Levin said this legislation should have been passed a generation ago following the passage of the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995. Levin said the Office of Compliance and Workplace Rights ruled in 1996 that the passage of such legislation was the final step to give congressional workers legal protection to organize and bargain collectively. <\/p>\n
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., conducts her weekly news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021.\u00a0<\/span> (Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n "My colleagues and I are listening to the workers and taking this first, critical step to get done what we should have decades ago: recognize congressional workers’ right to organize without fear of retaliation," Levin said. <\/p>\n House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says she backs the effort for staff to organize but didn't offer a timeline on when it would get a floor vote. She said she supports the legislation, but members are also looking to modernize the 1996 language and bring it up to date. <\/p>\n "I support what he's asking for, but we probably should … modernizing," Pelosi said. <\/p>\n GENDER DISPARITY: FEMALE WAGES CONTINUE TO LAG BEHIND MEN'S SALARIES IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE<\/strong><\/p>\n The effort comes amid surging popularity of the Instagram account "Dear_White_Staffers," which started posting in early 2020 largely about alleged unequal treatment of minority staffers on Capitol Hill. More recently, the account's served as a clearinghouse for more general complaints about poor pay, alleged harassment and generally poor working conditions – often naming individual members. <\/p>\n The United States Capitol from Arlington National Cemetery.<\/span> (iStock \/ iStock)<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, staffers are paid notoriously low salaries, especially in an expensive city like Washington, D.C. According to the Congressional Research Service<\/u>, the median salary for a staff assistant in a House office was $39,130. The median legislative assistant in a House office was paid $55,058 in 2019 – although some made below $45,000. <\/p>\n Offices also rely heavily on unpaid internships and fellowships, positions aspiring Hill staffers often need – sometimes even after graduating from college – before they're able to land a paid position. There's been also been an ongoing effort to pay interns on Capitol Hill amid complaints that lower-income students can't afford to work for free and are therefore cut off from the congressional pipeline. <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxbusiness.com\/foxbusiness.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/931\/523\/PELOSI-.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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