City employees to protest telework policy Thursday

The union representing city employees, AFSCME Local 1624, will hold a rally and press conference Thursday to protest a proposed telework policy that will send them back to the office. The “Rally to Save Telework” will call on interim City Manager Jesús Garza to postpone implementing changes that reduce telework to two days per week for most, and eliminate it entirely for executives. The rally asks for a data-driven policy based on things like feedback, productivity rates established during the pandemic, and climate goals. A press release from the union invites all city employees to join the rally at noon on Thursday and notes, “The City of Austin is in a near crisis of recruitment and retention, and this policy proposal would hobble the City’s ability to compete for the best of the workforce. Now, more than ever, the City should be looking for ways to expand the benefits and privileges of working for the City, not implementing changes that would make City work environments less desirable.”