The House of Representatives will officially allow congressional staffers to unionize, marking a historic milestone after years of workplace complaints on Capitol Hill.
Starting immediately, 30 percent of staffers within an office can file a petition with the executive director of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, who would settle any disputes between employees and management — a team that is likely to including the member, chief of staff and staff director. Once issues are resolved, a majority of employees would vote in a secret ballot to officially consider an office unionized.
The resolution was introduced by Levin in late February after the Instagram page became the talk of Capitol Hill. It quickly gained support from liberal Democrats and has 165 co-sponsors. Only 57 House Democrats did not sign onto the measure, most of them moderates who are facing tough reelection prospects in November.
Each member office receives a yearly budget, known in the House as a Member Representational Allowance , that goes toward staff pay, member travel to Washington, office supplies and other official business. While the House was able to increase funding for the MRA by 21 percent in last year’s government funding bill for the purposes of retaining staff, individual offices have the last say on how that extra money is allotted.
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