Gleb Tsipursky is CEO of the hybrid work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts and author of the best-seller “Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams.”
Remote work is reshaping the modern workplace, transforming how employees and employers approach productivity, flexibility and job satisfaction.
Unions have emerged as key players in cementing remote work as a permanent feature of employment. Through collective bargaining agreements, unions are not only safeguarding telework but also revitalizing their influence across sectors. Two recent agreements — in tech and the public sector — illustrate the significant role unions are playing in shaping the future of remote work.
The Alphabet Workers Union recently finalized its first collective agreement with Accenture, a contractor for Google. This landmark deal secures fully remote roles for Google Help workers and includes robust protections such as a 30-days’ notice for layoffs, six weeks of severance pay and bans on invasive monitoring tools like keystroke tracking. These protections are groundbreaking, particularly as they extend to contract workers — a group often excluded from union benefits.
The AWU’s “wall-to-wall” model, uniting full-time and contingent workers, challenges tech industry resistance to unionization. It sets a precedent for addressing challenges in remote work, such as career development equity and digital privacy. By doing so, the AWU highlights how unions can adapt to meet the needs of a modern, remote workforce.
In the public sector, the American Federation of Government Employees secured an agreement with the Social Security Administration that locks in telework policies until 2029. SSA employees can now telework two to five days per week, depending on their roles — a crucial concession for an agency facing its lowest staffing levels in decades.
This deal addressed both employee well-being and the SSA’s operational challenges. Amid staffing shortages and rising workloads, telework has proven essential for maintaining productivity and improving retention, according to the SSA.
However, the agreement has sparked controversy. Critics labeled it a “midnight-hour maneuver” by the outgoing administration and President Donald Trump on his first day in office directed federal agencies to “take all necessary steps to terminate remote work.” He also previously promised to challenge the SSA agreement, although the law is not on his side.
The agreements by the AWU and AFGE are part of a larger trend: unions aligning with the priorities of a modern workforce. Globally, unions are incorporating remote work provisions into collective agreements. The UNI Global Union, a federation of skills and service sector unions, has tracked 119 union-negotiated agreements from 25 countries with clauses on remote work.
The analysis reveals that 18% of those agreements address surveillance, with clauses ensuring data privacy and transparency in monitoring practices, such as those prohibited under the AWU-Accenture agreement.
Clauses mentioning a “right to disconnect” appeared in more than 50% of agreements, aiming to safeguard employees’ personal time.
Unions also are working to ensure remote work does not undermine collective rights: More than half of the analyzed agreements required that an employee’s collective rights not be affected by working remotely. Health and safety provisions have evolved to address unique risks of remote work, including isolation and ergonomic challenges. Career development is also a priority, with agreements ensuring remote workers have equal opportunities for training and promotions while addressing gender disparities.
By incorporating contract workers, as seen with the AWU, unions are broadening their reach and addressing disparities between full-time and contingent employees. This inclusivity strengthens union membership and ensures fair treatment for all workers.
As remote work continues to evolve, unions will play a central role in shaping its trajectory. The agreements by the AWU and AFGE signal a new era of labor relations, emphasizing flexibility, equity and mutual accountability. This transformation represents a critical opportunity for workers, unions and employers to build a resilient and inclusive workforce for the digital age.
