Posts tagged remote work
CBS News Digital Staffers Say Fight for Contract Improvements Continue a Year After WGA Unionization
June 20, 2025 // The unionized journalist, editors and social media producers call on management to meet “in good faith” ahead of their current last scheduled bargaining date of June 24
Friction builds between Walz, public sector unions on multiple fronts
June 6, 2025 // Possible layoffs, a return-to-office directive and tense contract negotiations are straining Gov. Tim Walz’s relationship with public sector labor unions that represent thousands of state workers. There has been a notable shift in tone given that Walz has delivered many wins to unions since first being elected governor in 2018. The DFLer signed several worker protection measures into law, like paid sick leave. He signed laws enhancing collective bargaining rights and wage theft protections.
College staff threaten to quit after administration orders them to return to office 5 days a week
May 29, 2025 // Georgia's public universities are now requiring staff to return to the office five days a week, causing backlash from employees who claim the mandate will cause additional problems. The University System of Georgia, which governs public university institutions in the state, announced at the start of the year that faculty must be present on campus during core business hours. Last month, USG's chancellor Dr. Sonny Perdue told presidents and administrators at a Board of Regents meeting, 'If that’s not what y’all want, you let me know, because that’s where we’re going,' the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
JPMorgan Chase CFO issues stern warning to employees
May 20, 2025 // During JPMorgan Chase’s annual Investor Day presentation, the company’s CFO, Jeremy Barnum, said that managers have recently been instructed to wind down hiring, pushing them to work better with their current employee headcount, according to a recent report from Business Insider. "At the margin, we're asking people to resist head count growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency," said Barnum.
Opinion: Remote work is a new battlefield for unions
April 22, 2025 // A series of Trump administration executive orders, and recent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management , aim to dismantle federal telework arrangements. That guidance indicates that agencies can override union contracts when it comes to deciding how much or how little employees get to work from home. Legal experts warn that reversing negotiated telework clauses not only puts federal employees’ work-life balance at risk but also sets a precedent that could weaken collective bargaining in other areas.
IRS workers only had to show up to work once a week in person, before Trump took over
April 18, 2025 // Last December, a bombshell report from Ernst’s office found that a measly 6% of the federal workforce showed up “in-person on a full-time basis.” Almost one-third of federal workers were remote on a full-time basis at the time, marking a steep decline from the pre-pandemic era in which only 3% teleworked daily, according to the report. Ernst has clashed with the IRS repeatedly, including over watchdog findings last July that current and former workers owed $46 million to Uncle Sam in unpaid taxes. “This adds insult to injury to the fact that the agency is filled with tax cheats,” the Hawkeye State senator added, referring to the collective bargaining deal. “I have a laundry list of reforms to fix America’s least favorite government agency.”
Unionized Microsoft Developers Authorize Strike After Failing To Reach A Deal After Two Years Of Negotiations
April 4, 2025 // "We’re not afraid to use our union power to ensure that we can keep making great games," said Skylar Hinnat, a quality assurance tester and member of ZeniMax Workers United-CWA. Hinnat continued, "All of us want to be working. We hope that Microsoft will allow us to do so with dignity and fairness to all by securing a first contract with our union." Some of the key issues the ZWU-CWA is bargaining over are expanding remote work options, better pay, workplace improvements, and mandating that Microsoft inform the union of any intentions it may have to outsource quality assurance work to a third party.
Gov. Walz orders state employees back to office, unions push back
March 28, 2025 // "We are mostly upset because there was no attempt by the governor or his agencies to engage with us at all," said Megan Dayton, president of Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. "There are not dedicated cubicles or offices anymore like there used to be pre-pandemic, so I don't know how they're going to do it." Dayton said her union has not ruled out a lawsuit. In a statement, Bart Andersen, president of AFSCME Council 5, another union, said, in part: "The administration’s decision to impose sweeping workplace policy changes without engaging our union and labor partners first is not just unacceptable – it’s an act of blatant disrespect."
Blackburn: By reining in federal labor unions, Congress can cut down on government waste | OPINION
March 27, 2025 // That’s why Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and I recently introduced the Federal Workforce Freedom Act, which would put a stop to all collective bargaining agreements between federal agencies and labor unions. Among its provisions, this legislation would prohibit federal employees from participating in labor unions for the purposes of collective bargaining, ban federal agencies from engaging in collective bargaining negotiations, and immediately terminate all collective bargaining agreements.
Trump Targets Spending on Labor Union Talks in Latest DOGE Move
March 18, 2025 // President Donald Trump’s administration is mandating federal agencies report how much they spent negotiating labor union contracts for the past year, a sign that collective bargaining agreements could be the next target in a government cost-cutting push. An Office of Personnel Management memo sent Monday directs federal agency heads to report the amount spent on the collective bargaining agreement process, including how much they paid their employees involved in the negotiations, fees for engaging in mediation or arbitration and the fair-market-value of the office space used for the talks.