year.
We are concerned about the treatment and pay of Restaurant Associates’ employees. Numerous news reports have exposed the severe impact of low wages on the workers’ lives. In addition, some of the 36 “transferred” employees who transitioned from being employed by the Architect of the Capitol to being employed by Restaurant Associates in 2008 have registered ongoing complaints about reduced work hours and an intimidating work environment. Newer employees have raised the same grievances. In the last few years, the company has cut the transferred catering workers’ and the new hires’ hours and generally assigned work schedules that make it difficult to get a second job. Restaurant Associates has also begun assigning fewer workers to catering events, leading to understaffed events and overworked employees.
We ask you to investigate these issues, to ask Restaurant Associates to address and resolve them in a manner satisfactory to their employees, and to consider them during the renegotiation of Restaurant Associates’ contract with the U.S. Senate. It is important that all Senate cafeteria and catering workers are able to do their jobs in a positive and supportive work environment. If Restaurant Associates is unable to treat and compensate its employees appropriately, we urge you to terminate the contract and find a different vendor. The U.S. Senate should serve as an example for all employers, and the workers who support the work of the U.S. Senate must be given the respect and the opportunities they deserve.
Sincerely,
United States Senator Sherrod Brown
United States Senator Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator Harry Reid
United States Senator Tammy Baldwin
United States Senator Michael F. Bennet
United States Senator Richard Blumenthal
United States Senator Cory Booker
United States Senator Barbara Boxer
United States Senator Maria Cantwell
United States Senator Benjamin L. Cardin
United States Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator Christopher A. Coons
United States Senator Joe Donnelly
United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator Al Franken
United States Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand
United States Senator Martin Heinrich
United States Senator Heidi Heitkamp
United States Senator Mazie K. Hirono
United States Senator Tim Kaine
United States Senator Angus S. King, Jr.
United States Senator Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator Patrick J. Leahy
United States Senator Joe Manchin III
United States Senator Edward J. Markey
United States Senator Claire McCaskill
United States Senator Robert Menendez
United States Senator Jeff Merkley
United States Senator Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator Christopher Murphy
United States Senator Patty Murray
United States Senator Gary C. Peters
United States Senator Jack Reed
United States Senator Bernard Sanders
United States Senator Brian Schatz
United States Senator Chuck Schumer
United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen
United States Senator Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator Jon Tester
United States Senator Tom Udall
United States Senator Mark R. Warner
United States Senator Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator Ron Wyden
###