Boycott ERUPTS — Lawmakers Join the Fight

Democrats turn on popular D.C. restaurants as over 50 lawmakers—including AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Nancy Pelosi—sign a pledge to boycott six high-end establishments in a move that restaurant owners warn will directly harm the very workers the politicians claim to support.

Key Takeaways

• Over 50 Democratic lawmakers have pledged to boycott six upscale Washington D.C. restaurants, including Le Diplomate and Rasika, over alleged union-busting activities.
• Restaurant owners claim the boycott is “baseless” and will hurt employees through reduced hours, wages, and tips, contradicting the Democrats’ stated goal of supporting workers.
• Restaurant management maintains that the majority of their staff have “no interest” in unionizing, despite pressure from UNITE HERE Local 25.
• The boycott comes as Democrats struggle to reconnect with working-class voters who have increasingly supported President Trump and Republican candidates.
• Critics view the boycott as a political stunt rather than a genuine labor rights effort, exposing hypocrisy in Democratic messaging.

Democrats Target Popular D.C. Dining Spots

The boycott, organized by UNITE HERE Local 25 which represents over 7,500 hospitality workers in the D.C. area, has drawn support from prominent Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Their pledge specifically targets six high-end restaurants: Le Diplomate, Osteria Mozza, and The Occidental owned by STARR Restaurants, along with Rasika, Modena, and Bombay Club owned by Knightsbridge Restaurant Group. The boycott calls for the public to avoid “eating, meeting, or drinking” at these locations, potentially threatening the livelihood of employees who depend on customer traffic.

NEW: Over 50 Dems have signed a pledge to boycott a half dozen of DC’s hottest restaurants over labor disputes.

Restaurants include Le Dip, Rasika and Osteria Mozza.

AOC, Pelosi, Warren, Sanders signed. So did Slotkin and Jared Golden.

w/ @cuneytdil https://t.co/bnzZTB4VkJ

— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) June 5, 2025

“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” Claims

Restaurant management has strongly contested the allegations of union-busting, arguing that the boycott threatens the very employees Democrats claim to support. STARR Restaurants representatives have stated that the majority of their employees, particularly at Le Diplomate, have expressed no interest in unionizing. The restaurant group warned that the boycott could significantly harm workers by reducing their hours, wages, and tips – creating a direct contradiction to the Democrats’ stated goal of supporting working Americans. This response highlights the apparent disconnect between Democratic rhetoric and the potential real-world consequences of their actions.

“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

Meanwhile, the owner of Knightsbridge Restaurant Group questioned whether the lawmakers even understood what they were signing, saying, “How many of these congress members even know themselves that they’re signing?” This skepticism suggests that some politicians may be supporting the boycott without fully investigating the situation, instead following party leadership in what appears to be a politically motivated action rather than a thoroughly researched labor dispute intervention.

Democrats’ Desperate Bid to Reclaim Working-Class Support

The restaurant boycott emerges as part of a broader strategy by Democrats to regain support from working-class Americans who have increasingly shifted toward President Trump and GOP candidates. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin has acknowledged the party faces “a messaging problem and a brand problem” rather than a policy issue. This admission reveals the party’s recognition of its failure to connect with blue-collar voters who once formed the backbone of Democratic support but have abandoned the party due to its embrace of woke policies and neglect of kitchen-table economic issues.

“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

The Democratic House Majority PAC has reportedly invested $50 million to reach out to working-class voters who have shifted allegiance to Republican candidates, highlighting the party’s concern about this demographic shift. Rep. Greg Casar, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, attempted to justify the boycott as a concrete example of Democrat support for workers, saying, “We can have big policy debates, but we also have to show the American people some concrete examples.” This statement inadvertently reveals the performative nature of the boycott – a symbolic gesture rather than substantive policy that will help American workers struggling with inflation and economic hardship.

Hypocrisy Exposed: Hurting Workers to “Help” Workers

The irony of Democrats potentially harming restaurant employees’ livelihoods in the name of supporting workers’ rights has not been lost on critics. While Local 25 has organized informational picket lines outside these restaurants, the establishments maintain that most employees are satisfied with their current working conditions and compensation. The disconnect between Democratic messaging and actions exemplifies why working Americans have increasingly turned to President Trump and Republican candidates who focus on economic prosperity rather than symbolic gestures that may actually hurt the working class.

As inflation continues to burden American families due to years of reckless Democratic spending policies, this boycott represents another example of the left’s prioritization of political posturing over practical solutions that help everyday Americans. Restaurant employees now face the prospect of reduced income not because of management decisions, but because elected officials have decided to use their livelihoods as political pawns in a transparent attempt to rehabilitate the Democratic Party’s tarnished image with working-class voters who have already made their preference for President Trump’s economic policies clear at the ballot box.