New OPM memo on RTO

[Anonymous]

SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I didn't have school aged kids before telework so what did people do? Did people put their kids in before/aftercare/camps/school for 10 hours a day? How did people find time for extracurriculars if elementary kids are in aftercare until 5:30-6?

My kids were not yet school aged when COVID started so they were still in daycare/preschool. But even before COVID DH and I both teleworked multiple days per week so that at least one of us was home. Usually the commuting spouse would do morning drop off since they had to head out anyway and then the teleworking parent would do pickup so the kids didn’t have to be there past 5.

I think a lot of parents of school aged kids teleworked at least hybrid before COVID. It’s not like March 2020 marked the invention of WAH. For those who need longer hours, they use aftercare, but staffing has gotten harder in the childcare sector so spots are limited with long waitlists. Or maybe if you’re lucky you can find a martial arts type place that has a van to do school pickup and take them to do activities.

I also think a lot of the parents were just not in the workforce or were underemployed. I guess this administration thinks that is preferable to go back to.

My kids a now in extracurriculars starting as early as 4:30/5. To keep them in we’d have to take leave some days, use carpools, stagger hours, not really sure yet … thankfully my DH’s private sector job has been remote since 2018 and his colleagues are scattered across the country with no office to go to, so I guess he would have to take on more of the kid shuffling at home if I go back 5 days (holding out hope my agency’s CBA holds). I would try to jump ship out of government quickly though if forced to commute 5 days/week.

The schedule and juggling you describe is very normal. My husband is 5x/week and I am remote and do more juggling, but I can’t do it all while working during the day, so we have a nanny who helps after school with driving while I am working. Millions of people do this and it is not fun, but it is the norm.

Let me guess, either you don’t live in the DC area, or your husband is a high earner in the private sector. My husband and I are both feds and would not be able to afford a nanny to drive our two elementary aged kids to activities.

As others have mentioned camps alone offer garbage hours and after care to add on another $200 to a camp week that already costs $500 is cost prohibitive.

Our kids were 2 and 5 when Covid hit and we sucked it up and maintained our work performance and duties even though it felt impossible. We had no help. This feels like a real “f you” after we have been dedicated career civil servants over many years for different administrations.

We don’t have a problem with returning to the office, but, the extremism is the issue. Why strip people of flexibilities they had prior to Covid? Why suggest total eradication of telework? If we can even keep 1-2 days per week that will help most people feel like they can stay a little sane and manage all of their work/life balances and priorities.

Its tone deaf to act like this is a brand new and insurmountable problem. Many people are working in person for the last few years, many of them have kids, and many of them are not high earners.

Before and after care exists for a reason. If you cant flex your schedule you use it. And stop signing up for activities that start before 6pm.

No one cares, you worthless troll. This is not a campaign website. People are under no obligation to smile politely while the orange insurrectionist marches in and spits all over them.

Ridiculous overreaction to a good point. DP

Your children don’t need to do extracurriculars at 5 pm! Why are you getting mad at someone who pays a babysitter to watch and drive children around for a few hours after school because they have to work during that time when for years you have not been working during that time? Maybe check your privilege and consider other families make sacrifices financially to pay for childcare from 3:30-5:30 while you just stopped working at 3:30. Check your own privilege. It’s actually really rare to not have to pay for any after school care for elementary aged kids when both parents work.

I’m sorry you think it was a “privilege” for me to graduate college with honors and a super high LSAT score, receive scholarships to a number of highly ranked law schools, serve as editor of a law journal, clerk for a year and then use my qualifications to land a flexible government job in lieu of making private sector pay.

Do you really think that anyone who has something you don’t (whether the ability to work flexible hours, or make huge bonuses, or have a client expense account, or whatever it is) is more privileged than you? Or could it be that they worked hard and made strategic decisions?

You are welcome to have followed the same career path. Oh and I come from a very working class family, no lawyers in my family. I had to bust my butt through school for all of this.

I have never read such a narcissistic post about…childcare? Is this about childcare? I think the only biographical information you left out was your blood type.

I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out after school childcare just like the millions of people who figure it out despite the fact that they weren’t the head of the environmental law review at Fordham.

PP’s point is that there are many over-qualified feds who took the job because of the flexibility and benefits - and we wouldn’t be in the public sector without it. So making the job worse means the quality of the workforce will decrease. this is pretty basic economics.

The flexibility was never not having to worry about childcare for children below the age of about 9 - until COVID.

+100

It's insane so many Feds are short on childcare. You were never meant to work with your kids under your care while you work.

This line is getting really tired. I don't need childcare if I don't have a commute. I do now that I will be spending several extra hours a day in traffic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Didn't they have a CBA that provided for it? Or did they just kill it for NBUs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Don't they have a telework agreement in place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just did a cursory search for private sector jobs in my industry. They all pay 30-50% more than I make and most are closer to my house. If I need to go into an office every day I may as well make more money with a shorter commute.

I’m in the same boat. One of the top specialists on my team, took a big pay cut when switched from being a contractor. Now we’re working extra hours, understaffed, and underpaid. I do like working for the government, though, because it feels like I’m contributing to something bigger, instead of just making someone rich. But I’m definitely not planning to go in every day. Honestly, if I go back to contracting, my agency will lose more than I will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Don't they have a telework agreement in place?

They did, through 2029, but revoked it anyway. Telework was the only thing keeping those appeals attorneys there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just did a cursory search for private sector jobs in my industry. They all pay 30-50% more than I make and most are closer to my house. If I need to go into an office every day I may as well make more money with a shorter commute.

There is no guarantee that you would get one of those jobs or that the new job you get has no deal breaker negatives. There are just not enough perfect, higher paying shorter commute jobs for everyone who is threatening to leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just did a cursory search for private sector jobs in my industry. They all pay 30-50% more than I make and most are closer to my house. If I need to go into an office every day I may as well make more money with a shorter commute.

There is no guarantee that you would get one of those jobs or that the new job you get has no deal breaker negatives. There are just not enough perfect, higher paying shorter commute jobs for everyone who is threatening to leave.

So sure, the high quality staff will get hired out and the only ones left will be those who are desperate. Great plan there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spouse's job signed a lease for a new building, with half the square footage, based on teleworking patterns since 2023.

I just saw a news article which said the feds are selling the old building.

How can they make everyone RTO when there are far fewer offices now? AND the feds are saving a ton of money with the downsizing.

The most cost effective thing would be to sell most of the buildings and outfit just a few remaining ones to be mostly conference space that any agency can reserve. Work at home, come to the old EPA building (or wherever) for your meeting that has to be in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Don't they have a telework agreement in place?

They did, through 2029, but revoked it anyway. Telework was the only thing keeping those appeals attorneys there.

Was this today? Did you guys get a message from the agency head about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Link please? In 11/2024 SSA extended current telework days for everyone to 2029 under an MOU to their CBA. Non-discretionary for telework to remain at current levels. And none of the “manager discretion” “up to to X days” wishy washy language. It cannot be EO’d away. And can only be reopened by a court under very limited conditions, like fraud. BU employees should be fine. Non BU are screwed. But 42,000 SSA employees are covered under the MOU (out of 60,000 total).

Here’s the MOU. Page 8.

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/SSA-AFGE-Agreement.pdf

Where are you seeing otherwise? Or are you just spouting off?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Link please? In 11/2024 SSA extended current telework days for everyone to 2029 under an MOU to their CBA. Non-discretionary for telework to remain at current levels. And none of the “manager discretion” “up to to X days” wishy washy language. It cannot be EO’d away. And can only be reopened by a court under very limited conditions, like fraud. BU employees should be fine. Non BU are screwed. But 42,000 SSA employees are covered under the MOU (out of 60,000 total).

Here’s the MOU. Page 8.

https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/SSA-AFGE-Agreement.pdf

Where are you seeing otherwise? Or are you just spouting off?

NP and that bolded part at the bottom of page 8 (also numbered page 1 on the page itself) doesn't seem that promising depending on whether "operational needs" has any teeth to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Don't they have a telework agreement in place?

They did, through 2029, but revoked it anyway. Telework was the only thing keeping those appeals attorneys there.

Was this today? Did you guys get a message from the agency head about it?

Someone on Reddit said it went out to managers. I imagine this will go to litigation since they’re just ignoring the CBA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SSA just killed telework, so retirees are about to feel some serious pain.

Don't they have a telework agreement in place?

They did, through 2029, but revoked it anyway. Telework was the only thing keeping those appeals attorneys there.

Was this today? Did you guys get a message from the agency head about it?

Someone on Reddit said it went out to managers. I imagine this will go to litigation since they’re just ignoring the CBA.

Any chance they just meant that managers have to go in and not BUs?

[Anonymous]

More on SSA:

https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2024/12/ssa-afge-reach-deal-lock-current-telework-levels-until-2029/401501/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomspiggle/2024/12/18/navigating-change-what-federal-employees-should-know-post-election/

Right now, SSA may have the best protected teleworkers in the federal government. I’m a lawyer and I’ve never seen a CB A with such clear, non-discretionary language.

So, please link to “SSA just killed telework”. Unless you are full of sh-t.