EXCLUSIVE: GOP Unveils Bill To End Taxpayer-Funded Union Organizing

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Virginia Republican Rep. Ben Cline will reintroduce legislation Monday to prevent government workers from engaging in union-related work while on the clock.

Lee and Cline’s No Union Time on the Taxpayer’s Dime Act would end the practice of “official time”— paid time given to federal employees to perform union duties during work hours and using government office space. This practice costs taxpayers more than $100 million annually, according to data from the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

“The American taxpayer should not be obligated to pay federal employees to engage in union activities,” according to a fact sheet Lee’s office sent the DCNF.

The bill’s reintroduction comes as President Donald Trump is seeking to end collective bargaining for a vast majority of government employees.

Trump signed an executive order on March 27 to end the union representation of federal employees with national security-related missions, including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State and Department of Energy. The move will terminate collective bargaining rights for more than one million federal workers, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.