Internal NFFE News
August 1, 2023
In late July, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced plans to mandate employees to return to the office three days per week starting in October. This decision was made without consulting union representatives and violated existing collective bargaining and telework agreements, causing the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) to file a grievance against FAA management.
Last week, in response to legal challenges by NFFE and other unions, the FAA notified employees that it would be pausing any planned changes to telework. The FAA expressed their commitment to increasing transparency and collaboration with labor partners, including NFFE.
“Moving forward, NFFE will be following any developments regarding FAA telework very closely,” said NFFE President Randy Erwin. “Our members within FAA have proven that remote work increases productivity. Mandating employees to come into a physical office limits flexibility and decreases work-life balance. Unfortunately, if government employees are required to commute to work more often than necessary, folks will begin looking for employment opportunities in the private sector where they can have the benefit of remote work. It will prove difficult to recruit and retain well qualified and talented professionals in the federal sector should we rush to bring workers back to the office.”