Greetings, Union Sisters and Brothers. On July 8, 2024, your UPE 005/008 bargaining team met again with DHA management regarding the proposed new telework policy. Among the items where agreements were reached were the following:
Teleworking employees are not to be necessarily found personally liable for injuries to third-party individuals in the teleworker’s home.
Employees whose telework stint was shortened by the telework “pause” of 2023 would receive first priority for selection for telework, followed by those “Contact Center employees” who have previously met the requirements for telework (in order of seniority).
The Union has proposed opening telework to all employees whose duties are primarily carried out by phone. The department has not yet agreed to the Union’s telework expansion proposal, but additional meetings are being scheduled to discuss it.
To recap: the telework option is for telework two (2) days per week, with no option for a 90-day rotation this time. Teleworkers will be required to give up their 9/80 schedule if they have one. The telework rollout will happen in stages, as previously described. The first part of the rollout will start on July 9, 2024, with notification going out from management for the next stage on July 12, 2024.
Stay tuned!
UPE thanks our governing board members,
James Starr, Jennifer Avalo, Patrick Hunter, Chris Jenkins, Nichole Gorman, and Stephanie McCall, for their participation and advocacy in this meeting.