President Trump mandated federal employees to return to the office full-time, impacting nearly 50,000 workers in Chicago alone. This move, viewed as a method for agencies to streamline operations and potentially lay off employees without firings, contrasts sharply with many employees' desires to maintain a hybrid work model. Union leaders argue the importance of telework for operational efficiency, citing historical legislation that recognized the benefits of remote work long before the pandemic. With significant opposition from union representatives, the directive may influence private sectors as well.
"This directive turns back the clock to before 2010 when Congress required federal agencies to expand telework by law," said American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) president Everett Kelley. "Congress took this action a full decade before the pandemic, recognizing telework as an important tool for agencies' operational efficiency."
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Elon Musk have suggested that hardly any federal employees work in-person full-time, but the union says among those who are eligible for telework, more than 60% worked in-person.
AFGE Local 704 represents 1,000 federal Environmental Protection Agency workers across the Midwest. Union president Nicole Cantello tells Axios their union agreement includes fully remote work and telework, which allows employees to be at home eight out of 10 days in a two-week pay period.
Collection
[
|
...
]