Library of Congress Cafeteria Workers Feud With New Vendor
Source: By Emily Yehle, Roll Call (subscription req.), January 14, 2008
A new cafeteria vendor has sparked a dispute over wages and job security at the Library of Congress, with the cafeteria workers' union claiming that the company wants to decrease pay and fire employees. I.L. Creations took over the Library's cafeteria services only two weeks ago, stepping in after negotiations fell through between the Library and a long-standing food vendor.
Company President Steve Choi says he has no intention to change any pay or benefits employees enjoyed under the previous vendor, Sodexho. But he also has not signed an agreement to keep those wages and benefits, nor has he sat down with the union to hammer out new terms. Now, he stands accused of "union busting" by the cafeteria workers' union
....... At the Library, the union has some support. The LOC Professional Guild, a separate union for Library employees, criticized the Library for its choice in a vendor. "We are dismayed that the Library would continue with a business that would refuse to sign an agreement with a union," said Saul Schniderman, the guild's president. "When a government agency like the Library of Congress acts like this, it sends a message."