Staff members for Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) recently ratified a collectively bargained agreement, marking the first long-term union contract for a congressional office. The eight-person bargaining unit finalized the deal in August after four years of negotiations following their initial vote to unionize in 2022.
The contract comes during a period of slowed momentum for the labor movement on Capitol Hill. While several Democratic offices sought to organize during the Biden administration, fewer than a dozen offices remain unionized. Organizers cited heavy workloads, high staff turnover rates, and varying levels of management support as factors that have complicated efforts to secure formal agreements across other offices.
The new agreement for Khanna’s office establishes a higher salary floor for employees and creates a mechanism to renegotiate pay if the office’s budget allowance increases. It also codifies a formal procedure for resolving internal grievances. According to the union steward, Nicole Waring, the contract will remain in effect through the next congressional term, provided Khanna wins reelection.
Rep. Khanna stated he hoped the agreement would serve as a model for other congressional offices, while his chief of staff, Marie Baldassarre, attributed the four-year timeline to the unprecedented nature of the negotiations. While former Rep. Andy Levin’s (D-MI) staff ratified a contract in 2022, that agreement was reached in the final days of his term, and other offices have previously relied on less formal memorandums of understanding.
The scale of this movement remains small relative to the thousands of people employed by the U.S. House and Senate. While there are 435 House offices, fewer than 12 currently have unionized staff. The successful negotiation of a contract translates to a concrete shift in office operations: managers must now adhere to the specific salary and grievance terms outlined in the August agreement. The per-person impact includes the ability to renegotiate wages in step with federal budget increases, a protection not standard for most congressional aides.
The knock-on effects of this contract may influence future policy regarding federal labor-management relations programs. If other offices follow this model, it could shift the historical culture of Capitol Hill employment and impact how future lawmakers manage their office budgets. Former Rep. Levin noted that the future of this movement may depend on upcoming election outcomes and which party holds the House majority. For now, the contract is active and will continue into 2027 if the current representative retains his seat. No specific dates for further office unionization votes have been reported.