We feed Washington, D.C.
By
MORE THAN 200 people gathered at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., on February 28 for a rally calling for "Real Food, Real Jobs" to protest mistreatment of food service workers.
The demonstration, which was organized by UNITE HERE, gathered together food service workers, union representatives, students and community members. It began with speeches by organizers and attendees, including Metropolitan Washington AFL-CIO President Josh Williams.
Food workers who spoke said that the main goals of the rally were to demand livable wages, increased access to health care and better treatment on the job. Several speakers proudly said that working in the food industry is a respectable job, and emphasized this point with the chant "We feed D.C.! We are D.C.!"
After several speeches and rounds of chants, protesters marched to the Thurgood Marshall Center. There, a group of students gathered in front to cheer the success of the rally before filing into the gymnasium for chili, music and speeches.
After listening to several inspiring testimonials from food service workers, and a parking enforcement worker who declared "We are not invisible!" several young poets from the D.C. area performed powerful spoken word pieces. Organizers encouraged everyone in attendance to keep their eyes open for the next "Real Food, Real Jobs" rally.
