Staffers on Capitol Hill launch unionization effort

Congressional staffers launched a unionization push on Friday under the name the Congressional Workers Union, Politico reports, an organization effort arriving "amid a growing reckoning with poor pay and hostile working conditions" on Capitol Hill, as well as "a fresh groundswell of lawmaker support."
"While not all offices and committees face the same working conditions, we strongly believe that to better serve our constituents will require meaningful changes to improve retention, equity, diversity, and inclusion on Capitol Hill," the group wrote in a statement released online. "We call on all congressional staff to join in the effort to unionize, and look forward to meeting management at the table."
There is currently not a process in place for staffers to "codify a union or exercise collective bargaining rights," though they can organize, Politico notes.
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 poor conditions under which congressional staffers work have been thrust into the spotlight as of late, with staffer accounts detailing "horrific pay, long hours and discrimination accusations" swirling around social media, Politico writes.
The official unionization announcement also arrived conveniently after a spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday tweeted that unionizing staff would have the speaker's "full support," per Politico. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also noted he would "support that effort."
According the the Congressional Accountability Act, both chambers of Congress must first pass a resolution allowing for unionization for the process to begin, per Insider. After that, every office and committee would have to "independently organize for itself," though the overarching CWU can assist in that process.
Multiple Democratic House lawmakers aside from Pelosi have already shared their support for organizing congressional staffers, Insider notes.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Exploring Georgia's southern highlands
The Week Recommends Visit Javakheti, Georgia's 'lake district', and meet the last-remaining 'spirit wrestlers' in the region
-
Delivery drivers face continuing heat danger with Trump's OSHA pick
The Explainer David Keeling is the former head of UPS and also worked at Amazon
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?
Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible