--- description: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders joined striking Capitol workers ahead of Pope Francis' visit in their call for a higher minimum wage. title: Bernie Sanders Joins Striking Capitol Workers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50be215c9501fccb/698864ca0a4a2209699c6308/gettyimages-489540288.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bernie Sanders](/tag/bernie-sanders/) ## Bernie Sanders Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Bernie Sanders Joins Striking Government Workers Ahead of Pope's Visit by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 22, 2015 6:33 PM CUT  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at an event held by striking U.S. Capitol workers on Capitol Hill September 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Capitol workers held a religious procession to urge a minimum wage of $15 and to welcome Pope Francis before the Pope meets with and addresses members of Congress on Thursday. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at an event held by striking U.S. Capitol workers on Capitol Hill September 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Capitol workers held a religious procession to urge a minimum wage of $15 and to welcome Pope Francis before the Pope meets with and addresses members of Congress on Thursday.Win McNamee—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 22, 2015 6:33 PM CUT Preaching from the pulpit of a Lutheran church two blocks from the U.S. Capitol building, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was in his element. It was Tuesday morning on the day of Pope Francis’ arrival in Washington, D.C., and over a thousand low-wage government workers had crowded in and around the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on East Capitol Street to protest for a $15 minimum wage. A homemade white altar dedicated was adorned with flowers and portraits of the pope. Someone jangled a tambourine while a small chorus sang “We Shall Overcome” and held stenciled signs with sayings like “Senators, Inequality is the Root of All Evil.” Wearing a suit, Sanders cleared his throat and began agitating. “Today, as we welcome Pope Francis to the United States and the U.S. Capitol, I hope that every member of Congress and the President will heed his call for social and economic justice,” Sanders said, his voice growing hoarse. “There is no justice in America when the largest low-wage employer is not McDonalds, not Burger King, not Walmart—it is the United States government!” An on-and-off-again grassroots activist who first worked for a meatpacking union in his early 20s at the University of Chicago, Sanders could hardly miss the chance to strike with low-wage workers steps from his Senate office. Standing next to a red and blue portrait of Pope Francis with the letters “HOPE” in the style of the Obama 2008 campaign posters, Sanders called on the president to sign an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay all of their workers $15 an hour and allow them to unionize. **Read More:** [_The Possible Presidential Candidate Who Agrees the Most With Pope Francis_](http://time.com/3661552/bernie-sanders-pope-francis/ "undefined") For Sanders, the event was an exercise in movement building, part of the “political revolution” that he likes to say is as important as winning the presidential campaign. In his vision, the White House is important as a bully pulpit that can force Congress’ hand—a message he repeated in the church as he has in Iowa and New Hampshire, where he currently leads in the polls against Hillary Clinton. “Brothers and sisters, thank you all for being here,” Sanders continued. “All of you know that throughout the history of this country nothing significant has haver been accomplished without struggle, without people standing up for dignity and saying Enough is Enough. We want justice, we want fair pay and we want a union!” The white-haired Sanders is a well-known figure among some of the Capitol Hill workers in the audience on Tuesday, particularly those who work in the Dirksen Cafeteria, where he has his office. Sanders regularly makes the rounds with the cafeteria workers, talking inequality and unions and fair pay, and sometimes pausing for selfies in Dirksen’s halls. Most of them are more accustomed to serving senators coffee and cleaning up their hallways than protesting with them. “He’s an awesome dude,” said Anthony Thomas, a cafeteria worker who recalled chatting with Sanders one-on-one outside during a work break. “This is the third time he’s taken his time out of his busy schedule to come support our strike.” **Read More:** [_Bernie Sanders Brushes Off Clinton Super PAC Attacks_](http://time.com/4037944/bernie-sanders-correct-record-david-brock/ "undefined") When Sanders took the pulpit, some in the mostly African-American audience cheered, “Bernie!” “Enough is enough!” the crowd said in unison with Sanders. He has drawn hundreds of thousands of small-dollar individual donors who are clamoring to be part of his movement. Jaime Molina, a union organizer wearing a black Bernie t-shirt, said he donates $40 a month to Sanders’ campaign. “Bernie Sanders is the champion of working class people,” Molina said. “He’s standing up to the rich.” “In my view, when we talk about morality and we talk about justice we must understand there is no justice when so few have so much and so many have so little,” Sanders intoned. After his short speech, Sanders rushed back off to official business with barely a glance at the crowd. Shortly afterward, the congregation of workers followed to the U.S. Capitol building, chanting and holding signs. “Brothers and sisters, we as people of faith, welcome Francis and his message of economic justice for the working poor,” the Presbyterian reverend, J. Herbert Nelson told the crowd. The Pope is someone Sanders can get behind, too: “The message to the Pope is: Keep doing what you’re doing,” he told TIME in an [interview](http://time.com/4037944/bernie-sanders-correct-record-david-brock/ "undefined") last week. ### See Bernie Sanders' Career in Photographs  Bernie Sanders (R), member of the steering committee, stands next to George Beadle, University of Chicago president, who is speaking at a Committee On Racial Equality meeting on housing sit-ins. 1962. Special Collections Research Center/University of Chicago Library  A photo taken on July 22, 2015 of Bernie Sanders and his son is seen in an old clip from an alternative newspaper called the Vermont Freeman in Burlington, VT. The Washington Post/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders in his office after winning his first election as the mayor of Burlington, Vt. on Sept. 15, 1981. Donna Light—AP  Bernie Sanders, right, greeted voters at a Burlington polling place on March 1, 1983 in Burlington, Vt. Donna Light—AP  Bernie Sanders and his campaign celebrating after his mayoral re-election circa 1983 in Burlington, Vt. Courtesy of Bernie Sanders Campaign  Bernie Sanders recording his singing in a studio Nov. 20, 1987 in Burlington, Vt. Toby Talbot—AP  Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O'Meara in Washington circa 1991. Courtesy of Bernie Sanders Campaign  Bernie Sanders, James Jeffords and Patrick Leahy toast to the passing of the Northeast Dairy Compact on June 14, 2006 in Montpelier, Vt. Toby Talbot—AP  Bernie Sanders officially announces his candidacy for U.S. Senate on May 19, 2006, at the Unitarian Church in Burlington, Vt. Alden Pelett—AP  Bernie Sanders and the other members of the Vermont Congressional delegation at the annual lighting of U.S. Capitol Christmas on Dec. 5, 2007 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks during a rally in support of Social Security with Sen. Tom Harkin and Bernie Sanders on March 28, 2011 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  Rep. Steve Cohen and Bernie Sanders attend a rally near the reflection pool, held by 350.org to protest the amount of money members of Congress receive from the fossil fuel industry on Jan. 24, 2012. Tom Williams—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders at the signing ceremony of Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act on Aug. 7, 2014 in Belvoir, Va. Alex Wong—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders waits to speak at a rally to advocate for an increase in pay to $15 USD per hour, as part of a "Fight for $15" labor effort on April 22, 2015 in Washington. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders shakes Colleen Green's hand as he leaves a town hall meeting on May 11, 2015\. in Charlottesville, Va. Jay Paul— Reuters  Bernie Sanders kisses his wife, Jane O'Meara, before officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park May 26, 2015 in Burlington, Vt. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders delivers remarks at a town meeting at the South Church May 27, 2015 in Portsmouth, N.H. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Bernie Sanders speaks during a news conference to discuss legislation to restore pension guarantees for thousands of retired union workers on June 18, 2015 in Washington. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders kisses his wife Jane O'Meara during a campaign event on Aug. 10, 2015 in Los Angeles. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders speaks to a primarily Latino audience during a campaign stop at the Muscatine Boxing Club on Sept. 4, 2015 in Muscatine, Iowa. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Bernie Sanders and Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, listen to a prayer during a Liberty University Convocation on Sept. 14, 2015 in Lynchburg, Va. Bloomberg/Getty Images  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, right, and his wife Jane O’Meara, wave to the crowd as he is announced onstage to speak to supporters during a campaign rally on Sept. 14, 2015 in Manassas, Va. Cliff Owen—AP  Bernie Sanders joins Cornell William Brooks in a march with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on Sept. 15, 2015 from Selma, Ala. to Washington. 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