Nearly 700 DC food service workers are bargaining together for the first time for a master contract with the Compass Group. The workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 23, and 17 different locations are involved, including cafeterias at Smithsonian museums, Gallaudet University and NIH. In recent weeks the workers have delivered copies of hundreds of petitions signed by a majority of the Compass workers demanding a fair contract. Another bargaining session is scheduled for later this month, and "Compass workers will be in the streets on October 19th, our union's day of action across US and Canada, alongside DC's airport food service workers to keep pushing for the future we deserve," says Local 23 organizer Allison Burket. More photos here.