The Congressional Workers Union (CWU) is an American labor union that represents Congressional staffers in both individual U.S. Representatives' and Senators' offices as well as committee staff.
Background
A 2020 study found that one in eight staffers were not making a living wage; others said they were relying on food stamps or working second jobs.[1][2] A 2022 survey conducted by the Congressional Progressive Staff Association had 86% of non-management staff and 80% of management staff say they felt there was a "toxic work environment in Congress" and 91% of respondents said they wanted "more protections to give [them] a voice at work”.[3]
Other issues with working conditions, including bullying and racism, were publicized by an anonymous Instagram account named Dear White Staffers.[1]
The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 was supposed to extend labor rights to Congressional staff, but Congress never authorized the regulations that would have implemented legal protections for organizing.[1][4]
Formation
In the weeks following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, multiple staffers had a call to discuss formally creating a union, with one person participating from a bathroom stall in the Rayburn House Office Building.[5]
In February 2022, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she supported Congressional staff having the right to organize,[6] which led to CWU organizers going public with their efforts.[5] The CWU began discussing with Representative Andy Levin to introduced a resolution protecting House staffers' right to organize by implementing the regulations from the Congressional Accountability Act, which he did a week later.[5][7]
The House Administration Committee held a hearing on the resolution in March,[4] the full House passed it 217–202 in May.[8] It went into effect on July 18, 2022;[9] the CWU announced eight House offices had filed petitions for a union the same day.[10]
U.S. House
The following offices voted to form a union:
- Cori Bush (Missouri)[11]
- Sean Casten (Illinois)[12]
- Chuy García (Illinois)[11]
- Val Hoyle (Oregon)[13]
- Ro Khanna (California)[11]
- Andy Levin (Michigan)[11]
- Ted Lieu (California)[11]
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York)[12]
- Mark Pocan (Wisconsin)[12]
- Ilhan Omar (Minnesota)[14]
- Melanie Stansbury (New Mexico)[14]
- Mark Takano (California)[12]
- Dina Titus (Nevada)[12]
The staff on the Committee on Education and the Workforce also filed a petition to unionize.[12] Levin's staff was the first to organize and negotiate a contract in October 2022, but it was only in effect for two months since he lost his re-election bid.[15]
U.S. Senate
The resolution passed in the House does not protect Senate staffers from retaliation for organizing, so the CWU sent a letter to Senate leaders in February 2023, asking them to pass the same regulations from the Congressional Accountability Act.[16] Senator Sherrod Brown introduced such a resolution in June.[17]
In March 2023, Senator Ed Markey voluntarily recognized a union formed by his staff.[18]
