In an interview with NPR, the head of the largest employee union at Social Security doesn't seem opposed to President Biden's announcement that federal employees must be vaccinated or be tested regularly for Covid-19. He just seems to want something in return for it. I think he's going to be disappointed on that score.
I'm sure de Juliis has many union members who hate the idea of being vaccinated. I'm pretty sure he's got a lot more union members who feel strongly otherwise. The tide is turning quite rapidly on opponents of vaccination. About two-thirds of the country is at least partially vaccinated and we're increasingly frustrated with Covid limitations that are only necessary because of the fools who won't get vaccinated. The unvaccinated aren't just a danger to themselves. They increase the risk of breakthrough infection among those who are vaccinated.
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ReplyDeleteThe vaccine mandate should not be part of a package to order SSA back workers to the office. We are now teleworking safely and effectively.
Having all employees get a vaccine still would not make the offices nearly as safe as our homes. The Delta variant is a game changer in regard to reopenings.
AFGE should make sure there is no connection between the vaccine mandate and forcing SSA workers back to the office.
One thing the government should do is make the employees who refuse to get vaccinated to pay for their weekly Covid tests.
ReplyDeleteI see no reason that my tax dollars should be used to provide free weekly Covid tests for people who are just being stupid.
Folks who can get vaccinated and do not are not only endangering their own health but the health of others. The longer such a large amount of individuals stupidly refuse to get vaccinated, the more likely it becomes that a COVID variant will develop that is more virulent and, perhaps, more deadly than the current delta variant. It is perhaps time for a mandate of the COVID vaccination for the health and well-being of all seems to dictate that.
ReplyDeleteField offices and the PSCs must reopen. The IG report confirms that unless SSA completely reworks how evidence is handled, the existing processes are overwhelmed when the offices are closed. The online system is too limited for a lot of tasks, and teleclaims appointments take months.
ReplyDeleteA lot of SSA jobs are public contact jobs, just like folks at the USPS and Safeway and Walgreens. The business processes for the public are, for better or worse, still focused on people and documents coming to the FO (or the PSC) and work taking place at that level. Telework is falling down in this area, IG report and lots of people's personal experience confirms.
SSA may be making telework work, but it isn't making SSA's "work" work. It's simply not built on telework focused business processes to be sustainable. It's built on the people in the door business processes that have led to mail not getting opened or worked after it's opened.
As for vaccines and one's job, not sure this is something that's negotiable. Boss says get vacccinated or do the testing, that's kind of what it's going to be. But I do like charging folks for the testing, hadn't considered that. Consequences for one's actions. But since at the moment most if not all covid-19 testing is free, migt actually be harder to do on the agency's end.
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ReplyDeletePerhaps good points about handling mail but teleclaims appointments do not necessarily take months. Calendars for teleclaims only go out 8 weeks so that is the maximum amount of time it could take to get a teleclaim appointment. In my office, it's about 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteVery low percentage of PSC employees have anything to do with certifying documents or handling mail.
The IG report about problems with certifying documents would therefore not be just cause to totally reopen PSC and make thousands of PSC employees return the office under unsafe conditions,
If necessary, just bring back the mailroom personnel to handle the docs.
The news indicates that many companies are revising reopening plans due to the bad news on the COVID19 variants.
I don't think SSA should just ignore the new dangers with the Delta variant, and plunge full speed ahead with reopening. FO personnel would be at especially high risk as they deal directly with the public.
Considering that the cases of COVID infections are increasing exponentially, reopening now would be stupid.
ReplyDeleteAt SEPSC most RAC (records analysis clerks) are back in the office at one per module per day. Documents are scanned in the same as always. I cannot speak for mail room staff, however, records staff in the modules are performing their duties same as always. Mail that is needed to be sent by technicians is collected by management daily and posted per normal procedure in the mail room.
ReplyDeleteDe Juliis would be perfectly happy closing FOs and going to 100% telework. It doesn't surprise me that he'd be mealy-mouthed on vaccination requirements.
ReplyDeleteAFGE doesn't represent our best interests, and fails spectacularly when it even tries. So glad I quit throwing dues money down that hole.
Many Social Security employees want telework full time. The fact that it is providing lousy service is of no particular concern.
ReplyDeleteThey are using the Covid virus and legitimate fears to push for full time telework.
Get vaccinated and get back to work.
ReplyDelete1:55 You fail to see even the basic truth that SSA employees are working: safely at home.
You are right about one thing however : the fears regarding the new Covid variants are legitimate.
3:38
ReplyDeleteThey are working "safely at home" but they are not working well. And they could, with due precautions and getting vaccinated, also work safely in the office.
But, I get it, you don't want to.
Yesterday, someone called and wanted to file for reconsideration of the finding she was not still disabled and wanted to request benefit continuation. It cannot be done online and without signing the request in the DO, she will not have proof that she requested it within ten days when the SSA cuts of her benefits and tells her they never received her appeal/request.
Someone else called and said that they received notice that they had elected to stop their Part B coverage. She had requested that her part D coverage be ceased but not Medicare Part B. No one when she called could say that this would be done promptly or even. Seeing with someone in the DO and signing the request to clarify that she never intended to stop Part B and being shown any document where she may have inadvertently said the opposite cold not be done over the phone. She needed to see what she signed and needed to be able to verify that she either did not sign it or there was no such request or that she wanted to withdraw the erroneous statement. Easy to do in the office. Impossible to do online or over the phone.
So, even with best intentions, working from home is often not good enough.