Strikes averted at Federal agency cafeterias

Cafeteria workers at 15 federal government cafeterias throughout the D.C. area have voted to approve a new union contract with their employer I.L. Creations. The agreement ends a labor dispute that had led to a series of pickets outside I.L. Creations’ cafeterias at federal agencies and strikes planned for May. “I am proud that my job will allow me and my coworkers to take our families to the doctor and buy our children glasses,” said Rita Langley, who has worked for I.L. Creations at the State Department for 14 years.
​Click below to read more. photo: 3/31 Unite Here 23 picket; photo by George Farenthold

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The agreement will lower the cost of employee health insurance with free family dental and vision care provided. Employees will receive $1.40 in hourly raises over the course of the three-year contract. The new contract also includes historic civil rights language to protect employees who have unfair interactions with the criminal justice system. Unite Here Local 23, the union of cafeteria workers in the Washington, D.C. region, represents 1,200 government cafeteria workers at 37 government buildings. There are 14 collective bargaining agreements between Local 23 cafeteria workers and employers at government building cafeterias that expire in 2016 and 2017 that have not been renegotiated yet.