Andre Blount has been serving food to dignitaries at World Bank headquarters for nearly 10 years and says he has gotten exactly one raise — for 50 cents.This week, as leaders from around the world are in DC for the spring meeting of the poverty-fighting organisation, Blount and his coworkers are trying to bring attention to what they see as a galling situation: The workers who put food on the table for an organisation whose mission is to fight poverty are themselves struggling to get by.
Union leaders say a quarter of the World Bank food workers employed as a contract labourers through Compass Group North America receive public benefits, like SNAP, or food stamps, just to make ends meet.
“It’s sickening,” Blount, 33, said as he joined red-shirted union members this week on a picket line outside the development bank on a hot afternoon.
“They go around the world looking for how to help people, but you have hundreds of employees in DC who are struggling.”
Inside, meanwhile, suited-up professionals were striding through a lobby where “End Poverty” T-shirts and tote bags are for sale.The building’s expansive cafeteria overlooks an indoor pond and caters to even the most particular palates. There’s a soup station called “Ladle and Crust,” a “Mediterranean Table” station serving hummus and tabouli, and a sushi chef offering made-to-order rolls and sashimi.
A nearby fine dining room for diplomats and special guests of the bank was hosting lunch for delegations from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Many of the food service workers, it turns out, come from countries to which the development bank sends missions.Blount, after a decade on the job, says he’s paid USD 18 an hour, above DCs minimum wage of USD 16.10.He says feeding some of the world’s most important people in a variety of service and catering roles should pay more than the legal minimum.Blount, a member of the Unite Here Local 23 chapter, is one of roughly 150 Compass workers employed at the World Bank. They are in the midst of contract negotiations, seeking higher wages and better health care benefits. World Bank spokesperson David Theis said that while the bank is not a party to talks between the union and Compass Group, the bank’s staff has “deep admiration and respect” for their food service colleagues. He said the bank ensured the workers were paid throughout the pandemic.
