Government Executive – Agencies to soon detail how they will overcome unions, office space issues to bring all staff in-person The White House and OPM are asking for specifics in how agencies will comply with Trump’s return-to-office order. January 27, 2025 Eric Katz Senior Correspondent ‘You have to show up to work, basically,” Trump said. “You have to show up to work. You have to go to your office and work. Otherwise you’re not going to have a job.” Agencies last week already notified their workforces of their intentions to ensure all eligible employees are working in person, per OPM’s initial guidance. At the General Services Administration, for example, acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian—one of the few temporary leaders President Trump brought in from outside government—said the agency is committed to full implementation of its new policy within 30 days and he is setting up a task force to evaluate physical space and IT needs. His goal, he said, was to ensure GSA has “the most collaborative (and fun) work environment across all locations.”
Maximum Telework for government workers is essential for a sustainable future, but elected officials beholden to fossil fuel interests and commercial real estate won’t be able to understand what their fat campaign checks and favours won’t allow them to understand.
Government Executive – OPM claims agencies can ignore union telework contracts – A new memo instructing agencies to cease enforcing union-negotiated telework policies under the guise of “management rights” could portend future assaults on collective bargaining. February 3, 2025 06:51 PM ET Erich Wagner Suzanne Summerlin, an independent labor attorney and former Biden-era nominee to be general counsel at the Federal Labor Relations Authority, said that the memo disregards basic definitions of terms outlined in federal labor law. For instance, the concept of “management rights” is an assertion made in response to a specific proposal at the bargaining table. An agency then argues that the proposal is nonnegotiable, but only the FLRA can rule whether a proposal excessively infringes upon management rights. “Proposals that ‘excessively interfere’ with management rights is not permitted to be bargained over, but that doesn’t mean management rights can’t be bargained at all,” Summerlin said. “[But] in this case, they appear to be going after anything that “impedes” management rights, but that isn’t the legal standard.”
It’s also important to note that the vast majority of government workers have jobs which must be conducted at a specific job setting. And sometimes remote refers to working at an office location that isn’t the primary office location. This idea that the federal government is entirely staffed by people working from their houses is disinformation propaganda promoted to fuel animosity toward government workers.
My letter to reps:
Maximum Telework for government workers and the private sector should continue for our future, in order to promote disability accessibility, stop infectious disease spread, and prioritize our move away from squandering fossil fuel energy on pointless and unhealthy commutes. It’s a gross insult to all the workers who HAVE been “showing up” and doing important work from home – successfully, safely, efficiently, and productively, both since the beginning of the pandemic, and in some cases decades prior to the pandemic. Working from home works. It’s going to need to work even more if we want a functional future and the job positions in the government and other essential roles filled. Prioritize and promote telework for all where at all possible, now, and going forward.