Opinion | Big Labor Takes the House of Representatives

Franklin Delano Roosevelt opposed unions for government workers because the employer and workers would essentially be on the same side of the bargaining table. Politicians would have an incentive to give workers what they want, and taxpayers would have no one representing their interests in negotiations. So it goes in states like Illinois and New York, where public unions wield extraordinary power, and that model may soon be coming to the House of Representatives.

Aides to eight progressive House members have filed petitions with the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to begin the process of unionizing. This follows a House resolution in May to let staff collectively bargain for the first time in history. Staffers have complained for years about discrimination, pay and working conditions, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats viewed the resolution as part of their pro-union agenda.