Congressman Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township), longtime union organizer and member of the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Labor Caucus, issued the following statement on his resolution the U.S. House of Representatives adopted on May 10 to grant congressional workers the right to form unions.
“Last month, workers in the House won the fundamental human right to organize and bargain collectively. Passage of this resolution secures legal protection to most House employees who choose to unionize.
“Indeed, it is an exciting opportunity for all Congressional offices and a win for Capitol Hill workers. Since passage, I’ve received many questions about implementation of the new opportunity to unionize in offices across the House, and also heard and read many misconceptions about what Congressional unionization might accomplish, how it might work and what the ramifications might be.
“The Congressional Accountability Act provides that approved regulations become effective not less than 60 days after the date on which they are published in the Congressional Record, with potential for an earlier effective date in the case of good cause found by the Board of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. In plain terms, this means that the Board could issue the regulations sooner. However, at time of this release the Board has not exercised its authority to provide for an earlier effective date for these regulations. Accordingly, the Board’s regulations will become effective on July 18, 2022.
“This resolution extends legal protections to Congressional employees only as it applies to the House. The Senate must pass its own resolution in order for Senate employees to have the same protections. I am also advocating for inclusion of language that would cover joint employees, who work in both the House and Senate. The resolution text enumerates a full list of the covered employees.
“Employees who choose to unionize will be able to bargain over a variety of topics. While there are limitations on the subjects on which many federal employees may negotiate, the limitations do not take all topics of bargaining off the table. Federal employees may not negotiate over workplace policies set by statute. However, wages of Congressional employees are not provided in statute. Questions on the specifics of subjects of bargaining should be directed to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, and will likely be resolved through ongoing interpretation and negotiation.
“I am so proud to have had the privilege of introducing this resolution, and even more proud of the efforts of the Congressional Workers Union and other House employees as they fight for their own workplace rights.”
Source:https://andylevin.house.gov/media/press-releases/levin-corrects-misconceptions-house-staff-unionization
