Dear Members,

In response to comments made by the president-elect threatening the SSA contract and telework agreement, AFGE National President Everett Kelley released the following statement:

“We support telework where it delivers for both the taxpayers and the workers who serve them. Telework and remote work are tools that have helped the federal government increase productivity and efficiency, maintain continuity of operations, and increase disaster preparedness. These policies also assist agencies across the government, including the Social Security Administration, in recruiting and retaining top talent.

“Rumors of widespread federal telework and remote work are simply untrue. More than half of federal employees cannot telework at all because of the nature of their jobs, only ten percent of federal workers are remote, and those who have a hybrid arrangement spend over sixty percent of working hours in the office.

“Collective bargaining agreements entered into by the federal government are binding and enforceable under the law. We trust the incoming administration will abide by their obligations to honor lawful union contracts. If they fail to do so, we will be prepared to enforce our rights.”

AFGE has also released a fact sheet dispelling many of the common myths related to telework and federal employees.

In Solidarity,

AFGE