WASHINGTON -- Employees of the cafeteria serving House members picketed the Capitol, seeking a union contract and complaining of low pay, racial discrimination and poor working conditions.
The informational picketing, organized by the International Association of Machinists, attracted at least eight lawmakers Tuesday.
Capitol police limited the demonstration to 50 people.
The protestors, saying they represented the 200 House restaurant employees, shouted union slogans and displayed signs such as 'House Restaurant Employees Denied Human Rights' and 'If Unions Are Good for Poland, Why Not the House of Representatives?'
Among the members of Congress joining the protest were Rep. William Clay, D-Mo., chairman of the House subcommittee on labor-management relations.
'The employees have been subjected to a classic anti-union campaign,' Clay said. 'Union supporters have been threatened, intimidated, and even witnessed the arrest of a union organizer.'
Clay said most of the employees are black and are the lowest-paid in the House. Their supervisors are white, union officials said.
The Machinists union, which represents thousands of other government workers, has been attempting to win a union election and a contract on behalf of the House employees.
Congress, however, exempted itself from federal labor and civil rights laws. The cafeteria workers are among the few employees in America without the clear right to organize.
The House cafeteria workers have been seeking a union contract for years. They complain of low pay, racial discrimination, poor working conditions, firings and other disciplinary actions, and no grievance procedure.
Senate cafeteria workers unsuccessfully tried to organize a union several years ago, the Machinists said.
