Federal workers lose right to auto-pay union dues from paychecks

What it does

This bill prohibits federal agencies and the U.S. Postal Service from deducting labor union dues, fees, or political contributions from employees' paychecks. Currently, federal employees can authorize their employers to withhold these amounts; this bill eliminates that option entirely, forcing employees to pay unions directly if they choose to remain members.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a blanket prohibition on payroll deduction of union dues and political contributions for federal employees and postal workers. While titled 'Paycheck Protection,' it restricts an existing employee choice rather than protecting paychecks—the framing inverts the actual effect.

What the text implies

• Eliminates a convenience that reduces union administrative costs and friction; likely to suppress union membership and dues collection among federal workforce without formally banning unions.
• Shifts payment burden from employer-facilitated deduction to individual employee payment, increasing transaction costs and administrative friction for union members.
• May disproportionately affect lower-wage federal employees who benefit most from automatic deduction and have less capacity to manage separate payment arrangements.
• Framing as 'paycheck protection' obscures that it restricts employee choice to authorize deduction—a protection already in place—rather than protecting against anything new.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Federal employees who wish to remain union members lose a convenient payment mechanism and face higher friction to maintain membership, effectively reducing their choice and increasing their administrative burden. While framed as 'protection,' the bill restricts employees' existing right to authorize payroll deduction—a choice previously available to them—and shifts the cost and inconvenience to workers rather than employers or unions.

Named in the bill

Federal agencies, U.S. Postal Service, Labor organizations, Federal employees, 5 U.S.C. § 7115, 39 U.S.C. § 1205

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.

• Mar 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”
• Mar 25, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Mar 25, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 23 - 21”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 lobbying clients named this bill on 17 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,709,980 in lobbying spend. A filing names 32 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 89% of bills with at least one filing.

Eric Burlison, the sponsor, reported $292,530 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Fed of Government Employees AFL-CIO — $840,426 on 2 filings
• National Treasury Employees Union — $690,000 on 2 filings
• National Right to Work Committee — $410,000 on 2 filings
• International Association of Fire Fighters — $380,304 on 2 filings
• American Postal Workers Union AFL-CIO — $240,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.