Posts tagged telework
Comer highlights bill challenging work from home deal for federal employees
December 4, 2024 // The protections target tens of thousands of Social Security staff and are part of several efforts in anticipation of Trump’s plan to reshape America’s workforce, Bloomberg first reported. The outlet noted that the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing more than 40,000 employees, reached an agreement with the Social Security Administration (SSA) last week.
Labor Dept. to require workers to spend half of work time in-person, angering union
October 22, 2024 // In an email to staff last week, Su announced that new in-person work requirements will take effect Dec. 1. Beginning on that date, all non-bargaining unit employees outside of the Washington, D.C., region and all members of the NCFLL bargaining unit will be required to spend five days per pay period in traditional offices or on field work. The new policy does not apply to the more than 100 employees who are part of the National Union of Labor Investigators, with whom the department continues to negotiate, or Office of Inspector General employees, while non-bargaining unit D.C.-area workers already have been commuting for half of their work hours.
Federal Trade Commission employees vote to unionize
October 2, 2024 // Federal Trade Commission (FTC) employees voted overwhelmingly to unionize, joining the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). The 415 to 25 vote paves the way for more than 800 employees in Washington, D.C., and eight regional offices across the country to have representation. FTC began the process to unionize back in 2023, raising concerns about their access to telework, potential politicization of the civil service and other issues. With FTC, NTEU now represents 36 agencies. NTEU President Doreen Greenwald called it a “historic day” for frontline workers seeking a stronger voice in the workplace.
How a Biden federal employee got paid for ‘teleworking’ while actually spending four DAYS in jail on a DUI charge
August 15, 2024 // Vargas was also arrested on three other occasions, including for multiple DUIs, between 2020 and 2022. During that time, she also served as the former president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3138. Read More EXCLUSIVE Social Security whistleblower reveals 'weeks to months' response time for 'simple requests' due to telework abuse article image In April 2023, Vargas allegedly 'confessed' to an AFGE staff member that she misappropriated $17,000. However, after a review, the federation found that the amount was actually closer to $20,500. In August 2023, she was 'suspended' from all AFGE affiliated offices.
Opinion: Bill Would End Taxpayer-Funded Union Activities by Federal Employees
August 5, 2024 // Although the Trump-Pence administration tried to rein in official time—limiting it to no more than 25% of employees’ time—the Biden-Harris administration reversed those reforms. Taxpayers presumably once again pay some employees to spend 100% of their time working for their unions. I say presumably because the Biden-Harris administration removed the Office of Personnel Management’s webpage on official time, which had provided transparency for more than a decade on how many federal employees did work for their union instead of for taxpayers, and how much time they spent doing it. Although we no longer know how many federal employees use official time, or how much total time they’re using, the disappearing webpage doesn’t indicate that official time has declined.
Union calls for FDIC to ‘follow the law’ after pivot on return-to-office plans
June 28, 2024 // When hammering out return-to-office plans, like many other federal agencies, FDIC had initially planned to require employees to report to the office three days per week beginning later this summer. But late last week, FDIC instead pivoted and announced that employees will have to come into the office just two days per week starting on July 15, FDIC confirmed to Federal News Network. Once implemented, the new telework arrangements will remain in effect until further notice. Although the in-office requirements are lower than initially expected, the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents FDIC employees, is pushing the agency’s leadership to return to the drawing board. Vivian Hwa, president of NTEU Chapter 207, is calling for the agency to continue working to resolve the already monthslong bargaining dispute over telework, rather than move forward with the announced changes. Months prior to making its return-to-office announcement, FDIC had opened negotiations over the telework provision included in its collective bargaining agreement with NTEU. During those negotiations, FDIC proposed its initial three-days-per-week policy.
So, A Union’s Own Unionized Workers Go On Strike…
June 21, 2024 // In a May 30 news release, the Guild pointed to its one-day unfair labor practice strike held on May 23, 2024 to “protest the anti-union hypocrisy and unlawful practices from UFCW executives at the bargaining table,” apparently to signal that Guild members are prepared to dig in their heels. In another post six days later, the Guild stated that the UFCW’s “last, best, and final proposal” lacked “substantive changes” from UFCW’s previous proposal, which had been voted down. The UFCW refused to schedule bargaining sessions until the Guild voted again. In response, the Guild “thr[e]w a voting party complete with party hats, candy cigarettes, and a copy of the proposal to annotate suggestions for improvement [to the proposal].” And unsurprisingly, Guild members rejected the proposal once again. Often, unions attack employers (many of whom are truly trying to do their best to be fair and reasonable) as unfair, unreasonable, uncaring, bullying, greedy, amoral…. Well, you get the picture. So, it’s fascinating, in a car-crash kind of way, when an organization with the specific mission of promoting worker rights is accused by its own employees of violating those same rights!
Commerce agency near ‘collapse’ over telework, layoffs, union says
June 3, 2024 // Lawmakers, especially Republicans, have been wary of widespread remote work, saying customer service backlogs at government agencies including the Social Security Administration and the IRS prove the case for more in-person staff. Just last week, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s HR department, assured lawmakers that more than half of all federal employees work in-person full time.
Labor employees show up to protest for more telework
April 3, 2024 // Ernst and Franklin wrote to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su seeking more details about what the protest cost the department. “Clearly, these employees know how much more effective they can be when they show up in person. We just wish they had the same level of dedication to serving Americans that they do to serving themselves,” the lawmakers wrote. “As White House Chief of Staff [Jeff] Zients said in January, agencies are still ‘not where they need to be’ on returning employees to the office. If your employees can show up to the office to protest, they can show up to the office to work.” Ernst and Franklin want Su to respond to answers to three questions by April 10: How much taxpayer-funded union time did representatives of AFGE Local 948 log with the Department of Labor (DOL) in the four weeks preceding their rally on March 19, 2024? Were the DOL employees paid—either through taxpayer-funded union time reimbursements or otherwise—for their protest against returning to the office, which they staged at their office? If so, what is the cost to the DOL including but not limited to labor and resources—of this protest?
Snow day puts Lamont, CT employee unions at odds over telework
February 16, 2024 // Hybrid employees who were scheduled to work remotely during Tuesday’s storm were required to do so, the coalition says. But SEBAC also said hybrid employees who were scheduled to work on-site Tuesday should not have been compelled to work remotely or otherwise expend accrued time off. Those employees, the coalition says, must be treated like all staff who normally work on-site all the time. Those on-site workers effectively received Tuesday as a paid day off.