As Democratic lawmakers rallied behind congressional staffers’ unionization effort on Tuesday, conservative Democrat Joe Manchin (West Virginia) expressed skepticism about the workers’ recently announced union drive.
Manchin claimed that he has “always been a big supporter of unions” — as many union-busting companies also claim – but added that congressional workers are paid by taxpayers. “When you’re working for tax dollars and you’re [at] will and pleasure, I’m here at the will and pleasure of the people. They have a chance to change and things of that sort, so we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it and doing it right,” he told Politico.
As reporters and pro-labor figures were quick to point out, there are already several congressional unions in place, as agencies like the Government Accountability Office, the Library of Congress and the Capitol Police have already unionized.
Manchin’s statement came after the Congressional Workers Union formally announced their union drive on Friday. Democratic staffers say they have been quietly organizing for over a year, and at least 78 members of Congress have publicly announced their support for the union effort, according to a count by Demand Progress.
Manchin’s argument that publicly-funded workers shouldn’t reap the benefits of unionization and collective bargaining is bizarre. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public sector workers are consistently unionized at a higher rate than private sector workers; last year, about 39 percent of public sector workers were in a union, five times the unionization rate in the private sector.
If Manchin supposedly supports unions, but doesn’t support public sector unions because the workers are funded by the government, then it would appear – based on his own statements – that he doesn’t actually support a large swath of unions in the country.
Often, workers unionize not only to secure better wages and benefits, but also to combat poor working conditions. Indeed, many congressional staffers report not being paid sufficiently to live in Washington, D.C., which leads to high turnover rates. Further, staff are often viewed as dispensable, they have little say over their working conditions.
“There is a political culture that treats staff on Capitol Hill as being expendable,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-New Mexico) told Bloomberg Law. “I certainly have heard senior staff and other congressional members in my time on the Hill allude to the fact that staff are a dime a dozen.”
For the past few months, an anonymous Instagram page called Dear White Staffers has been documenting abuses and microaggressions that staffers have experienced in the workplace, including having to run errands after hours or having things thrown at them by lawmakers.
“While not all offices and committees face the same working conditions, we strongly believe that to better serve our constituents will require meaningful changes to improve retention, equity, diversity, and inclusion on Capitol Hill,” the union said in a statement announcing their union drive.
Republicans in the Senate have already come out against the unionization efforts, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) announced his opposition to the drive on Tuesday. While Republican support for the effort won’t be necessary in the House, Republicans would likely need to be on board for a resolution giving staffers the green light to organize in the Senate.
House Democrats may soon have a chance to allow their staff to unionize, a process that would have to take place office-by-office, according to Insider. This week, Rep. Andy Levin (D-Michigan) is planning to introduce legislation that would allow staffers to unionize. Although it’s unclear if the legislation has the votes to pass, prominent Democrats like House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) have said that they will support the measure.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $104,000 in one-time donations and to add 1340 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy