Union Issues

Taxpayers Subsidize Unions

Federal employees who are union officials are granted time off with pay to perform union duties. This is called "official time." A recent General Accounting Office audit of union activity within the Social Security Administration revealed that:

  • The cost of union activities in that one agency had grown from an estimated $6 million in 1993 to $12.6 million in 1995.

  • During this period, the number of employees working full time on union business grew from 80 to 146.

  • More than 1,800 Social Security Administration employees were authorized to perform union duties during work hours.

Since federal employee union members pay hundreds of dollars a year in dues, official time frees up money for campaign contributions to those elected officials who are pro-labor. During the 1995-96 election cycle, the federal employee labor unions (which are affiliated with the AFL-CIO) gave $704,500 in "soft money" contributions to the Democratic National Committee. They gave $2,300 to the Republicans.

Preliminary estimates indicate that the cost of official time for all of the federal government could run into hundreds of millions of dollars each year, but there are no reliable data because different agencies have different time-reporting procedures and different collective bargaining agreements.

Several members of the House and Senate are seeking to place limits on official time through legislation. One proposal would require the Office of Personnel Management to compile annual data by agency on the costs of and number of employees and hours involved, since it currently is impossible to get an accurate figure.

Source: Kenneth R. Weinstein and August Stofferahn, "Official Time: How Taxpayers Are Forced To Pay For Union Activities," Government Integrity Project Report No. 12, April 7, 1997, Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002, (202) 546-4400.

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