Low-level field organizers for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign will get a $6,000 raise, settling a dispute over long working hours that pushed salary levels under the $15 per hour minimum wage that Sanders advocates.
Members of the first-of-its-kind Sanders presidential campaign union voted Monday to raise annual salaries for field organizers from $36,000 to $42,000 and retain healthcare benefits that cover 100% of premiums, the Washington Post reported. Sanders said on CNN Tuesday that his campaign accepted the deal.
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“We’re proud to have successfully negotiated with the union in good faith to raise the pay of field organizers, while continuing to ensure our campaign staffers are being paid a living wage,” said campaign manager Faiz Shakir.
Staffers for the Vermont senator’s campaign had previously complained to Shakir about their “poverty wages.” While the $36,000 annual salary would work out to around $17 per hour for a normal 40-hour work week, they regularly worked over 60 hours per week, pushing the hourly equivalent down to under $13.
In internal communications leaked to the Washington Post, the staffers told Shakir that they were “struggling financially to do my job” and that they “shouldn’t have to get payday loans to sustain themselves.”
The Sanders campaign in May offered a similar raise to $42,000, but the union rejected the offer because it would not have covered 100% of healthcare premiums. The staffers also receive paid sick leave and vacation benefits.
Under the new agreement, the field organizers will be expected to work 50 hours per week and extend the standard work week from five to six days. But if they work longer hours, which could happen, the pay would equal less than $15 per hour.
Sanders complained about the leaked internal communications on Friday and indicated that he would cut hours for field staff to ensure $15 hourly pay.
“It does bother me that people are going outside of the process and going to the media,” Sanders told the Des Moines Register. “That is really not acceptable. It is really not what labor negotiations are about, and it’s improper.”
The raise will push Sanders field organizer pay to a level similar to that of field staff for his primary competitors. Organizers for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg make the equivalent of $42,000 a year. Those for former Vice President Joe Biden make $48,000 annually, and base pay for former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke is $50,400.
