Many of the 140-plus workers preparing and serving meals for the World Bank, a D.C.-based international institution whose mission includes fighting poverty, struggle to afford rent or food, according to their union, UNITE HERE Local 23.

The union surveyed 108 of the 142 cafeteria workers at the World Bank over the past year. Of those surveyed, 70% said they could not afford housing costs at some point in the past year, with 51% saying they had been late on a rent payment. Half said they could not afford food for themselves or their households. Some workers (25%) reported skipping meals and others (11%) staying in an abusive living situation because they didn’t have enough money.

The workers, who range from cooks to cashiers, are employed by Compass Group, one of the nation’s largest contractors of food services. A spokesperson in Compass’ corporate office declined to comment on the survey results. The spokesperson did say via email that Compass Group does not pay any employees below the minimum wage, which is $16.10 per hour in D.C.

But Andre Blount, a prep cook who’s the union steward for the World Bank workers, says he and many of his colleagues are not paid a living wage, which in D.C. is an estimated $22.15 per hour for a single childless adult. Blount earns $18 per hour, he says, after a decade with the Compass Group that included a pandemic furlough. He says he has longtime colleagues who earn just over minimum wage, around $16.75 per hour.

“I would love a raise because it would make it easier for me. I could save money and pay my rent on time,” Blount tells DCist/WAMU.

The union contract for the World Bank cafeteria employees with the Compass Group expired at the end of January. Local 23 and the company are in the middle of contract negotiations, with the union hoping to secure a minimum wage of $20 per hour, says its president Marlene Patrick-Cooper. That would increase the pay floors for most job classifications, including food runners, baristas, and lower-level cooks, from what was in the previous contract. Local 23 did recently secure the $20 minimum wage in a new contract for Senate cafeteria workers — who are employed by a subsidiary of the Compass Group, Restaurant Associates.

“It’s the cost of living. Period,” Patrick-Cooper tells DCist/WAMU. “We feel that every worker should be getting a minimum of $20 and that to us is literally a drop in the bucket compared to the billions of dollars that this company profited last year.”

The union’s larger goal is to secure a $20 minimum wage and affordable health insurance for the 1,000 Compass Group employees they represent across various D.C.-based institutions, from the World Bank to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and whose contracts also recently expired.

Negotiations between Local 23 and Compass on several contracts — including those that cover workers at several of the region’s largest universities, several Smithsonian museums, the Kennedy Center and the National Institutes of Health, among others — have spanned two months. Hoping to put pressure on the employer, Local 23 is holding a picket for increased wages and free health insurance outside the World Bank Wednesday, during a largely attended annual meeting where shareholders meet at the Foggy Bottom headquarters.

The Compass Group spokesperson tells DCist/WAMU that they are continuing to “bargain in good faith” and eager to reach a new agreement that’s “fair to all.” The spokesperson also says it wants to increase employees’ wages “as soon as possible,” but declined to say if the company is open to the union’s proposed minimum.

A World Bank spokesperson says they are not a party to the contract discussions between Local 23 and Compass. The spokesperson added that they have “deep admiration and respect” for their food service colleagues and noted that the World Bank paid Restaurant Associates, the Compass Group subsidiary that runs its cafeteria, to cover their full salary and benefits for several months during the height of the pandemic.

But still, Patrick-Cooper says World Bank cafeteria workers are “barely surviving” amid the “rising cost of everything.” Their survey shows 33% of respondents have a second job, and 20% receive some form of public assistance, whether it’s Medicaid or food assistance.

Blount grows spinach, cucumbers and other vegetables so he doesn’t have to spend money on produce at the grocery store, he says. He does enjoy gardening, but he says it’s more of a cost-saving measure. He also can’t afford to improve his garden, like by purchasing a bigger greenhouse, because he’s too concerned with paying his bills, such as utilities and car insurance.

He works from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and takes home an average of $450 per week after taxes — not enough to add to his savings, he says. He’s hardly alone; 79% of the World Bank cafeteria workers surveyed have less than $1,000 in personal savings for an emergency, the survey found.

“Some people, their situation is worse than I’m going through. They are supporting families here in America and other countries,” he says. “They have a wife or three or four kids. Working here for 25 years and making 16 dollars. It’s just crazy and outrageous.”

In D.C., cafeteria cooks earn a median of $18.02 per hour, while cafeteria “attendants” and “bartender helpers” earn a median of $16.37, according to 2021 wage statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor.

With Local 23 in negotiations with several other employers, cafeteria workers from several other institutions are expected to join Wednesday’s picket outside the World Bank. 

One of them will be Sami Bourma, an NIH cafeteria cook who works a second job with Uber to make ends meet, he says. Bourma, who’s worked at the NIH since 2000, drives an extra three to four hours on top of his full time job because he’s trying to rebuild his savings after spending it all during the pandemic. He says he’s saving for his three kids’ future.

“When I’m thinking of the reality of life and how I’m living, it’s unfair,” Bourma told press last week at a roundtable hosted by Local 23. “We are trying to save paycheck to paycheck. But can’t. Because the job isn’t enough. … I don’t have enough money to show my kids around the city or take a vacation.”