If federal employees can show up to the office to protest for ongoing telework, then they can show up to the office to work, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said recently.
“Across the federal government, employee unions are fighting tooth and nail to stop agencies from bringing their members back to the office,” wrote Sen. Ernst in a March 27 letter sent to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Secretary Julie Su. “Clearly, these employees know how much more effective they can be when they show up in person. We just wish they had the same level of dedication to serving Americans that they do to serving themselves.”
Sen. Ernst, who was joined in signing the letter by U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL), cited a recent protest outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston, Mass., where DOL staff, who are members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 948, showed up to the office to protest for more telework.
The lawmakers asked Su to explain how much taxpayer-funded union time representatives of this union logged with the DOL in the four weeks preceding their rally, whether the DOL employees were paid for this protest, including through taxpayer-funded union time reimbursements, and what the protest cost DOL, according to their letter.
“As White House Chief of Staff Zients said in January, agencies are still ‘not where they need to be’ on returning employees to the office,” wrote Sen. Ernst and her colleague. “If your employees can show up to the office to protest, they can show up to the office to work.”
Sen. Ernst on March 14 also sponsored the Taxpayer-Funded Union Time Transparency Act, S. 3955, which calls for tracking of the total amount taxpayers are subsidizing federal employee unions.
And in early December 2023, Sen. Ernst held a press conference to release a “naughty list” of federal agencies that, almost four years after the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily closed federal buildings, are not utilizing even half their office space.