Union members say that field organizers, often 20-something-year-olds, are “barely managing to survive financially” after pulling 60-hour weeks.
Bernie Sanders’ campaign staffers claim they’re really getting berned — by not being paid the $15-an-hour minimum wage the democratic socialist advocates for all workers.
“Many field staffers are barely managing to survive financially, which is severely impacting our team’s productivity and morale,” union members said in a draft letter that will soon be sent to campaign manager Faiz Shakir. “Some field organizers have already left the campaign as a result.” Field organizers, often 20-something-year-olds who uproot their lives and spend long days on the front lines of the campaign, are paid a set annual salary of $36,000, while interns and canvassers make $15 an hour and bargaining unit deputies rake in $100,000 a year, according to the collective bargaining agreement.
At a May 17 meeting, Shakir recommended raising field organizers’ pay to $42,000 and modifying the work week — but the union rejected the plan, saying he was proposing a six-day work week and that a higher salary would mean having to pay more for health care costs, according to the draft. In a statement to the Washington Post on Thursday night, the union said it can’t comment on ongoing negotiations.
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