GovernmentExecutive.com

The amount of time that federal employees spent on union activities during their work days declined by 4 percent in 2003, according to a new report by the Office of Personnel Management.

The cost of the "official time" rose by 1.6 percent from the previous year, but that fell within the range expected, due to employee pay raises, OPM reported.

The 1978 Civil Service Reform Act provides that federal employees who double as union officers can use part of their workday to prepare and negotiate collective bargaining agreements, negotiate issues covered by such agreements, represent employees in dispute resolution processes, and attend meetings between labor and management officials.

The decline in the use of official time taken by union employees represents "a significant achievement in the area of taxpayer accountability," OPM officials said in a press release.

In a memorandum sent to agency heads earlier this month, OPM Director Kay Coles James wrote that while she supported "the right of federal employees to use official time to represent unions and bargaining unit employees," she also felt that "the right to official time carries with it a responsibility on the part of both labor and management to see that the time is used appropriately and efficiently."

James raised concerns after 2002 data indicated union members had taken 10 percent more official time that year than they had in 1998. James then established a new reporting system that requires agencies and union officials to provide more detailed accounting for official time.

In 2003, James also announced that an initiative aimed at consolidating government payroll systems would include a reporting system to capture official time data.

Among agencies, the amount of official time spent per bargaining unit employee varied widely. Union officials at the Transportation Department led all agencies, spending nearly 17 hours per employee during 2003. At the National Labor Relations Board, union officials spent 10.5 hours per employee; followed by the Merit Systems Protection Board at 8.74 hours; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at 8.58 hours.

Among cabinet departments, State Department union representatives spent the least amount of official time on union activities--only 1 hour per bargaining unit member. A number of smaller agencies spent even less time. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, for example, reported zero official time hours spent on union activities, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reported that only 0.17 hours were spent by its employees.

In total, labor officials spent 4,758,147 official time hours on union activities at a cost to taxpayers of $128,637,162 in 2003, up from $126,570,125 in 2002.