A Legislative Staff Union: Who We Are, and What We Stand For
Dear Colleague,
It’s hard to believe more than two years have passed since Governor Newsom signed AB 1 into law. July 1, 2026, will mark a major milestone in our state’s history: for the first time, legislative employees will gain the legal right to organize and collectively bargain over our working conditions.
Who are we? We are the non-supervisory, non-confidential employees of the California State Legislature: the legislative aides and legislative directors, policy analysts and committee consultants, district directors, field representatives, press secretaries, schedulers, assistants, sergeants, and security technicians.
Why a union? The Legislature’s employment rules are developed behind closed doors by the Senate and Assembly Rules Committees, with no input from the staffers who are ultimately governed by them. A union gives staff a seat at the table, ensuring that decisions about salaries, benefits, and workplace conditions reflect shared priorities rather than unilateral efforts to maintain the status quo.
What do we want? We want predictable salary increases based on merit, experience, and cost of living. We want the stability that comes with a union contract; while the Legislature’s benefits are generally good, we have no guarantee they’ll stay that way. We want clear hybrid and telework policies, transparent job classifications, and protections against arbitrary minimum salaries and unannounced rule changes. We want compensation to reflect education and expertise, even when our credentials are earned outside the building. We want real accountability for bullying and sexual harassment, including through independent arbitration. We want equality for staff in the minority party; working conditions, classifications, and pay should not depend on which side of the aisle we serve. In short, we want the California State Legislature to embody the same values of fairness and transparency that we expect from every other state employer.
What comes next? The Legislature is moving quickly to counter our unionization efforts. Both houses recently retained outside counsel in an attempt to influence the Public Employment Relations Board’s AB 1 rulemaking. Merit-based salary increases have been frozen indefinitely in the Assembly, and the Senate has adopted a so-called “longevity stipend” that draws an arbitrary distinction between Senate and Assembly experience. Legislative staff have had no say in these decisions. The Legislature is treating the prospect of unionization with the urgency it deserves – and so must we. Over the next eight months, it will be critical for staff to organize early and engage often.
Our last letter garnered more than 100 responses from district and Capitol staffers of both parties. Some of their stories are reproduced with permission on the following page. If their experiences resonate with you, consider submitting your own story using our survey. Consider grabbing coffee with your colleagues, discussing this letter, and comparing narratives. Consider getting involved with the union. If you’re waiting to hear back from us, rest assured we’ve heard from you. We’ll be reaching out soon.
Sincerely,
California Legislative Union
Staff Testimony
“I, along with many others, had to experience being classified as an office assistant and later on receive legislative aide work without the pay or recognition. There should be a clear promotion process for staff who want to make a career out of working for the state legislature . . . I hate having to fight for recognition like this when I thought rules would have staffers’ backs.”
“A lot of what goes on in Rules is hearsay and gossip, and it’s frustrating because the Legislature is not transparent in its processes. Reading the HR manual, it just seems like everything is at the discretion of the Secretary— someone who does not interact with or know most of the employees that she oversees.”
“I want true equality in pay, benefits and opportunities regardless of party. I have worked for [the minority party] my entire career, and I have made significantly less than my counterparts on the other side of the aisle.”
“State law declares that telework can be an important means to reduce air pollution, and a recent audit found that telework could save the state $225 million. We need a telework policy.”
“Understaffing of new members has created a huge issue with workflow and negatively affects the rest of staff.”
“I want to see Assembly District Offices in high cost of living areas (Senate designates these as San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Silicon Valley) receive the same Senate bonus that they receive on their checks ~$700 a month. Speaking with Senate counterparts who receive their full check plus this amount for working in these high costs of living districts makes it seem the Assembly doesn’t value district work.”
“[A] very challenging issue came up this year as part of my transition to a new office. I was a [redacted] under [the] previous member and our new chief wanted to slot me as a policy analyst. Rules’ offer was to set me at step 1, with a substantial pay cut. Took a few months of haggling and was just ridiculous. Others on our team went through the same with Senate HR. If they were trying to shove midcareer staff out the door, I don’t know what they would have done differently. Just miserably disrespectful.”
“This is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. But let us acknowledge the ‘unacknowledged’ overtime, the unpredictability of schedules, the constant work after hours, the travel, the unnecessary forms, the inequitable policies around ‘base salaries’, and the dreaded ‘expectations’ vs ‘compensation’ from the members and the Assembly. Bottom line: WE deserve better. THEY can do better.”
“I do not know where to begin. Other than a report WCU completely ignored that has substantial evidence against our chief of staff on the basis of harassment . . . He got a slap on the wrist even though he was determined to ‘harass on the basis of gender’, and as a result the only female staffer in the office was fired. This came after months of disrespectful comments and unfair treatment towards the women in the office. Furthermore, there is virtually no way any one can have a sexual harassment complaint taken seriously due to the WCU’s inherent bias towards protecting the institution.”
“As staffers, we are expected to work on evenings, weekends, and holidays without additional compensation. We are asked to ‘volunteer’ for (‘volun-told’ to do) multiple campaigns without compensation.”