Golden Fleece Award

Rep. Hill made the following statement after awarding September’s Golden Fleece to government unions:

“Today’s award highlights the rampant unionization of government workers on the state and federal level that costs American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars every year. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government spent $157 million and 3.4 million man hours in fiscal year 2012 on union activities. These activities can often be political in nature, and the biggest spender was the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Already plagued with scandal and mistreatment of our Nation’s heroes while refusing to hold its employees accountable, the VA directed over $46 million of its budget to union activity. I know that many of our federal employees are dedicated public servants deserving of our gratitude, and I am committed to protecting their rights in the workplace, but we must also work to end the coercive influence of taxpayer-funded unions on our government.” 

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Additional Information

A recent report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute notes that for the first time, in 2009, “unionized government employees (7.9 million) outnumbered private sector union members (7.4 million)…even though there are five times as many workers in the private as in the public sector.” Further the report states: “This shift has incentivized unions to become more directly involved in politics and more radical in their demands.”

Hill is a cosponsor of H.R. 1658, the Federal Employee Accountability Act, which was introduced by Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) on March 26, 2015.  If enacted, this bill would prohibit employees of the federal government from using official time to engage in collective bargaining, or participate in arbitration on behalf of a union against their employer. Additionally, Hill co-sponsored H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act of 2015, which would increase flexibility in removing VA employees for performance or misconduct.