In a groundbreaking decision for a presidential campaign, Sanders campaign staff unionizes

(Image credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

last updated 16 March 2019

The presidential campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced on Friday that its staffers will become the first ever major U.S. presidential campaign unit to have a unionized workforce.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 will represent the staffers. Anyone below the rank of deputy directory will be able to join the bargaining unit. Contract negotiations will begin soon and the bargaining unit could ultimately reach 1,000 members.

Sanders, who is well-known as a pro-union candidate, tweeted that he was "proud" of his staff’s unionization.

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CNN reported that the move will put pressure on other Democratic to follow Sanders' lead and "at least remain neutral" if staffers organize. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro has already pledged to support his staff if they take such a route and will also pay all campaign workers at least $15 per hour.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.