| Nearly 150 food and beverage and concessions workers at National Airport won union recognition on Thursday. The workers started organizing with UNITE HERE Local 23 after workers in the first food and beverage company in DCA won union recognition last Fall. The leaders at DCA’s Paradies Shops, which operates stores in airports, hotels, and other locations throughout the US and Canada, “built a strong majority of their coworkers to demand respect at DCA,” reports Local 23’s Sarah Jacobson. The organizing effort coincided with recent mass mobilizations resisting immigration enforcement in airports. “The reason we joined together is for respect,” said Committee leader Aschalew Asabie (far left in group photo) at the February 1 #NoBanNoWall action at DCA. “I came to this country from Ethiopia. A majority of the people who work in this airport are immigrants. We did not expect this when we moved to this country. But we are awake now, and we are going to demand respect every day!” photos by Unite Here Local 23 | |