Exclusive | NASA spent almost $900K on taxpayer-funded union time last year to negotiate trivial workplace issues: Absurd

NASA spent more than double what it originally reported on taxpayer-funded union time — where federal employees perform union-related duties while being paid by the government — last year, fresh data from the space agency revealed.Originally, NASA reported an expense of $417,798 on union time, but now the space agency is updating that figure to $893,620 over the 12 months ending Sept.30, The Post has learned.“As has been the case with other federal agencies under the Biden administration, NASA bureaucrats were racking up an astronomical tab doing union time on the taxpayers’ dime,” Sen.

Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), whose office requested the data, told The Post.“We need to end the absurd practice of taxpayer-funded union time across government to ensure that federal employees serve the American people, not themselves.”NASA also spent more than previously known on union activities in 2023.

Initially, the space agency reported spending $477,204 in fiscal year 2023, but now the agency is updating those figures to $636,189.Meanwhile, its budget shrank from $25.4 billion in fiscal year 2023 to $24.88 billion in fiscal year 2024.Taxpayer-funded union time includes labor meetings, union-sponsored training activities, preparations for collective bargaining, work on behalf of those facing disciplinary action and more.Due to the Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute, federal unions can’t negotiate with Uncle Sam on pay or benefits, which are determined by legal and regulatory policy.

Instead, federal unions negotiate over smaller-scale issues such as workplace procedures and telework policies.“They’re left negotiating for tedious things that are of zero or negative benefit to taxpayers,” Rachel Greszler, a senior research fellow on workforce and public finance at the Heritage Foundation, previously explained to The Post.“This includes things like the height of cubicle panels, securing designated smoking areas on otherwise smoke-free campuses,...