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Democrats have come out in support of the push by some congressional staffers—who often work long hours for little pay—to unionize, but some lawmakers do not seem to be keen on the idea.
“The fundamental question is whether our workers will have the basic human right to form a union in the first place,” Rep. Andy Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, said, according to The New York Times.
Levin was joined by other leaders in his party—including President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington, said the onus is on elected officials to improve working conditions for staffers. She said there should not have to be a law in place “to do the right thing.”
Many staffers in Washington, D.C., are young and have either their own political ambitions or dreams of landing a K Street job to become a high-salaried lobbyist.
But the Trends Journal has reported on how there has been a clear change in the employer-employee working dynamic since the COVID-19 outbreak—even for young workers. (See ““ACTIVISION STUDIO GROUP WILL FORM A UNION, SOLIDFYING TRENDS JOURNAL FORECAST,” “POLITICO JOURNALISTS FORM UNION. A TREND OF THE TIMES,” “DEERE EMPLOYEES GO ON STRIKE: MORE STRIKES TO COME” (19 Oct 2021) and “REI: UNIONIZATION TREND EXPANDS AS FORECAST.”)
Levin’s resolution to formally recognize the staffers’ ability to form a union had 130 co-sponsors and reportedly cites the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 which was a hallmark law that allows legislative-branch workers to form a union.
The Hill reported that there are some questions about what a union would look like for these staffers since each office sets its own policies.
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told the news site that unionization among congressional staffers is “more complicated than the private sector because you’re dealing with 535 different offices.
“I think it’s nuts,” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told The Hill.
Daniel Schuman, a policy director at Demand Progress, told the news site that each elected official’s office could serve as a “bargaining unit.”
“It’s office by office,” he said. “They could form a local [with multiple offices] where they collaborate.”
The Hill reported that the move to unionize followed the creation of an anonymous Instagram account named Dear White Staffers, which tells stories of the challenges that come while working for various politicians.
Some entry-level staff earn $30,000 a year. The Congressional Workers Union announced its effort to unionize this month, but talks have been going on for a year.
Roll Call reported that if the House passes the measure, it would apply to staffers there, the same goes for the Senate.
“The feeling in this country has changed,” Levin, who was a former union organizer prior to being elected into Congress. “Workers are just standing up and saying we want to have more say and a more decent life. Why should our staff be left out of that?”
TREND FORECAST: When the COVID War began in 2020, there was never an expectation of the combination of an employee shortage, spiking inflation and worker strikes.
Indeed, just the opposite was expected. After being cooped up, locked down, and out of work, when there was a ceasefire in the COVID War, the workers were expected to rush back to their jobs.
As we have detailed, there are several reasons for the falloff: from “No Jab, No Job” employer mandates, not wanting to work at jobs that are unfulfilling and refusing to go to work for a company that pays non-living wages.
In the 1960s, a slogan (derived from a poem by Carl Sandburg and made popular by anti-war activists) asked, “What if they had a war and nobody came?” Now, in the 2020s, the question might be, “What if they had jobs available and nobody applied?”
TREND FORECAST: Unionization will continue to be a top trend; the more limited the supply of workers (made worse by “No Jab, No Job” mandates; (see “WANT TO KEEP YOUR JOB? GET THE JAB!” and “NO JAB, NO JOB. VACCINE MANDATES ‘WORKING’”), the more powerful the trend toward unionization will be.
And, as inflation continues to rise faster than wages, corporations that wish to incentivize their workforce to do and give the best they can, will raise the pay scale to levels higher than inflation rates. In doing so, they will create atmosphere’s of mutual appreciation.