Some of the most progressive members of Congress’s offices are among the first within the Capitol to unionise, as House legislation allowing organizing comes into effect.
The offices of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Cori Bush of Missouri, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois, Ro Khanna of California, Ted Lieu of California, Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico and Andy Levin of Michigan all voted to unionise.
Mr Levin, who sponsored the legislation, celebrated the news when speaking to Politico.
“I'm not going to steal the thunder of the workers because this is their story, not mine”, he said. “Whenever they do that, I'll be standing behind them cheering.”
The move to unionise congressional offices began in earnest after “Dear White Staffers”, an anonymous Instagram account, began posting stories from staffers about exploitative working conditions from Democrats and Republicans alike.
In May, the House of Representatives voted to allow staffers on Capitol Hill to unionise. The Congressional Workers Union said in a statement after the vote went in their facor that it’s a “reminder of the power of collective action and what the freedom to form a union truly means — democracy not just for our elections but in our workplaces too.”
Politico reported as many as eight offices planned to begin the process with management and the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to seek a union contract.
