Remote Work Is the New Labor Battlefield
Remote work has emerged as one of the most transformative workplace trends of the 21st century, significantly altering how employees and employers perceive productivity, flexibility, and job satisfaction. Amid this shift, unions are playing a pivotal role in cementing remote work as a permanent feature of modern employment. By advocating for collective bargaining agreements that address telework rights, unions are not only defending remote work but also revitalizing their influence across industries. Two recent landmark agreements—one in the tech sector and another in the public sector—highlight the profound impact unions are having in this domain.
Alphabet Workers Union: Remote Work Is Setting a New Standard in Tech Labor Advocacy
The AWU recently finalized its first collective agreement with Accenture, a key contractor for Google, setting a new standard for labor advocacy in the tech sector. This milestone ensures fully remote roles for Google Help workers, alongside robust protections including a 30-day notice period for layoffs, six weeks of severance pay, and prohibitions on invasive monitoring tools like keystroke and mouse tracking. These provisions are groundbreaking, not only in their scope but also in their inclusivity, as they extend protections to contract workers—a group historically overlooked in union efforts.
The AWU’s strategy of uniting full-time and contingent workers under a “wall-to-wall” union model is particularly noteworthy. This approach challenges the industry’s traditional resistance to unionization and sets a precedent for other tech companies. Beyond addressing immediate concerns, this contract highlights the potential for unions to navigate emerging challenges in remote work, such as equitable career development and digital privacy.
AFGE and SSA: Safeguarding Public Sector Telework
While the AWU’s agreement represents progress in the private sector, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)’s recent deal with the Social Security Administration (SSA) underscores the critical role unions play in the public sector. Finalized at the end of 2024, the agreement locks in telework policies until 2029, preserving remote work options for thousands of federal employees. Depending on their roles, SSA workers can now telework two to five days per week, a measure that has proven essential in mitigating the agency’s staffing crisis.
The SSA’s workforce has faced unprecedented challenges, operating with the lowest staffing levels in five decades amid rising workloads. The AFGE’s success in securing this agreement highlights the union’s ability to advocate not just for employee benefits, but also for the operational efficiency of the agency. This dynamic demonstrates the interconnected nature of employee well-being and public service delivery.
This agreement is not without controversy. Republican lawmakers and incoming administration officials, including President-elect Donald Trump, have criticized the deal as a “midnight-hour maneuver” by the outgoing administration. Trump has vowed to challenge the agreement, labeling it a giveaway to unions. However, the AFGE has defended the contract as both lawful and essential for maintaining the SSA’s productivity. In fact, the agency reported a 6.2% gain in productivity in 2024, bolstering the union’s claim that telework enhances efficiency rather than undermining it.
Remote Work Is a Rallying Cry for New Union Activism
The agreements negotiated by the AWU and the AFGE reflect a larger trend: unions are increasingly aligning their agendas with the priorities of a modern workforce. Remote work advocacy has become a rallying point for union activism, bridging gaps between traditional unionized industries and emerging sectors like tech.
The intersection of remote work and union activism is redefining labor relations globally. The UNI Global Union, a federation of skills and service sector unions, put together a database of 119 union-negotiated agreements from 25 countries with clauses on remote work. The database reveals that 18% of collective agreements now address surveillance, with clauses ensuring data privacy and transparency in monitoring practices, such as those prohibited under the AWU-Accenture agreement.
Another example is the rise of clauses securing the right to disconnect, now present in over 50% of reviewed agreements. This provision ensures employees are not obligated to respond to work communications outside their specified hours, underscoring a broader commitment to work-life balance. Such agreements, like those in Spain for Capgemini and Altamira Asset Management, embed detailed measures to prevent workplace encroachment on personal time, a vital safeguard as the lines blur in remote settings.
Similarly, unions are advancing freedom of association, ensuring remote work does not erode collective rights. Over half of the agreements include guarantees for maintaining union activities, such as providing contact details for communication or IT support for virtual meetings. Notable examples include Spanish sector agreements that mandate proactive measures like monthly updates on remote workers’ contact information and facilitation of virtual elections, ensuring remote employees remain integral to union processes.
Health and safety provisions are also evolving, reflecting the unique risks associated with remote work. While traditional clauses addressed physical safety, recent agreements emphasize psychosocial well-being, recognizing risks like isolation and ergonomic challenges. For example, Romanian and Brazilian agreements prioritize mental health, offering initiatives like training on maintaining social connections and ergonomic assessments, as well as employer-provided tools like adjustable desks and chairs. These measures highlight the unions’ broader role in creating supportive environments for remote employees.
Lastly, agreements are increasingly addressing career development, ensuring remote workers are not disadvantaged in promotions, training, or professional opportunities. Italy’s National Protocol stands out with its comprehensive approach, explicitly guaranteeing equal access to development while addressing gender disparities. By bolstering work-life balance measures for caregivers, this agreement highlights
The inclusivity of these agreements also points to a broader shift in union strategy. By incorporating contract workers, as seen with the AWU, unions are expanding their reach and relevance. This approach not only strengthens union membership but also addresses the disparities between full-time and contingent workers, ensuring that all employees benefit from collective representation.
As remote work continues to evolve, unions will undoubtedly play a central role in shaping its future. The agreements reached by the AWU and the AFGE are just the beginning. They signal a new era of labor relations, one that prioritizes flexibility, equity, and mutual accountability. For workers, unions, and employers alike, this represents an opportunity to build a more inclusive and resilient workforce, ready to thrive in the digital age.
Key Take-Away
Remote work is transforming labor relations as unions advocate for telework rights, bridging traditional and modern sectors. Landmark agreements like AWU's and AFGE's showcase unions' evolving role in securing flexibility, privacy, and career… Share on XImage credit: Kaboompics.com/pexels
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was named “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders overcome frustrations with hybrid work and Generative AI. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote seven best-selling books, and his two most recent ones are Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams and ChatGPT for Thought Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI for Innovative and Effective Content Creation. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.