I think this pertains to union stewards, they spend a lot of time addressing grievances such as "my manger is mean and said I have to be to work on time". Yes, I was once in the UAW.
Exactly. It allows Union work to be done on the tax payers dime, freeing up Union Dues $$$ to be used to bribe politicians and stuff the pockets of Union Bosses. The free office space was also a kickback to the unions for political support and bribe money. I agree with others here that we must demand government workers be required to spend 100% of their time doing GOVERNMENT WORK. Pay union employees with union dues.
That is something which has always bothered me, that a portion of my dues went to subsidize libetal politicians who I would never vote for.