As a college student, Taylor J. Swift had a singular focus: working on Capitol Hill one day. After graduation, he achieved his dream, working in Congress as a policy aide and a staff assistant.

Swift found the work rewarding, but after just two years he was gone, leaving for a job with fewer hours, and higher pay.

“Long work hours are extremely exhausting, some offices are extremely demanding," he said. "When it doesn’t have the wages that are sustainable, it tends to burn a lot of people out."

A growing number of congressional staffers are feeling overworked, underpaid and mistreated. Some have taken their beefs to an Instagram account called Dear White Staffer, which has gone viral with anonymous postings complaining of low pay, bad bosses and other problems.

The account's title reflects the belief that the poor salaries and working conditions contribute to a lack of diversity in congressional offices.

“My member threw a pair of reading glasses at me after I brought the wrong pair to a meeting,” one staffer posted.

“We were made to stand with our backs against the wall, while our bosses ate lunch,” wrote another. 

“The Hill is a small place, people talk and there are definitely stories about certain members, and people warn people to not work for those offices sometimes,” Swift said.

A new study by the political reform group Issue One found that 13% of Capitol Hill staffers make less than a living wage. The median salary for all House staffers is $59,000.

“In D.C., a living wage is $42,000 a year,” said Issue One founder and CEO Nick Penniman. “If you think about it, you make $42,000, the government takes 25 percent of that, you’re down to roughly $30,000. The average cost for a one bedroom apartment in DC is $24,000 a year. Then, you’re down to $6,000 to do everything else in your life.

Last year, some House staffers decided they had had enough, forming the Congressional Workers Union to demand change. They helped to convince House Democrats to introduced a resolution to give congressional staff the bargaining rights enjoyed by other federal workers.

“I think these are basic labor standard of living violations that we need to ensure are protected with a strong union,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

The unionization drive faces several hurdles. Earlier this month, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy came out against it, telling Punchbowl News, “I don’t think it would be productive for the government.”

There are also questions whether a union is even practical in Congress, an institution with hundreds of offices that operate independently.

Penniman says lawmakers should embrace the idea.

“There’s hypocrisy with some of these Congress people who talk a big game about living wages and the vibrant middle class, yet they aren’t paying their staff enough to be part of that vibrant middle class,” he said.

Swift warned that if working conditions do not improve, turnover will increase, and that will have implications far beyond the lives of those employed on Capitol Hill.

“If we continue on this track of low wages, lack of workforce protections, volatility within the workplace, long hours, you’re going to see higher turnover overall," he said. "If nothing changes, it’s only going to get worse and that weakens Congress’ ability to represent the American people."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden all back the unionizing effort. A vote on the House resolution has not been scheduled.

A resolution has not yet been introduced in the Senate.