Bernie Sanders defends staffers' pay in light of complaints
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has gone on the defensive against his own team.
The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate pushed back following complaints by his unionized campaign staffers who reportedly said they are receiving "poverty wages," rather than the proposed federal minimum of $15 an hour that Sanders has made a central part of his campaign.
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.
Field staff do earn above minimum wage for a standard workweek of 40 hours, Vox explains, but those workers say they actually work around 60 hours per week, which would place their earnings at around $13 an hour, less than Sanders' proposed federal minimum. Those long hours are typical of campaigns, Vox reports. But the issue is that some members of the team are salaried and therefore don't necessarily receive overtime wages for pulling those extra hours.
Sanders also expressed frustration that his staffers aired their complaints to the media. "It is not really what labor negotiations are about, and it's improper," Sanders said. Read more at Vox.
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
