It also requested detailed information about federal employees with union responsibilities enshrined in collective bargaining contracts, including their pay, telework authorization, and work time spent on union matters.
Agencies will be required to monitor the use of “tax-payer-funded union time … to see that it is used efficiently,” acting OPM director Charles Ezell wrote in the memo.
Legislation passed by Congress in 1978 grants federal government employees designated paid time during work hours — known as “official time” — to engage in certain union matters related to labor-management activities, such as bargaining contracts, filing grievance proceedings and holding workplace safety trainings.
A federal worker, for example, may be allowed to use paid work time to represent an employee who is getting disciplined or fired. Official time is not allocated for union-specific business, such as union drives or elections.
Labor leaders and other experts said they fear Thursday’s memo signals that the Trump administration is preparing to eliminate or reduce the time federal government employees can spend on union matters. That stance is popular with some conservatives, who argue that taxpayers should not foot the bill for union matters, while union leaders say official time lets employees carry out their legal duties to represent their co-workers and resolve workplace issues.
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