The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest labor union for federal employees in the U.S., is pushing back against GOP criticisms regarding the alleged misuse of remote work by government employees.
With the change in administration, Republicans have intensified their efforts to challenge remote-work policies that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and have continued for an extended period.
Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee recently introduced a package of bills aimed at increasing accountability within federal agencies regarding the use of taxpayer funds. One bill requires agencies to submit reports on the impact of expanded teleworking since the pandemic and their plans for future remote-work policies.
These bills align with a report by Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, which suggests ways to reduce remote work among government employees by monitoring individual productivity and linking it to their ability to work from home.
AFGE, representing approximately 800,000 civil servants, has criticized these efforts as an attempt to discredit the federal workforce and justify privatizing public-sector jobs.
In response, AFGE released a statement refuting what they perceive as exaggerations by GOP politicians regarding telework misuse. They emphasized the importance of lawmakers making decisions based on facts that impact their constituents' lives.
AFGE debunked several claims made in Ernst's report, including the assertion that nearly one-third of federal workers are entirely remote. They cited an OMB report stating that only 10% of federal civilian workers held fully remote positions without an in-person work expectation.
The labor group also challenged Ernst's claim that 90% of federal workers are eligible to telework, stating that only 46% are eligible, with 54% requiring in-person work daily.
Ernst responded to AFGE's challenge by emphasizing the need to track productivity during the workday to assess federal employees' dedication to their work.
AFGE also addressed claims from other sources, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, regarding the number of federal workers going into the office regularly.
Last week, AFGE reached an agreement with the Biden administration's Social Security Administration to maintain current telework levels for agency employees until 2029, safeguarding remote work for approximately 42,000 federal workers.
