Senator Mike Lee of Utah has introduced the “No Union Time on the Taxpayer’s Dime Act,” aiming to eliminate the practice of “official time,” where federal employees engage in union-related activities during work hours. This legislation is also being introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia.
Senator Lee stated, “President Trump is taking strong steps to rein in overpowered public sector unions, which even Democrat leaders like FDR thought shouldn’t exist in the first place. American taxpayers shouldn’t have to fund union organizing, and federal employees should be working full time for the American people when they’re on the clock.”
Rep. Cline added, “Taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for federal employees to conduct union business instead of fulfilling their official duties. Ending ‘official time’ is a commonsense step to ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly and to increase accountability across the federal workforce. Public funds should serve the American people, not private union interests.”
The practice of “official time” originated with the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, allowing federal employees to conduct union activities and handle cases before the Federal Labor Relations Authority while being paid by taxpayers. The Office of Personnel Management reported in 2016 that federal employees dedicated 3.6 million hours to union business, costing $177.2 million. The Trump Administration later reduced this to 2.6 million hours at a cost of $134.9 million. However, there have been issues in transparency due to the absence of unified reporting requirements since 2019.
The proposed legislation has received endorsement from organizations such as Heritage Action, Americans for Prosperity, and the National Right to Work Committee.
