Dear AFGE Activist,

Senate Republicans’ “One Big, Beautiful Bill” includes a provision that would impose a 10% surcharge on federal unions dues collected by automatic payroll deductions.

We need to tell the Senate to:

Strike “Deductions from Pay of Federal Employees” that would impose a 10% surcharge on contributions federal employees make to nonprofits, including union membership dues, through automatic payroll deductions.

Thanks to your efforts reaching out to your senators, AFGE scored an important victory this past weekend when the Senate Parliamentarian – the umpire of the Senate who enforces rules – ruled that provisions in the Senate reconciliation targeting the civil service,  federal employee benefits, and agency workplace rights violated the so-called Byrd Rule, which prohibits certain legislative changes from being included in a reconciliation bill. Specifically, provisions that would have created an at-will federal workforce, significantly raised FERS contributions for all new federal hires, charged federal unions like AFGE for the use of official time, and given the Office of Management and Budget the resources to reorganize and downsize the federal government were found to violate the Byrd Rule. Collectively, these provisions represented an existential threat to the future of the civil service and federal unions.

Unfortunately, one anti-union provision targeting union dues survived the Byrd Rule test and, for now, remains in the reconciliation bill the Senate is slated to begin considering later this week:

Specifically, the Senate bill includes a provision titled “Deductions from Pay of Federal Employees.”

Don’t let the seemingly bland description of this section lead your senator to think it is harmless and is not worth fighting!  This section targets automatic federal employee payroll deductions that go to certain outside organizations. It provides that if a tax-exempt organization such as charitable organization, civic league – or labor unions like AFGE – receives dues or contributions via a payroll deduction allotment from a federal employee, the organization must pay a fee equal to 10% of the amount deducted, to the employing agency. The agency must deposit those fee payments into the Treasury’s general fund. In effect, this is a 10% charge on union dues or other charitable contributions deducted from pay, with the revenue going to the government.

AFGE needs your help fighting this section of the reconciliation bill as the Senate moves to take it up later this week. If this section is enacted, AFGE will have to pay a 10% tax on union dues that are paid through automatic payroll deductions of its members.  Fortunately, as AFGE moves to E-dues, the negative impact of this provision on AFGE’s ability to represent its members will not be as severe as it would otherwise be, but it will still have a negative impact. Your senators need to know that this provision, if it becomes law, will have a significant negative impact not only on federal unions but charities that participate in the Combined Federal Campaign, such as the United Way and Catholic Charities, that are the beneficiaries of donations made by hardworking and generous federal workers through automatic payroll deductions. Simply put, federal unions that are dedicated to making the civil service succeed and charities that are doing important work for the American people will be financially hurt if this provision becomes law.

We need to act now. Email your senators and tell them to Strike “Deductions from Pay of Federal Employee on the GOP reconciliation bill.

Every action counts to beat back this disastrous bill that explicitly targets dedicated public servants.

In Solidarity,

AFGE

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