CAPITOL GIFT SHOP WORKERS VOTE UNION

(DC Labor)Workers at the U.S. Capitol Gift Shop overwhelmingly voted union yesterday, scoring an 11-0 sweep in the 17-member unit. “By electing AFSCME, Gift Shop workers stood together to demand our rights and a voice on the job,” said gift shop clerk Les Thomas. The Gift Shop clerks, inventory technicians and administrative employees will join AFSCME 658, formed last year when Capitol Visitor Center guides and Visitor Assistants organized. “This is one more feather in the cap of Local 658, which has already become a model local with impressive outreach and communications strategies,” said AFSCME Council 26 Executive Director Carl Goldman.