Posts tagged Rep. Andy Levin
What’s next for staffer unions on the Hill?
November 1, 2022 // Staff for another five members — all Democrats — have filed petitions with the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to hold elections. Since the initial eight offices filed petitions when they were first allowed to in July, only two more have done so — staff for Reps. Dina Titus of Nevada and Sean Casten of Illinois. If all form unions, around 100 House staffers out of 9,100 will be represented by the Congressional Workers Union.
Rep. Omar Statement on Unanimous Staff Unionization Vote
October 3, 2022 // Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) released the following statement after workers in her office unanimously voted to form a union. Rep. Omar's office became one of the first to unionize, along with workers in the offices of Rep. Andy Levin and Rep. Ro Khanna. “As a former union member myself and someone who represents a union district in Minnesota, I am deeply proud of my staff for making their collective voices heard and voting to unionize," Rep. Omar said. “Unions are the bedrock of the middle class. The labor movement helped get us the 40 hour work week, the weekend, and child labor laws. Every single worker deserves a union to represent them and fight for their wages, benefits, and basic workplace protections. It is long past time the United States Congress became a unionized workplace, and that includes my own staff. I am proud of all the people on my team who have played a leading role in the staff unionization effort. Solidarity forever.”
Levin’s staff becomes first Capitol Hill office to unionize
September 29, 2022 // Levin, who lost his primary and will only remain in office for the next three months, introduced the House resolution that passed along party lines in May and paved the way for congressional staffers to unionize. In a statement to The Hill, the Congressional Workers Union said it is “ecstatic to support these workers as we move to the bargaining table and negotiate a contract representative of workers’ needs for the first time in congressional history.” Besides Levin’s, seven other Democratic congressional offices voted in July to hold union elections. Those are: Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.), Chuy Garcia (Ill.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Melanie Stansbury (N.M.).
Staffers at eight House offices become first to unionize
July 20, 2022 // Congressional workers at eight United States House offices have started unionizing, two months after the House approved a resolution giving them legal protection to organize. A total of 85 House staff workers filed petitions Monday for representation at the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, according to the Congressional Workers Union which called it a "historic day for congressional staff and our democracy." Rep. Cori Bush of Montana, Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia of Illinois, Reps. Ro Khanna and Ted Lieu of California, Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico.
Congress thwarted Biden on unions. Or did it?
June 24, 2022 // “One of the biggest problems with this DOL is its obvious union favoritism,” the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said at a hearing this month. “This department has bowed low enough before union bosses to taste dirt. How many times has the Biden administration’s DOL kowtowed before union bosses instead of standing up for workers?” From installing former union official Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, to outfitting the National Labor Relations Board with union alums, to issuing a spate of union-friendly executive orders, the White House has taken significant steps toward expanding union membership despite the challenges presented by a narrowly divided Congress. Steve Rosenthal, Rep. Donald Norcross, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Doug Parker, Alice Stock, Lauren McFerran, Bobby Scott, Nick Niedzwiadek
Authorizing congressional unions won’t end Democrats’ labor troubles
May 17, 2022 // Earlier this year, after the Democrat-controlled Washington state Legislature quietly killed a pair of bills extending collective bargaining privileges to legislative aides, about 100 Democrat staffers staged an unprecedented sickout. Facing a PR nightmare, panicked Democrat leadership quickly reintroduced and passed legislation allowing staff to unionize and bargain, but not until 2024, after a new “Office of State Legislative Labor Relations” spends millions of taxpayer dollars trying to figure out how to make it work in practice.
Nationwide push for unions expands to Capitol Hill after House votes to allow staffers to unionize
May 16, 2022 // The House passed a resolution Tuesday night allowing congressional staff to unionize. House staffers will be able to join a union, if they choose, but it isn’t a requirement under the resolution.
Biden’s personal recovery plan: Pump up unions, squeeze Big Business
May 13, 2022 // The president is hoping his political fate — and the Democrats’ standing among the white working class — can be saved by lifting up organized labor.
House gives green light to staffer unionization
May 12, 2022 // The Congressional Workers Union has labored behind the scenes for months to jump-start the unionization process among House offices. And they're not alone.
House tees up vote on union protections for staffers
May 9, 2022 // The resolution introduced by Rep. Andy Levin would address that by finishing a process the House began more than a quarter-century ago. When lawmakers passed the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995, they essentially removed a legislative branch exception to numerous federal statutes, including labor laws. But the House never took the final step of approving regulations issued by the Office of Compliance, now the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.