Addressing considerations in regards to the working circumstances for some Capitol Hill aides, Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced on Friday a $45,000 minimal annual wage for House workers and teed up for a vote subsequent week a decision that will pave the way in which for aides to hitch a union.
While jobs on Capitol Hill are extremely coveted and might result in massive salaries down the street, the work usually entails grueling hours and low pay in a area the place steep housing prices can depart little cash for different requirements.
Lawmakers set the pay for his or her aides. The cash comes from an allowance made accessible to every member to cowl lease, gear, wage and different bills incurred in performing their official duties.
Pelosi famous that the latest approval of a 21% improve in that allowance ought to greater than cowl the elevated salaries. She inspired members to make use of the rise “to honor the committed work of your staff members.”
“Doing so will open the doors to public service for those who may not have been able to afford to do so in the past,” Pelosi mentioned. “This is also an issue of fairness, as many of the youngest staffers working the longest hours often earn the lowest salaries.”
The common value of renting a one-bedroom condominium in Washington is about $2,425 a month, in accordance with Rent.com. And the common worth of a studio is $1,942 a month, which over the course of a yr, would nonetheless characterize greater than half the brand new minimal wage for House staffers.
An advocacy group known as Issue One famous in a report earlier this yr that the common House staffer in a member workplace has solely been of their place for about 2.5 years, and that lagging pay and different elements had led to what it described as a “brain drain” on Capitol Hill.
“If Congress wants to attract a capable workforce, increasing pay for entry-level workers is the place to start,” mentioned the group, which describes itself as a political reform group that goals to cut back the affect of huge cash in politics.
The deadline for implementing the $45,000 annual minimal will likely be Sept. 1. The median wage for workers working for a person lawmaker was $50,000 final yr, in accordance with the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”