Delaware General Assembly staff announces union, says it's the first of its kind in U.S.

Hours before the General Assembly convened for its 2020 legislative session – and much to the surprise of lawmakers, statehouse staff announced plans to unionize.

The organization, which calls itself the Delaware General Assembly Union, announced its intent to unionize in a tweet on Tuesday morning.

"NEWS: A majority of Democratic, Republican and nonpartisan staff from all four caucuses of the Delaware General Assembly have announced their intent to unionize," the tweet says. "This will be the first partisan-inclusive state legislative union in the country."

"We have requested voluntary recognition from General Assembly leadership and we are excited for swift, amicable and productive contract negotiations," another tweet from that account said.

There are about 170 part-time and full-time staffers at Legislative Hall. According to the progressive nonprofit publication Prospect.org, which published an article on the news that was shared by the union's Twitter account, the union group would include 44 of those staffers.

A press release announcing the union called the effort a "historic step forward for public service workers across the country."

"In all four caucuses, our staffers work tirelessly to make Delaware's legislature one of the best in the nation," the press release says.

"From constituent service to legislative research, communications, drafting, and more, our group spends every day working full-time, nights and weekends for the people of the First State," the press release said. "But even in a state led by elected officials friendly to the labor movement, partisan and nonpartisan staff alike continue to be employed at-will in non-merit positions."

"Right on!" tweeted Sen. Tizzy Lockman, D-Wilmington, in response to the union announcement.

Republicans were caught off guard by Tuesday's announcement, according to a joint statement from Senate Minority Leader Danny Short, R-Seaford, and Senate Minority Leader Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View.

"We recognize the right of our employees to collectively organize," the Republican statement reads. "However, ... no staff member of the House Republican Caucus or Senate Republican Caucus was previously contacted regarding the possibility of unionization. Our staffs only became aware of this action today. There are still many questions which need to be answered regarding this proposal."

Before that, Senate Republican Caucus chief of staff, David Burris, wrote in an email to Delaware Online/The News Journal, "No one on our staff has been contacted about this at any point, and we're still trying to figure out what the details are, including, among other things, who is considered eligible. We may be able to comment later, if we can figure out what we're commenting about."

In a statement on behalf of House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, a House spokesman said, "As this is a legal process that must follow the rules of the National Labor Relations Act, we will respect that process and have no comment at this time."

Shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Senate Democratic leaders released a similar statement.

“The Delaware Senate Democratic Caucus has a lengthy record of supporting the rights of workers to collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions," that statement said. "As a matter of law, this request from our staff must now proceed under the rules of the National Labor Relations Act. Out of respect for that process and the privacy concerns inherent in all personnel matters, we will have no further comment at this time."

Lawmakers returned to Legislative Hall in Dover on Tuesday after a six-month break.

Madinah Wilson-Anton, a state House candidate and former legislative staffer, supported the effort on Twitter. She's challenging Rep. John Viola, D-Newark, whom she used to work for as a legislative staffer.

"Working with legislators can be uncomfortable — too many are harsh with their staff, and not open to feedback,' Wilson-Anton tweeted on Tuesday. "Pair that with a lack of job protections and you have a work environment where the staff who are supposed to support our legislators feel unable to voice their concerns."

Contact Sarah Gamard at (302) 324-2281 or sgamard@delawareonline.com.

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