At a rally today, workers at Pastis, St. Anselm, and Le Diplomate — three of the biggest D.C. restaurants from East Coast hospitality magnate Stephen Starr — shared allegations of “unjust working conditions” per Unite Here Local 25.

The hospitality workers’ union previously filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board over alleged labor law violations in two Starr restaurants. In addition, workers have filed statements with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over allegedly hostile work environments in Starr restaurants on the basis of race, sex, and disability; as well as failures to accommodate pregnant women in the workplace.

Workers also said the restaurant group failed to notify Spanish-speaking pregnant employees of their rights under the District’s Paid Family Leave Law in a filing at D.C.’s Office of Human Rights. “When I told management that I needed time off to have my baby … management did not explain to me the rights I had in this city as a new mother,” St. Anselm pastry cook Maria Delgado said in a statement. “I learned all this thanks to one of my colleagues who explained my rights to me.”

The hospitality workers’ union and seven Starr employees addressed a crowd outside Union Market (1309 Fifth Street NE). The food hall sits blocks from Starr’s year-old French bistro Pastis and six-year-old steakhouse St. Anselm (the original NY locations of each are not involved in any unionization efforts). Le Diplomate is Starr’s perennially packed brasserie over on 14th Street since 2013.

Benjy Cannon/Local 25

Workers at each restaurant announced plans to unionize in mid-January and signed union authorization cards, says Local 25 — but it did not disclose how many. Collectively, the three restaurants employ around 400 people.

Workers at St. Anselm have an NLRB union election date set for February 21, and employees at Pastis will vote on February 28. If a majority of workers vote “yes,” that would mean an influx of members could join the 75-year-old union, which currently represents 500 restaurant workers around the DMV. Local 25 says its members are primarily immigrants and women of color.

The union alleges that Starr refused to acknowledge workers’ right to unionize. In response to the allegations, Starr sent the following statement to Eater:

The management at Pastis, St. Anselm, and Pastis are committed to fostering a respectful, fair workplace environment where staff feel welcome, safe, and heard.

As such, we also support an individual’s right to vote about the future of their work environment, including supporting the National Labor Relations Board’s conducting of a secret ballot election where every employee is able to vote without the influence of any party.

Our day-to-day staff – the people in the kitchens, on the floor, and behind the bar – are the lifeblood of our restaurants. And so we take pride in the benefits, professional workplace, and growth opportunities we offer our workers, and we believe that’s why we have a stellar reputation in the industry, with many of our employees staying with us for years.

A longtime front-of-house employee at St. Anselm, who spoke to Eater on condition of anonymity, is anti-union for various reasons.

“I’ve worked in toxic places before, and this is not one of those places,” says the 20-year D.C. restaurant vet. “I have never had any issues advocating [here] on my own behalf. It affects all of us — everyone has to join the union or leave.”

The employee is also wary of the way Local 25 went about its fast unionization efforts, which started in late December.

“It was done so quickly and secretly and didn’t include every single employee” in the conversation, he says. “I think this is the union’s attempt to make a name for themselves and push over as many dominoes as they can while collecting member dues.”

Another big hospitality group in D.C. is currently unionizing with Local 25, too. Local 25 says a majority of Knightsbridge Restaurant Group employees at both Rasika Penn Quarter and downtown Italian sibling Modena signed union authorization cards last month.

Local 25 alleged Knightsbridge engaged in a “union-busting” campaign that included firing and bullying pro-union workers, as well as allegedly violating labor law practices; owner Ashok Bajaj has vehemently denied this. Employees have picketed multiple times outside of Rasika over the past few weeks.

Local 25 says 18 members of Congress have met directly with Starr and Knightsbridge workers on Capitol Hill, including Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) of the Congressional Black Caucus. D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton also got involved, writing a letter that touched on alleged union-busting tactics and urged parties to work together.