Smithsonian Food Workers Stage Strike to Protest Pay

Food-service employees at two Smithsonian museums held a one-day strike Thursday as part of a growing effort to promote better pay for low-wage workers in federal buildings, The Washington Post and NBC Washington report.

Workers at the National Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum walked off their jobs and joined a demonstration organized by labor advocacy group Good Jobs Nation. The protesters marched to the Smithsonian Castle, calling on the government-supported museum network to ensure they are paid a “living wage.”

The strikers are not Smithsonian employees but work for contractors McDonald’s and Restaurant Associates, which operate museum eateries on the National Mall. Good Jobs Nation has staged a string of similar rallies calling attention to pay for service jobs at federal institutions.