Pelosi hails 'historic' passage of bill allowing congressional workers to unionize


The House of Representatives voted 217–202 on Tuesday night to pass a resolution empowering congressional workers to form a union.
Because the resolution applies only to the operations of the House, it does not need to be approved by the Senate or signed by the president.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the vote "historic" and said that by "empowering staffers to advocate for themselves and each other, we take an important step to ensure the House is best able to serve the American people." Last week, Pelosi set a minimum salary of $45,000 for House employees.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Congressional Workers Union, which went public in February after "more than a year of organizing," also celebrated the vote. "Tonight is a reminder of the power of collective action and what the freedom to form a union truly means — democracy is not just in our elections, but in our workplaces too," the group said in a statement.
In February, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden supported the unionization effort.
According to Vice News, there are no Republican staffers on the union's organizing committee, "but the group has had 'outreach' from Republican staffers."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations