WASHINGTON — Amid a surge in labor organizing across the country, the U.S. House late Tuesday approved a resolution by Michigan Rep. Andy Levin that would recognize congressional staffers' right to organize and bargain collectively.
The measure, passed 217-202 along party lines by the Democratic-led chamber, creates legal protections for more than 9,000 "covered employees" in House offices or committees who want to raise workplace complaints or issues with their bosses without fear of retribution.
Members of the Congressional Workers Union organizing committee told The Detroit News that they see their effort as an extension of a broader groundswell of union organizing that gained steam amid the added stressors of a deadly pandemic and, on Capitol Hill, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
