The association representing progressive Hill staff withdrew its letter calling for a rotating 32-hour workweek for congressional staff in a Friday statement, after significant bipartisan backlash.
“The Congressional Progressive Staff Association hereby withdraws its recent letter to congressional leadership on a rotating 32-hour workweek,” the organization said.
The group said its letter had failed to make clear that progressive staff were dedicated to “serving the American people no matter how many hours it takes to get the job done” and that there were “well-known, longstanding workplace issues that deserve Congress’s immediate attention.”
“There are myriad ways Congress can address these issues. Right now, a 32-hour workweek for staff will not be one of them,” the association said.
Their Thursday letterto congressional leadership had prompted bipartisan criticism, with Republicans accusing progressives of wanting to work less, and Democrats questioning the wisdom of pitching the lighter work schedule days before Donald Trump was set to be sworn in.
The group had pitched a lighter schedule for district office staffers when Congress was in session, and for a lighter week for D.C.-based staff when their boss was back in the district.
