Low-wage federal workers walked off the job Tuesday morning across Washington, DC, to demand an executive order for higher wages—building on a successful push earlier this year to raise the wage of federal contract workers to $10.10.
President Obama announced during this year’s State of the Union address that he would indeed raise the wage of federal contract workers, after a lengthy pressure campaign—but Good Jobs Nation, a group leading the earlier strikes, now believes $10.10 isn’t high enough. Over 200 workers planned to walk off the job on Tuesday at a variety of workplaces that contract with the federal government, and they want Obama to go even higher.
At Union Station, Washington’s central train hub and a federally owned building with many restaurants and retail outlets, striking workers were joined by several members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, as well as some faith leaders.
“I don’t believe that any federal contractor who doesn’t want to pay people a livable wage should have a federal contract,” Representative Keith Ellison, a co-chair of the CPC, told the crowd. “There’s enough federal contractors who want to be fair and do good by their workers. We don’t have to keep with the crooked ones.”
“If we’re paying companies with taxpayer dollars, they should take care of their workers,” said Representative Barbara Lee. Lee and Ellison were joined by Representatives Sheila Jackson-Lee and Eleanor Holmes Norton, the non-voting member who represents DC.
Erica Gayles, who works at a Dunkin’ Donuts inside the Pentagon, has helped lead the strike and spoke with The Nation on Monday afternoon. She described how she attended the University of the District of Columbia for three years, before her mother fell ill. Gayles was forced to drop out and find work immediately.
“Yes it wasn’t the best job, but little pay is better than no pay at all. And I’m kind of stuck because I’m tired of working this tiring job for a little bit of money,” she said. “I’d also like to go back to school and obtain my degree in criminal justice.”
In the meantime, she wants Obama to step up again for low-wage workers. “I’m involved with this movement because a lot of workers are afraid to speak up for what’s right, but I’m here because I want to be the voice of those who are afraid because there shouldn’t be fear,” she said. “You should have no fear in speaking up for what’s right. It’s not like you’re doing anything illegal. We need this to survive, everybody else is surviving and getting benefits, getting paid good, and we work hard.”
According to the National Employment Law Project, when they interviewed 500 federal workers last year in service industry jobs, they found that 70 percent made less than $10 per hour. Most federal contracts have yet to be affected by the earlier executive order, which for legal reasons can only apply to newly signed contracts.
