WASHINGTON – More than 100 Pentagon contract workers carrying poster of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and singing “We Shall Overcome” picketed outside the building Wednesday to demand that companies doing business with the federal government raise the minimum wage.
The workers want increased wages and improved working conditions for their taxpayer-funded jobs. Legislation to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour over several years is stalled in Congress.
“When I started working here eight years ago I made nine dollars an hour and I still make nine an hour,” said Jerome Hardy, a contracted food server at the Courtyard Café in the Pentagon and a single father. “I work hard to serve American heroes, but I still end up with zero.”
Pentagon contract workers march together in protest of current wages.
This graph shows the steady increase in minimum wage over the past 39 years. However, minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009.
Inocencio Quinones leads a final chant concluding the job action rally, held outside the Pentagon Wednesday.
WASHINGTON- Federal contract workers, who serve food and clean the facilities at the Pentagon, gathered at the Pentagon Metro Entrance, Wednesday, demanding “a living wage.” (MNS)
Legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour is stalled in Congress. The workers are marching to gain the attention of President Obama. They want wages increased and working conditions improved for their taxpayer-funded jobs. (MNS)
The workers held up posters of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as they sang “We Shall Overcome” walking toward a news conference. (MNS)
This job action is part of the Good Jobs Nation campaign, and while this was the first time the Pentagon workers have walked off their jobs, this is seventh such action in seven months by contract workers at highly visible federal buildings. Other sites include Smithsonian Museums, the Old Post Office, and the Ronald Reagan Building. (MNS)
With the State of the Union in less than a week, Pentagon workers call on President Obama to sign an executive order ensuring federal government contractors raise wages. (MNS)
A recent Demos report asserted that the U.S. Government is America’s leading low-wage job creator, funding more than 2 million low-wage jobs. (MNS)
“When I started working here eight years ago I made nine dollars an hour and I still make nine an hour,” said Jerome Hardy, a contracted food server at the Courtyard Café in the Pentagon and a single father. “I work hard to serve American heroes, but I still end up with zero.” (MNS)
