Manchin unsure of Democrats’ push to unionize congressional staff

Sen. Joe Manchin III said Tuesday he needed to know more about the issue before he could back the nascent effort from fellow Democrats to allow congressional staffers to unionize.

Mr. Manchin, a moderate West Virginia Democrat and key swing vote, said he was a “big supporter of unions” and the “right to unionize,” but had not given much thought to the effort.

“I want to make sure we serve the people of West Virginia, that’s our responsibility,” he said. “But if there’s [a] staff that is not being treated fairly, that should be looked into and taken care of.”

Mr. Manchin added that the issue was particularly sensitive because “when you’re working for tax dollars, you’re … 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 said. “My greatest thing is to have the best staff I possibly can to serve the people of West Virginia.”

At the moment, staffers on congressional committees and in the personal offices of individual lawmakers and congressional leaders are not unionized, despite having the opportunity under the 1995 Congressional Accountability Act.

The law and regulations put forth by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights allow congressional staffers to organize, provided lawmakers in both the House and Senate passed a resolution enabling unionization.

Democrats in both the House and Senate are eyeing such a resolution in the coming weeks. Sen. Jon Tester, Montana Democrat and supporter of the resolution, said that any boss that treats their staff “fairly” should not be worried.

“I’ve always been a supporter of people’s ability [to unionize],” he said. “So I don’t, I don’t have a problem with it.”

A vote on the union resolution is likely to be tenuous within the Senate, especially if lawmakers have to abide by the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. Apart from some tax and spending measures, most legislation has to clear the 60-vote bar to become law.

Since the Senate is split 50-50 between the two parties, the enabling resolution would require the support of at least 10 Republicans along with all 50 Democrats. Advocates of unionizing Senate staffers are exploring whether the resolution could pass via a simple majority.

Republicans are unlikely to support the effort, however. Many argue that a congressional staff union is not in line with the longstanding nature and employment practices of Congress.

“In both the House and Senate, member staff has always been considered working for the member as their principal employer,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican. “With very few exceptions that relationship has been between the member and the people that work for them. I think it’d be really hard to unionize and maintain that principle.”