Boss Threatened Senate Food Service Workers, Union Says

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The Workers United Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board may file charges after a union vote by Senate food service workers failed earlier this week. Representatives of Restaurant Associates, the corporation overseeing Senate dining services, conducted “surveillance” that had a chilling effect on pro-union activities, Regional Joint Board Director Harold Bock told Roll Call. Bock and Joint Board secretary and treasurer Teresa Engleman also said the company warned employees that they could lose pay and benefits if they joined the union. “It is important that the workers’ rights be respected all the way up to the election, and we will take any allegations suggesting otherwise very seriously,” Senate Rules and Administration Chairman Charles Schumer (D-NY) spokesman Brian Fallon told Roll Call.