Remote work will end, employees don't have a choice: Lou Basenese
Public Ventures President and chief market strategist Lou Basenese discusses the unintended consequences of COVID policies on 'Varney & Co.'
A union representing thousands of federal and government workers landed members a work from home deal ahead of the incoming Trump administration's efforts to force workers to return to office.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) reached an agreement with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to protect telework, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing messages viewed by the outlet.
The updated contract, which affects 42,000 government employees, will allow workers to stay hybrid until 2029.
The deal was signed by President Biden's former SSA Commissioner, Martin O’Malley.
HOW TELEWORK IS RESCUING THE GOVERNMENT WORKFORCE
A side-by-side image of employees working from home. (iStock / iStock)
Under the new agreement, workers-in-office requirements range from two to five days per week, varying by job, according to the outlet, citing people familiar with the matter.
"This deal will secure not just telework for SSA employees, but will secure staffing levels through prevention of higher attrition, which in turn will secure the ability of the Agency to serve the public," AFGE chapter president Rich Couture told Bloomberg.
REMOTE WORK FOR THE WIN: HOW IN-OFFICE REQUIREMENTS ARE HURTING COMPANIES
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., argued against hybrid work, saying that government employees need to "show up for the people it serves."
"THOUSANDS of federal employees just landed a work from home deal ahead of @realDonaldTrump taking office," Comer wrote on X. "This is why I introduced the SHOW UP Act. Our government needs to show up for the people it serves."
The representative's vehement disagreement with remote work opportunities came after President-elect Trump's appointments took aim at hybrid workers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who were appointed to the incoming administration's newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, have announced their plan for "mass" federal layoffs.
Elon Musk, right, and Vivek Ramaswamy have been tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images and Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"If you require most of those federal bureaucrats to just say, like normal working Americans, you come to work five days a week, a lot of them won't want to do that," Ramaswamy previously said on Fox News Sunday. "If you have many voluntary reductions in force of the workforce in the federal government along the way, great. That's a good side effect of those policies as well."
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Fox News Digital has reached out to AFGE for comment.
