Nebraska public employees union pushes back on governor’s order

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Association of Public Employees is pushing back on Governor Jim Pillen’s executive order to end remote work, and the clock is ticking.

That order requires everyone to be back in their offices by Jan. 2.

NAPE said it’s time to negotiate, and the union representing nearly 8,000 state workers held a “day of action” on Thursday, gathering strength to defy the Pillen’s order.

Dozens of state workers came together in the Capitol Rotunda to rebut the charge that remote work isn’t as productive.

“If there was a situation where a state employee wasn’t doing their job whether it be in person or remotely, I hope a good leader would walk up to them and say, ‘Here’s my expectations. I hope you can fix it,’” Justin Hubly, NAPE’s executive director, said. “Poor leadership looks like, ‘Hm, somebody must have not done a good job today; therefore, I will punish seven thousand people because it’s just easier that way.’”

Pillen isn’t budging. 10/11 reached out to Pillen’s office and a spokeswomen Jacy Schafer responded: “Nebraskans expect their taxpayer-funded workforce to deliver maximum value and productivity, and that is only possible by ensuring our state public servants are, as a general rule, working full-time schedules in the office. The governor’s authority to direct the state’s workforce fully back into the office is clear.”

Alyssa Macke attended the afternoon NAPE press conference. She’s a public worker with a hybrid schedule

“It helps me do my job much more effectively because I already meet with my people in the community,” Macke said. “My state office building is not public access.”

Hubly said NAPE received more than 1,700 responses to a survey, and a majority of respondents said they worked remotely in some capacity. More than 1,300 respondents also said they’re either considering or actively looking for a new employer as a result of this order.

“I don’t know how to put it more simply,” Hubly said. “We cannot afford to lose one in six of our workers. We couldn’t even lose half that many. If we lost one in 12, Nebraskans will suffer.”

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