Andrea Hsu

And yeah, and she says that dozens of people in her office, in the Office of Civil Rights, were put on paid administrative leave already. after Trump signed that executive order banning DEI programs in the federal government. She says these were people just doing their regular jobs, not running any kind of DEI specific initiative.

And yeah, and she says that dozens of people in her office, in the Office of Civil Rights, were put on paid administrative leave already. after Trump signed that executive order banning DEI programs in the federal government. She says these were people just doing their regular jobs, not running any kind of DEI specific initiative.

Yeah, that is also underway, and it's also like all of this quite chaotic. Some employees have been given dates to return to the office. Others, including people who have been fully remote, have been told they need to go back to an office, but where is still unclear. Okay.

Yeah, that is also underway, and it's also like all of this quite chaotic. Some employees have been given dates to return to the office. Others, including people who have been fully remote, have been told they need to go back to an office, but where is still unclear. Okay.

Yeah, that is also underway, and it's also like all of this quite chaotic. Some employees have been given dates to return to the office. Others, including people who have been fully remote, have been told they need to go back to an office, but where is still unclear. Okay.

A number of federal workers who are covered by unions, by their collective bargaining agreements, you know, they do have telework policies written into these contracts. And at first it seemed like the Trump administration was going to honor those.

A number of federal workers who are covered by unions, by their collective bargaining agreements, you know, they do have telework policies written into these contracts. And at first it seemed like the Trump administration was going to honor those.

A number of federal workers who are covered by unions, by their collective bargaining agreements, you know, they do have telework policies written into these contracts. And at first it seemed like the Trump administration was going to honor those.

But then the administration released this new memo saying, well, agencies have the right to set telework policies and those collective bargaining agreements will not be enforced. Hmm. So the unions are preparing to fight this. I talked with Rich Couture. He's president of AFGE Council 215. That's the union representing workers at the Social Security Administration.

But then the administration released this new memo saying, well, agencies have the right to set telework policies and those collective bargaining agreements will not be enforced. Hmm. So the unions are preparing to fight this. I talked with Rich Couture. He's president of AFGE Council 215. That's the union representing workers at the Social Security Administration.

But then the administration released this new memo saying, well, agencies have the right to set telework policies and those collective bargaining agreements will not be enforced. Hmm. So the unions are preparing to fight this. I talked with Rich Couture. He's president of AFGE Council 215. That's the union representing workers at the Social Security Administration.

You know, they just signed a five-year contract right before Thanksgiving that had a pretty generous telework agreement in it. And, you know, Couture says if that's not going to be honored, people are going to leave. They know this because they did surveys around telework, you know, while they were negotiating that contract.

You know, they just signed a five-year contract right before Thanksgiving that had a pretty generous telework agreement in it. And, you know, Couture says if that's not going to be honored, people are going to leave. They know this because they did surveys around telework, you know, while they were negotiating that contract.

You know, they just signed a five-year contract right before Thanksgiving that had a pretty generous telework agreement in it. And, you know, Couture says if that's not going to be honored, people are going to leave. They know this because they did surveys around telework, you know, while they were negotiating that contract.

And I pressed him a little bit on this, Andrew, because, you know, you always hear members of Congress complain that Americans aren't getting good service, you know, for things like Social Security because people aren't showing up in the office. And Rich Couture said, you know, actually, they have seen improved productivity with some of these telework policies in place.

And I pressed him a little bit on this, Andrew, because, you know, you always hear members of Congress complain that Americans aren't getting good service, you know, for things like Social Security because people aren't showing up in the office. And Rich Couture said, you know, actually, they have seen improved productivity with some of these telework policies in place.

And I pressed him a little bit on this, Andrew, because, you know, you always hear members of Congress complain that Americans aren't getting good service, you know, for things like Social Security because people aren't showing up in the office. And Rich Couture said, you know, actually, they have seen improved productivity with some of these telework policies in place.

And he says, besides, you know, the people who are teleworking, they're not the ones who provide the face-to-face service anyway. He gave an example of the people who answer phones.

And he says, besides, you know, the people who are teleworking, they're not the ones who provide the face-to-face service anyway. He gave an example of the people who answer phones.

And he says, besides, you know, the people who are teleworking, they're not the ones who provide the face-to-face service anyway. He gave an example of the people who answer phones.