Democrats led by AOC and Bernie Sanders are boycotting popular D.C. restaurants, potentially hurting the very workers they claim to champion as the socialist movement’s strongest voices clash with business owners who maintain most of their employees don’t want union representation.
Key Takeaways
- Over 50 Democratic lawmakers including AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Nancy Pelosi are boycotting six upscale D.C. restaurants to force unionization despite restaurant claims that most workers don’t want union representation.
- The targeted restaurants include popular establishments Le Diplomate, Osteria Mozza, and Rasika, owned by STARR Restaurants and Knightsbridge Restaurant Group.
- Restaurant owners warn the boycott will directly harm employees by reducing their hours, wages, and tips—the exact opposite of what Democrats claim to be fighting for.
- This boycott appears to be part of Democrats’ desperate attempt to rebrand themselves as champions of the working class after losing significant support to President Trump in the 2024 election.
Democrats Target Successful Businesses in D.C.
The socialist wing of the Democratic Party is flexing its muscle in Washington D.C., with more than 50 Democratic senators and representatives pledging to boycott six popular restaurants in the nation’s capital. The boycott, spearheaded by far-left representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, targets establishments owned by STARR Restaurants and Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, including the iconic Le Diplomate, Osteria Mozza, Rasika, Modena, Bombay Club, and The Occidental. This coordinated action is being organized by Unite Here Local 25, a labor union representing hospitality workers in the D.C. area.
The boycott calls for the public to avoid these restaurants entirely. “Workers are calling for D.C. customers to boycott these restaurants, asking the public not to eat, meet or drink at these locations,” the pledge stated. AOL
Restaurant Owners Push Back Against “Baseless” Boycott
The restaurant groups have strongly pushed back against what they describe as a baseless boycott that will harm the very workers Democrats claim to support. STARR Restaurants, which owns Le Diplomate, Osteria Mozza, and The Occidental, directly contradicted the union’s claims, stating that most of their employees have no interest in unionizing. The boycott threatens to reduce hours, wages, and tips for employees who depend on consistent business, creating a painful irony in the Democrats’ supposed pro-worker stance.
“To the best of our knowledge, a majority of Le Diplomate employees have no interest in engaging in that process nor in being represented by a union. A boycott of any kind can result in lost hours, wages, and tips that our hardworking employees rely upon. It is unfortunate that an organization that claims to want to represent the employees of Le Diplomate would call for an action that would harm them,” stated a STARR representative Fox News
The owner of Knightsbridge Restaurant Group expressed skepticism about the lawmakers’ understanding of what they were supporting, asking: “How many of these congress members even know themselves that they’re signing?” This raises questions about whether Democrats are truly concerned about workers’ rights or simply following partisan marching orders without examining the facts.
Democrats’ Desperate Attempt to Win Back Working-Class Voters
This boycott appears to be part of a larger strategy by Democrats to rebuild their image with working-class Americans who overwhelmingly supported President Trump in the 2024 election. The Democratic Party has been forced to reckon with its disconnect from blue-collar workers after years of pushing elite progressive policies that failed to resonate with everyday Americans. Democrats seem to be admitting they’ve lost touch with regular Americans, but instead of changing their policies, they’re trying to rebrand.
“The policies that we support and the message that we have is not wrong,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told The New York Times at the time. “It is a messaging problem and a brand problem,” AOL
This statement perfectly captures the Democratic Party’s fundamental misunderstanding of why they’ve lost working-class support. Rather than acknowledging that their policies have failed American workers, they believe they simply need better messaging to sell the same failed ideas. The boycott of successful restaurants that provide jobs and economic opportunity in Washington D.C. demonstrates how out of touch these lawmakers remain, as their actions may directly harm the workers’ livelihoods while they claim to be fighting for workers’ rights.
