Low-wage workers followed members of Congress to the World War II Memorial on Wednesday to protest a federal government shutdown that had entered its second day.
The two-dozen protesters, organized by a labor group called Good Jobs Nation, work in federal buildings affected by the shutdown. The group has organized several small strikes and protests to draw attention to the estimated 2 million workers directly or indirectly employed by the federal government for low wages.
On Wednesday, they protested no wages. Luis Chiliquinga, 63, works at a McDonald's restaurant inside the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Wright Place Food Court -- but only when the government's open.
"They don't think about the situation of the workers," said Chiliquinga, still wearing his McDonald's polo shirt. "They only think of their political interest but they don't think of the effects these actions cause to the workers."
Read more: Underwriting Bad Jobs: How Our Tax Dollars Are Funding Low-Wage Work and Fueling Inequality
