NASA has spent more than $400,000 on taxpayer-funded union time over 12 months ending September 30, 2024, accusing space agency employees of “tearing taxpayers by astronomers” He leads GOP Senators who are investigating federal spending on non-governmental jobs to do so. amount. “
Data obtained by Senate President Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) shows that the $417,798 spending could be tracked by 30 workers who spent at least 4,078 hours in 2024 in coalition-related activities. Post.
Union time includes a variety of activities, including labor meetings, employees facing disciplinary action, union sponsored training activities, and preparation for collective bargaining negotiations.
“If federal employees want to come out of work, they need to refund Americans for every last penny,” Ernst said.
Please reserve the NASA taxpayer dollar amount for union time. It slipped off from $477,204 in fiscal year 2023 and $641,037 in fiscal year 2019, but Ernst claimed it was one cent.
“Taxpayer-funded union time needs to be finished,” she told the post.
NASA spending on union time is declining, which is not the case with other federal agencies, but its budgets are also declining.
In 2024, NASA was allocated $24.888 billion from $25.4 billion in 2023. Adjusting for inflation, NASA's current budget will also be less than what it received in 2019.
NASA's domination in the US space sector has been skated over recent decades by an explosion of private sector actors such as SpaceX, one of its top contractors.
In the past, NASA was the most prominent US organization tasked with developing rockets to send astronauts and non-human assets into space. After the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA began relying on private companies to jump into orbit so they could focus on deeper space activities.
NASA has advanced its space launch system. That super heavy lift vehicle was needed to send astronauts to the moon or Mars. But the program is upset by cost overruns and delays. Unlike SLS, SpaceX has made great strides with Starship, a unique reusable super heavy lift system.
Under the Federal Services Labor Management Relations Act, federal unions are restricted from negotiations over benefits and wages as set by federal regulations and laws.
“They are left negotiating with boring things that are zero or negative benefits for taxpayers,” said Rachel Gresler, a senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation for Workforce and Finance, previously federal labor. He spoke to the post about the union.
“This includes the height of cubicle panels, protection of designated smoking areas on smoking-free campuses, and the right to wear spandex at work.”
Human Resources Bureau last year in 2019 Published comprehensive data It found that the entire federal government had spent at least $135 million on taxpayer-funded union time.
OPM then stopped tracking that data. This has influenced Ernst's review.
December, Iowan I blown up the request Data on taxpayer-funded union hour costs can be found on various government agencies. NASA was one of the earliest people to respond.
NASA is represented by two major federal unions, the International Federation of Professional Engineers and the Federation of US Government Employees.
This post asked both these unions and NASA for additional information and comment.
