Utah News Dispatch
Sen. Mike Lee proposes a public union bill similar to the law passed by Utah this year
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, participates in a forum hosted by the Sutherland Institute at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics on Oct. 14, 2024. (Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch)
Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduced a bill this week that would prohibit federal employees from doing union-related work while on the clock.
It’s similar, in some ways, to a bill passed at the state level this year that changes how Utah’s public unions operate.
Lee’s bill, called the “No Union Time on the Taxpayer’s Dime Act,” changes federal code to prohibit what’s called “official time,” a longstanding practice established by Congress in 1978 that allows public employees to conduct certain union-related activities during work hours.
That includes “representational activities,” according to the American Federation of Government Employees — things like creating fair promotional procedures, establishing flexible work hours, or enforcing protections from unlawful discrimination.
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Lee’s bill states that “any activities performed by an employee relating to the business of a labor organization shall be performed during the time the employee is in a non-duty status.”
“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,” said Lee, a Republican, in a statement earlier this week. “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.”
That statement mirrors the rhetoric from some state lawmakers this past legislative session while discussing HB267, a divisive bill that bans public unions from engaging in collective bargaining.
Effort to overturn union bill through referendum gains steam, with 130,000 signatures in support
In addition to the ban, HB267 also prohibits public employers from using public money or property to “assist or support union activity; compensate a public employee or a third party for union activity; provide a public employee paid leave that is in addition to the public employee’s regularly accrued leave to allow the public employee to participate in union activity.”
Utah’s bill is currently being challenged by a coalition of labor groups in the state, which are currently collecting signatures in hopes of overturning it by way of a referendum.
Lawmakers, both at the state and federal level, say these bills are an attempt to safeguard taxpayer funds. Lee’s office pointed to a 2016 Office of Personnel Management report that found federal employees spent a collective 3.6 million hours dedicated to union-related activities, or official time, costing taxpayers $177.2 million.
However, advocates of official time say eliminating the practice could ultimately cost taxpayers more. Official time is often used to resolve workplace issues internally — without it, federal employees could have to resort to litigation instead, which would be more timely and costly for taxpayers.
“Taking away official time is union busting, plain and simple. Official time is a vital tool used by employees and management to address workplace issues, quickly and amicably. Through official time, we’ve protected veterans’ preference in hiring, prevented discrimination against veterans with PTSD and expedited the processing of benefits for veterans and their families,” said the American Federation of Government Employees in a video several years ago. The federation represents about 820,000 federal employees, including many at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Lee’s bill is much more narrow than Utah’s, and doesn’t include any kind of ban on collective bargaining for public unions — that’s because he doesn’t have to. In March, Trump signed an executive order banning collective bargaining for unions representing employees with national security missions.
According to the Associated Press, that includes Departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice, Commerce and Homeland Security.
