- Speaker Nancy Pelosi is raising the minimum pay for House staff to $45,000.
- The House will also vote next week on a bill to let its staffers unionize.
- The changes come after years of watchdog groups and Hill staff demanding better pay.
The House of Representatives will take a historic vote on a resolution that, if passed, would allow its staffers to unionize, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Friday, after months of advocacy from Hill employees seeking to improve their working conditions.
"When the House passes this resolution, we will pave the way for staffers to join in union, if they so choose," Pelosi wrote in a letter to her caucus. "Congressional staffers deserve the same fundamental rights and protections as workers all across the country, including the right to bargain collectively. "
Pelosi also said that she would raise the minimum salary for House of Representatives staffers to $45,000 a year, and the ceiling would extend to $203,700 — which is more than rank-and-file lawmakers earn.
"The House of Representatives is strengthened by the many contributions of brilliant, dedicated and hard-working staff, who every day enable us best serve the American people," Pelosi said.
The upcoming vote is the culmination of over a year of advocacy, primarily from Democratic staffers, and years of encouragement from government and watchdog groups that seek to reform Congress.
"Today is a proud moment in congressional history and portends a significant advance in the working conditions for congressional staff," said Daniel Schuman, policy director of Demand Progress, a group that has pushed for congressional workplace reforms.
In February, the quietly-formed Congressional Workers Union burst into the public eye with demands that the House allow its staff to unionize. They enlisted the help of Rep. Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat, who introduced the necessary resolution in the House.
Congress had passed legislation a quarter century ago that allowed its staff to form unions, but required a resolution to activate the process that had not been introduced until this year.
If passed, the legislation could pave the way for the army of thousands of workers who support members of Congress to form unions within their own offices and committees, an uncharted process that could hand employees dramatically more power over their working conditions. But because each office and committee would have to unionize and bargain individually, it could create a patchwork system where only some offices complete the process.
Even if passed, the resolution would not impact significant portions of Congress. Republicans, who are politically more skeptical or hostile to unions, are unlikely to see their staffs unionize. So far, there is no word on whether the Senate will go through its own process to allow its staff to form unions.