To: President Biden and Congress
Tell Congress to pay their staff a living wage!
We urge you to ensure all Senate staff are guaranteed a DC living wage by establishing a pay floor of at least $45,000 per year. When the House of Representatives established a pay floor for its staff in May 2022, that chamber made a clear commitment to strengthening its own capabilities and treating its staff with the dignity they deserve. The Senate must follow suit.
Why is this important?
The way Congress treats its own workers sets an example for the rest of the country. Last year, one in eight Congressional staffers didn’t make a DC living wage.
Beyond low wages, Congressional workers face other indignities. A group of Congressional workers recently wrote for the New Republic:
“We deal with abusive bosses, constant pressure, and brutal burnout from 60-, even 70-hour workweeks. We work in an environment where discrimination abounds and where we’re made to feel powerless when responding to sexual or psychological abuse by management. One year after a mob of domestic terrorists and white supremacists attacked our workplace, many of us do not feel safe at work.”
Congress must commit to the well-being and human dignity of its staff — including by ensuring all staff are paid a living wage. In May 2022, the House of Representatives set a new minimum wage of $45,000 for all staff. It’s time for the Senate to follow suit.
The Senate must fund, and mandate, a $45,000 minimum wage for all committee and personal office staff for the fiscal year beginning September 2022!
Working conditions for Congressional staff have deteriorated to an alarming degree since March 2020 between exposure to COVID-19, the January 6 insurrection, and ongoing threats of political violence. Many staff have reached their breaking points.
Staff are telling their horror stories and making their voices heard. In May 2022, House staff finally won the right to collectively bargain and a guaranteed living wage. But Congressional bosses are a tough opponent — especially Senate bosses. In the Senate, the same minoritarian rule that has blocked much of President Biden’s agenda is blocking Senate staff from securing livable work conditions.
The rest of us need to stand in solidarity with Senate staff against Senate bosses — aka, senators. The road to Senate unionization and fair working conditions may be long and winding — but the Senate appears amenable to ensuring a minimum wage for all staff this year. We need to keep the pressure on to make sure that happens.
Democrats on the Senate appropriations committee have included enough funding in their proposal for next year’s budget for every senator’s office to pay its staff a DC living wage. Now, the Senate must pass a spending bill that mandates all senators actually use that money to fairly compensate their staff.
The Senate must fund, and mandate, a $45,000 minimum wage for all committee and personal office staff for the fiscal year beginning September 2022!
Beyond low wages, Congressional workers face other indignities. A group of Congressional workers recently wrote for the New Republic:
“We deal with abusive bosses, constant pressure, and brutal burnout from 60-, even 70-hour workweeks. We work in an environment where discrimination abounds and where we’re made to feel powerless when responding to sexual or psychological abuse by management. One year after a mob of domestic terrorists and white supremacists attacked our workplace, many of us do not feel safe at work.”
Congress must commit to the well-being and human dignity of its staff — including by ensuring all staff are paid a living wage. In May 2022, the House of Representatives set a new minimum wage of $45,000 for all staff. It’s time for the Senate to follow suit.
The Senate must fund, and mandate, a $45,000 minimum wage for all committee and personal office staff for the fiscal year beginning September 2022!
Working conditions for Congressional staff have deteriorated to an alarming degree since March 2020 between exposure to COVID-19, the January 6 insurrection, and ongoing threats of political violence. Many staff have reached their breaking points.
Staff are telling their horror stories and making their voices heard. In May 2022, House staff finally won the right to collectively bargain and a guaranteed living wage. But Congressional bosses are a tough opponent — especially Senate bosses. In the Senate, the same minoritarian rule that has blocked much of President Biden’s agenda is blocking Senate staff from securing livable work conditions.
The rest of us need to stand in solidarity with Senate staff against Senate bosses — aka, senators. The road to Senate unionization and fair working conditions may be long and winding — but the Senate appears amenable to ensuring a minimum wage for all staff this year. We need to keep the pressure on to make sure that happens.
Democrats on the Senate appropriations committee have included enough funding in their proposal for next year’s budget for every senator’s office to pay its staff a DC living wage. Now, the Senate must pass a spending bill that mandates all senators actually use that money to fairly compensate their staff.
The Senate must fund, and mandate, a $45,000 minimum wage for all committee and personal office staff for the fiscal year beginning September 2022!