Union bosses have been living the good life on your dime for decades.
But their gravy train is about to come to a screeching halt.
And union bosses just got caught red-handed in one scam that will make your blood boil.
Union bosses bilk taxpayers out of millions while doing zero work
Most Americans work hard for their paychecks and expect government employees to do the same.
But Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) discovered a corrupt practice that allows federal workers to collect their full government salary while doing absolutely zero work for taxpayers.
It’s called "official time" and it’s one of the biggest scams in Washington, D.C.
This corrupt system allows federal employees to collect their full paychecks while abandoning their government duties to work exclusively for union organizations.
The numbers are staggering and will leave you furious.
In 2019, employees across the federal government were paid $135 million to do 2.6 million hours of union work while supposedly "on the clock" at their government jobs.
According to Ernst’s office, approximately $160 million of taxpayer money went toward federal workers’ union time as of 2019, the last time such data was available.
Ernst fights back with the Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act
Ernst has had enough of this outrageous ripoff of American taxpayers.
The Iowa Senator introduced the "Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act" to force government unions to reimburse taxpayers for all of their taxpayer-backed activities.
"Bureaucrats should be serving the American people, not themselves," Ernst said in a statement. "Taxpayer-funded union time is a completely backwards and bonkers policy that gives handouts to union bosses and puts taxpayers last."
Ernst worked with the Trump administration during his first term to get federal employees back to work instead of playing union politics on the taxpayer’s dime.
"Now is the time to force the deep-pocketed unions to foot their own bill," Ernst declared.
Representative Scott Perry from Pennsylvania has championed the companion measure in the House of Representatives.
The shocking truth about what union bosses do with your money
What exactly are these union bosses doing while collecting government paychecks?
They’re attending union-sponsored training events, preparing for collective bargaining, holding labor meetings, and working on behalf of those facing disciplinary action.
But here’s the kicker that will really get under your skin.
These same union bosses who live off taxpayer money are blatantly partisan political actors.
Despite being paid with tax dollars, government union bosses contribute to political candidates at a rate that favors Democrats 20 to 1.
They’ve also staged massive protests in Washington, D.C. to combat President Trump’s efforts to reform the federal bureaucracy and drain the swamp.
Democrats defend the indefensible
When Representative Perry tried to include anti-union time language in a House committee, Democrats rushed to defend this corrupt practice.
Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, opposed Perry’s amendment because she believes campaigning for candidates is appropriate activity for government workers.
"Making sure that you are going to get somebody who is going to serve in a seat that is going to make sure that you can be protected … as far as I’m concerned, that is agency business," Crockett said during the House Oversight Committee meeting.
This is the kind of twisted logic that has infected Washington, D.C.
Government employees should not be in the business of deciding who should serve in Congress and campaigning to elect that person using taxpayer funds.
Ernst pushes for inclusion in major legislation
Ernst is now pushing to include her anti-union time language in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that’s working its way through Congress.
This massive piece of legislation is intended to be President Trump’s signature legislative achievement of his second term.
The bill features tax cuts, enhanced border security, boosted energy supply, bolstered defense spending, and much more.
Since Ernst helms the Senate DOGE Caucus, she’s pushing for multiple reforms to find additional savings for taxpayers.
Her other proposals include eliminating the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which had $320 million allocated to it last year, and disqualifying millionaires from receiving unemployment benefits.
The fight against the Deep State continues
Rachel Greszler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, explained government union negotiations leave taxpayers getting the short end of the stick.
By law, federal unions can’t negotiate with the government over benefits or pay.
"They’re left negotiating for tedious things that are of zero or negative benefit to taxpayers," Greszler told the New York Post.
"This includes things like the height of cubicle panels, securing designated smoking areas on otherwise smoke-free campuses, and the right to wear Spandex at work."
These are the pressing issues that union bosses spend millions of taxpayer dollars fighting for while real Americans struggle to make ends meet.
Ernst’s legislation would require unions to reimburse taxpayers for the full cost of official time activities, including the value of government office space and other benefits they receive at taxpayer expense.
If union bosses want to set up shop in government buildings and use government employees as union organizers and lobbyists, they should do it on their own dime.
The Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act is exactly the kind of common-sense reform that Americans voted for when they elected President Trump to drain the swamp.
It’s time to stop subsidizing the political activities of partisan union bosses and start putting taxpayers first.