'Ground up and spit out': Inside the Hill staffer Instagram rebellion

[RandySF]

Pay so low that aides survive on food stamps. Office cultures that drive committed employees to seek mental health support. Staffers of color feeling cut off from pursuing senior roles.

A deluge of anonymous Instagram posts is pulling back the curtain on the ugly secrets of how the Hill treats its most vulnerable workers. An anonymously run account, known as “Dear White Staffers,” has exploded in popularity and is dragging longstanding problems with staff diversity, paltry pay and punishing hours into the light.

It comes at a time when there’s also active, bipartisan efforts to shift Capitol culture, but clearly not fast enough for the staffers who take the brunt of the worst workplace behaviors. The problems are deeply entrenched, aides say, and there’s little confidence in the institution’s ability or willingness to support its employees.

“Capitol Hill is staffed by the kid in the front row that has their hand up. They want to serve,” said one former House staffer, granted anonymity to speak candidly, who has submitted a personal story to the Instagram account. “And then they get ground up and spit out.”

The account’s unfiltered, unvetted and seemingly endless content has become a must-read for aides in a town always hungry for rumor and gossip — for two very different reasons. Some devour the messages as a form of therapy that helps them feel understood while also providing relevant information on offices and bosses to avoid. Others monitor it defensively, worried their office or boss is being anonymously maligned and they’ll have a mess to clean up. Still others read it for both reasons, simultaneously.





https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/04/inside-congressional-staffer-instagram-rebellion-00005505

[msfiddlestix]

1. Interesting. Wondering how much attention to this story will be given.

also have wondered about moles from time to time.

Hope Dems are an exception to the rule, because the last thing they need are aides feeling abused.

Also wondered for a long time if there are moles/sleeper agents or provocateurs working on behalf of the Repiglicans or Russians.

[Demsrule86]

2. Politico is Right-wing and I never click on any of their links.

[catsudon]

3. hill staffers' unionization efforts

Congressional staffers on Friday announced an organizing drive to form a union, just one day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office said she supports staff's unionization efforts.

"After more than a year of organizing as a volunteer group of congressional staff, we are proud to publicly announce our efforts to unionize the personal offices and committees of Congress, in solidarity with our fellow workers across the United States and the world," the group wrote in a statement released on Friday.

"We call on all congressional staff to join in the effort to unionize, and look forward to meeting management at the table," the group added, citing a recent survey from the Congressional Progressive Staff Association that found 91% of staff wanted more protection to give them a voice at work.

"It is time for Democrats to lead by example," the group said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/congressional-workers-union-launches-organizing-effort-one-day-after-pelosi-said-she-backs-capitol-hill-staffers-unionization-efforts/ar-AATtOxm