Staffers in 8 House offices take first steps to unionize
By Sarah Fortinsky, CNN
Staffers in eight House members’ offices filed petitions for union representation at the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights on Monday, organizers announced in a statement Monday, two months after the House adopted a resolution protecting congressional staffers’ right to bargain collectively.
According to the Congressional Workers Union website, the House members whose staff filed petitions are Democratic Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri, Chuy Garcia of Illinois, Ro Khanna of California, Andy Levin of Michigan, Ted Lieu of California, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico.
“July 18 will go down as a historic day for congressional staff and our democracy-marking the day our protected rights to organize and bargain collectively go into full effect,” the Congressional Workers Union wrote in a statement published in a series of tweets.
“After several months of organizing to establish these protections for House staff, we join 85 congressional workers in taking the next step in our organizing drive by filing for a union election in 8 offices in the U.S. House of Representatives,” the statement continued.
Levin, who sponsored the House resolution, said in a statement he’s “so proud of the staffers who made a historic move today in seeking union recognition in 8 offices with over 70 workers in the House, and I am incredibly humbled and honored to have played a modest role in helping realize the hard work of congressional staff who fought to make this.”
“As a former union organizer and someone who spent decades in the labor movement, I know how important it is to keep the spotlight focused on the people today is truly about: the workers,” he continued. “It is the workers who ensure that this institution — the bedrock of our fragile and precious democracy — operates efficiently and serves the American people here in the Capitol and in every corner of our nation.”
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