Starting March 10, thousands of Washington, D.C., employees will have to cut their remote working down to just one day a week.
Over 33,000 workers will be affected, and unions are rising up in opposition to the move to limit telework in Washington .
“[Telework] lowers cost to the employee to that doesn’t have to commute. That extra day decreases their time in traffic. It also lowers pollution, carbon emissions, parking and potential maintenance costs that you would have to incur from coming every day,” Dr. Kofi Onumah, first vice president with American Federation of Government Employees – Local 2725, said on Tuesday.
He added, “And they are safer too because we have a high crime, particularly high homicide rate in the district, going back to a 26-year high.”
According to district police data, car thefts rose 82% in the city, with 6,829 thefts in 2023. In the first four days of 2024, 53 cars had already been stolen. Violent crimes in the city had increased by 38% last year, including a rise of homicides by 35%.