Biden Administration Tries To Lock In Telework At SSA

      From Bloomberg News: 

A Biden administration appointee has agreed to lock in hybrid work protections for tens of thousands of Social Security staff, part of a slew of organized labor efforts that complicate President-elect Donald Trump's efforts to reshape the federal workforce.

 

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing 42,000 Social Security Administration workers, reached an agreement with the agency last week that will protect telework until 2029 in an updated contract, according to a message to its members viewed by Bloomberg.

The new deal, signed by President Joe Biden’s just-departed SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley, will let workers “maintain current levels of telework,” AFGE chapter president Rich Couture wrote. …

  

A US president "can't just set aside lawfully signed collective bargaining agreements, without the unions' agreement," Indiana University law professor Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt said via email. "The US government has to live up to its agreements, too.

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Don't Mess With Social Security

 

    The French government may soon fall because it has tried to ram through changes in social security benefits in that country. This will be the first time a French government has fallen due to a no confidence vote since 1962.

One Thing About Carolyn Colvin

     Let's say that someone other than Carolyn Colvin had been made the Acting Commissioner of Social Security and let's say it's a career employee in his or her prime working years. Let's also say that the Trump Administration decides a priori that Social Security will do just fine with a 20% reduction in staffing. That Acting Commissioner would face a dilemma. The person could forcefully resist internally in which case that person would probably be fired and their federal career would be at an end. That person could quit in protest in which case their federal career would also be at an end. That's tough on a person with a mortgage and kids in or near college.

    At her age, Colvin can easily resign in protest. She has no reason to worry about her federal career. She can court firing or quit without concern. If she leaves, she can be very noisy about it. This gives her a certain power that others, younger than her, don't have.

    By the way, if you're someone in line to succeed Colvin, what would you do as Acting Commissioner if the Trump Administration orders up something that you know will have disastrous effects? Would you have the courage to resign in protest? Would you be willing to preside over a disastrous situation? Is there some way of squirming out of the dilemma? These may not be abstract questions for a handful of people at Social Security.

FY 2024 DDS Allowance Rate

     From a recent release from Social Security:

How Much Should We Be Worried?

     Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times lays out all the ways that the incoming Trump Administration could hurt Social Security. The prospects are scary.

Four At SSA Receive Presidential Rank Awards

      The Presidential Rank Awards are out. These four SSAers won awards:

Distinguished Executive (SES)

• Rose Mary Buehler

Meritorious Executive (SES)

• Thomas J. Fellona
• Jose J. Lopez
• Lydia C. Marshall

O'Malley's Tenure As Commissioner

     From a piece in Government Executive about Martin O'Malley's too brief tenure as Commissioner of Social Security:

Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley on Wednesday described his nearly a year in charge of the embattled agency responsible for administering Americans’ retirement and disability benefits as one of the “greatest honors” of his career in government and politics. ..

O’Malley told Government Executive on Wednesday that he was “enormously proud” of the agency’s beleaguered workforce, which was able to find significant customer service improvements despite operating at a 50-year staffing low and serving the most beneficiaries in history. ...

[T]he public’s preference for telephonic and video disability hearings–with 90% of new requests being through those avenues–has made it easier to optimize administrative law judges’ workloads regardless of geographic location. ...

Jim Borland, the agency’s assistant deputy commissioner for analytics, review and oversight, said he will be retiring after a 40-year career in the federal government next month, and that this final year was “the most fun” he’s had at work in those four decades. ...

Thanksgiving 2024