{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2024/7/senator-lee-introduces-the-no-union-time-on-the-taxpayer-s-dime-act", "Senator Lee Introduces the No Union Time on the Taxpayer\u2019s Dime Act", "2024-07-31", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "Mike Lee", "L000577", "www.lee.senate.gov", "mikelee", "https://www.lee.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the No Union Time on the Taxpayer\u2019s Dime Act, legislation that would prohibit the misuse of taxpayer dollars for union-related activities by federal employees during work hours.\n\n\u201cTaxpayers should not be burdened with the cost of federal employees engaging in union activities,\u201d said Senator Lee. \u201cFederal salaries are funded by the taxpayers, who rightfully expect federal employees to work on their assigned duties while on the clock. The No Union Time on the Taxpayer\u2019s Dime Act ensures that union-related activities are conducted on personal time and at personal expense.\u201d\n\nSince the passage of the Civil Service Reform Act in 1978, the practice known as \u201cofficial time\u201d has allowed federal employees to use work hours for union-related activities and to handle cases before the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). This means federal employees can engage in union work, represent bargaining unit employees and advance union causes while being paid by the taxpayer.\n\nThe cost of this practice to the American taxpayer is significant. According to a 2016 report by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), federal employees spent 3.6 million hours on union-related business at a cost of $177.2 million. Under the Trump Administration, this number dropped to 2.6 million hours, costing $134.9 million. However, due to the lack of unified reporting requirements, the last available data is from 2019, creating a transparency gap in the current use of official time.\n\nThe No Union Time on the Taxpayer\u2019s Dime Act will amend Section 7131 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code to explicitly prohibit the use of official time for federal employees. The updated law will state:\n\nAny 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.\n\nThe legislation is endorsed by Heritage Action, Americans for Prosperity, and the National Right to Work Committee.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:24:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2024/7/senator-lee-introduces-the-no-union-time-on-the-taxpayer-s-dime-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9425252210348845, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}