Two unions representing thousands of state workers say they are “appalled” and “disgusted” by Gov. Tim Walz’s “unilateral” changes to telework policies.
Walz announced Tuesday that most agency employees will be required to work in-person for at least 50% of scheduled workdays beginning June 1. His office said roughly 60% of state employees already work in-person and did so throughout the pandemic.
“This approach balances the flexibility of telework with the workplace advantages of being in office,” Walz said in a statement. “Having more state employees in the office means that collaboration can happen more quickly and state agencies can build strong organizational cultures more easily.”
The move comes as many businesses and workplaces pull back from remote work, which became a widespread practice during the pandemic. President Donald Trump, for instance, ordered government employees to return to in-person work on his first day back in office.
The changes to Minnesota’s telework policy will provide exemptions for employees who live more than 75 miles away from their primary work location.
The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which together represent nearly 40,000 state workers across Minnesota, were not pleased with the governor’s announcement.
“This is a unilateral move by a bad boss without consultation or consideration of the very staff he claims to care deeply about investing in. I never thought the same public worker attacks and micromanaging mannerisms of our federal administration would be mirrored in Minnesota,” said MAPE President Megan Dayton.
“For administrators to unleash this kind of chaos on hard working employees when we’re about to start negotiating our next contract feels, at best, hypocritical, at mid, a strategic effort to erode the progress we’ve made to enhance our working conditions and productivity, and at worst, a short-sighted attempt at engineered attrition.”
AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen described Walz’s decision as an “act of blatant disrespect.”
“Our union members must have and deserve a seat at the table every step of the way. We are demanding full transparency and meaningful dialogue immediately,” he said.
Walz said the policy changes will support the economic vitality of office districts like downtown St. Paul.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
