1 day later, the Walz return-to-office thing seems an even bigger fuckup. No consultation with unions (I remember state labor friends telling me months ago Walz admin was needlessly adversarial in dealings) + lots of replies here about buildings subleased or otherwise can’t handle. Weird own goal. - ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

dbrauer.bsky.social • 7 days ago

1 day later, the Walz return-to-office thing seems an even bigger fuckup. No consultation with unions (I remember state labor friends telling me months ago Walz admin was needlessly adversarial in dealings) + lots of replies here about buildings subleased or otherwise can’t handle. Weird own goal.

Comments

flattop100.bsky.social•7 days ago

My gut is that this defensive/pre-emptive around something federal happening. Some kind of concession to Trump to avoid something else.

chochs.bsky.social•3 days ago

Honestly the weirdest part is that if this were a goal of some sort, his management would be negotiating with us starting in three weeks. Weird for somebody so concerned about how government employees are being treated to try and circumvent unions!!!

kedrickillian.bsky.social•3 days ago

Well, is it a bargaining issue? He seems to think he can do it unilaterally. My understanding is that he can (at least now). The only way to secure this benefit is for state employees to get it in the contract.

chochs.bsky.social•3 days ago

We bargain over “… hours of employment, compensation (including fringe benefits), and personnel policies affecting working conditions.” I’d call this a personnel policy affecting working conditions. We currently have rights to get a business reason and appeal revocations, so this goes around that.

pengautomata.bsky.social•7 days ago

my wife's been working for the state for close to 3 yrs now 95% remote & there is straight-up no space for her if she were to return to office for even half the week. I wonder if this has to do w/ anticipating federal return-to-office stuff or if it's Just Tim Things...but she has no space to go to.

mirish.bsky.social•6 days ago

It's 50 % in office, right? Prior to the pandemic this would have been popular with most workers I'm guessing. I don't see a big problem here. The concept of 100% remote work was, and should be, the outlier here.

dbrauer.bsky.social•6 days ago

Why?

mirish.bsky.social•6 days ago

Personal choice, I have experienced both , 50/50 innie/outue and 100 % outie. Just saying, in office part time gives you some added value,interactions with co workers etc. thatcan't be duplicated with remote work.

sheppolly.bsky.social•3 days ago

I disagree. I am way more connected to my coworkers now than when filling in the office. And we like each other more when WFH

keithpille.bsky.social•7 days ago

Aside from my own subjective fury about it, I can't figure out what the hell the calculation behind it would have been. I don't see any gains beyond St. Paul lunch places getting a little more foot traffic

heidilama.bsky.social•7 days ago

Even that doesn't make much sense since the capitol complex, with a cluster of agencies, is a food desert.

keithpille.bsky.social•7 days ago

...and I'm already seeing a "we're not going to spend a dime in downtown St. Paul" boycott forming

heidilama.bsky.social•7 days ago

Yes, someone said exactly that in an online meeting earlier today (because we are quite capable of effectively collaborating while being miles apart).

baconjess.bsky.social•7 days ago

That's my plan, but then again, in the nine months I was in the office, I went out to lunch downtown fewer than half a dozen times and ate in the cafeteria once.

bicyclehannah.bsky.social•6 days ago

The Capitol is so cut off from the rest of St Paul that that foot traffic is pretty minimal TBH. There's a giant interchange between downtown and the complex. I've walked to lunch like 3x.

dbrauer.bsky.social•7 days ago

Exactly. No real logic to it; if there was a study or analysis, release it. Feels like seat-of-pants behavior. So odd.

jimbmn.bsky.social•7 days ago

Increased building occupancy, more mass transit riders, parking ramp usage, more eyes on the street. I'd say lots of little benefits adding up to larger positive things

terrastirades.bsky.social•6 days ago

I think you're correct on more mass transit ridership and parking ramp usage. The only street state employees see is the I-94 trench. And parking ramp usage isn't exactly a good thing or a large driver of economic development....

sheppolly.bsky.social•3 days ago

Yeah many of us paid our parking contacts for 2 yrs at the start of WFH because we were afraid to give up our contacts if we were told we had to RTO. St Paul took our money.

dbrauer.bsky.social•7 days ago

Parking ramp usage?

lumpelstiltskin.bsky.social•7 days ago

I'm sure when people's quality of life is obliterated, they'll be proud to know they helped parking ramp owners 🫡

jimbmn.bsky.social•7 days ago

They are city owned. That $ covers debt service, supplements the city's HRA budget, etc

broomtorowicz.bsky.social•6 days ago

Saying that having to work at an office for 2.5 days a week for a well paid government job is ‘obliterating’ someone’s quality of life feels wild.

jimbmn.bsky.social•7 days ago

I know that's odd. But here are two ramps, right now. Cars use to be parked to the top floor. Now they sit empty. That's lots of lost $ for the city.

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vincempls.bsky.social•7 days ago

Let's build the ugliest downtown imaginable and then puzzle over why no one wants to go there.

dbrauer.bsky.social•7 days ago

I understand where you’re coming from - parking fees are a big deal in Minneapolis too. But there’s also a sunk cost fallacy.

terrastirades.bsky.social•6 days ago

Stolen from a discord.

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hollyrandersen.bsky.social•7 days ago

He spoke at the MAPE lobby day just three weeks ago donning a MAPE scarf and professing solidarity, and then turned around a made this decision without a single discussion with us, three weeks before our contract negotiations start.

deveric.net•7 days ago

My guess is that he wants to force unions to use this as platform in bargaining.

Optics look terrible but I think he's trying to shield from federal RTO mandates, which could impact state/county/city workers too.

saralovesyou.bsky.social•7 days ago

That is my main guess as well. He could have approached it differently and created a process where goals could be discussed and leaders and the unions consulted/negotiated with.

The state also pays very poorly, so this really doesn’t help anyone.

deveric.net•7 days ago

Definitely not defending Walz because this looks absolutely terrible given the rest of his policy positions, but I just suspect he's playing some 4D chess that happens to be very public here.

saralovesyou.bsky.social•7 days ago

I’m am pretty sympathetic to people in leadership at public institutions because you’re always getting yelled at while trying to make things work, and because people don’t understand all the nonsense you deal with. But it was a bad move and he’s going to have to walk it back and did it to himself.

saralovesyou.bsky.social•7 days ago

It makes me concerned that no one around him brought up the problems with optics/practicality that this would create. That should have happened.

sheppolly.bsky.social•7 days ago

Disagree. He’s pandering to repubs as he preps to run for president

gorillaengineer.bsky.social•6 days ago

Can you expand? Are you saying he wants to put telework/wfh in the contracts?

acieb.bsky.social•7 days ago

He didn't inform it give guidance to any of my bosses who are completely responsible for enforcing it

zerodice.bsky.social•7 days ago

And starting June 1 when every parent with kids already has a crap schedule to coordinate? When my company went back in the office they announced it in April and said it would be effective after Labor Day

kcmpls.bsky.social•7 days ago

My employee already had to put in her transportation request for next school year. She assumed she could drive him in, but now won't be able to multiple days a week. She's trying to figure out how to change it. This needed to be announced in December effective September.

acieb.bsky.social•7 days ago

We don't badge out so I'm not even sure how they could determine that someone worked an 8 hour shift completely in person.

sheppolly.bsky.social•3 days ago

I’m sure they’ll make us start badging out

kcmpls.bsky.social•3 days ago

We already badge out in my building.

marktwain1835.bsky.social•6 days ago

Lunds/Byerly’s apparently got a heads up, but his own employees and their unions were kept in the dark until the announcement. Not going to sit well with people who are his most ardent and dedicated supporters. Or were.

mylittlebloggie.bsky.social•7 days ago

I'm on the fence on the issue. St. Paul is dead without state workers.

flattop100.bsky.social•7 days ago

I mean, it's pretty dead WITH workers too. Minneapolis is the fun twin.

smcgee.bsky.social•7 days ago

I worked downtown St Paul from 2004 through the start of the pandemic and this is the truth.

laflaneuse.bsky.social•6 days ago

Came here to say this too. Since 2012 for me.

jdhovland.com•6 days ago

There’s a reason one of the unofficial slogans is “Keep Saint Paul Boring”

traci-l-murphy.bsky.social•7 days ago

I realize it’s the most immediate solution to steady foot traffic, but…it was also an immediately obvious issue when the pandemic hit. We’ve had five years to dream up an alternate vision for downtown. And we’re back at RTO?

bakeitso.bsky.social•7 days ago

Why is it the responsibility of state government workers to fix the downtown St. Paul problem?

acieb.bsky.social•6 days ago

The state offices are pretty far from anything relevant that's open in downtown St Paul besides a Jimmy John's

secbuff.com•6 days ago

Downtown St. Paul was dead even before Covid. Covid just hastened the decline.

lawfulkimpasse.bsky.social•7 days ago

no excuse for circumventing the unions

kcmpls.bsky.social•7 days ago

I work in the office 4 days a week, 5 in summer for the State. I go into downtown maybe once a month, and that's to Lunds. It is not my responsibility to make sure Candyland has business.

freealonzo.bsky.social•7 days ago

As someone who lives downtown St. Paul and was willing to pay the Lunds (and other) premium for convenience. I'm on the fence as well. No doubt Walz fucked up the rollout, and frankly I'm not sure downtowns should rely on a huge workforce anymore. But I really feel for those downtown businesses.

chochs.bsky.social•3 days ago

Why should poorly paid state workers have to subsidize wealthy landlords who won’t lease their buildings at reasonable rates or maintain their buildings? I already work in office 3 days/week and the only time I ever buy lunch is the Wednesday Community Lunch at Central Presbyterian.

smcgee.bsky.social•7 days ago

We get lunch from places close to home now - so now they'll suffer instead?

sheppolly.bsky.social•3 days ago

The state workers who were in golden rule building are gone. Moved up to capitol complex. Capitol complex workers rarely have time to walk into downtown

sheppolly.bsky.social•3 days ago

The state workers who were in downtown moved up to the capital complex with the rest of us. Most of us in the capital complex dont have time to walk to DT so we rarely did

sisterrayray.bsky.social•7 days ago

It’s not my job to artificially inflate demand for businesses. It’s also shitty for the environment, takes time away from my kids, and costs my family a lot of money for commuting and extra childcare. Why not work toward a better system and use of this space instead of dragging out its demise

gamleode.bsky.social•6 days ago

I first experienced downtown St Paul in 1978--remember Gallivan's, I had many lunches there; Habedashery peanuts on floor, etc.

Anyway--there were 3 employers, BNSF, St Paul Cos, West Publishing--everything else existed because of them and of course the State Govt.

Did I have a point? Did they?

snyde043.bsky.social•6 days ago

I can guarantee you that we’re not gonna go out of our way to save downtown St Paul now…

acieb.bsky.social•6 days ago

Where would I shop even if I wanted to?

snyde043.bsky.social•6 days ago

Good question. Is Candyland still there?

acieb.bsky.social•6 days ago

It is! They've fought hard against the Capitol bike plan so I haven't gone in awhile

snyde043.bsky.social•6 days ago

Yeah, they hate anyone that doesn’t drive so

dbrauer.bsky.social•7 days ago

At the end of the day I’ll choose workers getting the job done in the best way for them. But working in downtown Minneapolis, it’s just enervating without people.

perilinpink.bsky.social•6 days ago

I feel like that is a St. Paul problem and not a responsibility of state workers to solve. When I signed up for a Medicaid policy position I didn’t realize keeping St. Paul financially viable was a part of the job description 🫠

essayarayaich.bsky.social•6 days ago

Why not save public money by recognizing the fact that we haven't actually needed a lot of this office space for years? Public schools need it!

pauljohnscott.bsky.social•7 days ago

I must be in the minority to feel like working remotely was objectively bad for my efficiency, mental health & work life balance. I did eat better.

lawfulkimpasse.bsky.social•7 days ago

that’s just not in any way relevant to how the governor should relate to state workers

pauljohnscott.bsky.social•7 days ago

Noted!

pauljohnscott.bsky.social•7 days ago

My connections with colleagues and creativity all paid a price too. And I think a lot of people perhaps weren’t set up very well for it.

sisterrayray.bsky.social•7 days ago

In my office of 20ish there is one hardcore in the office guy, 10 or so in the middle who like flexibility, and 10 who would stay home every day if allowed. I’m sure it varies by industry and jobs.

dbrauer.bsky.social•7 days ago

I know it’s not best for everyone, but a flat standard without any supporting rationale for an entire enterprise seems ham-fisted. We’re both focus groups of one but I was much more productive out of the office.

pauljohnscott.bsky.social•7 days ago

Yeah some guidelines would be a better approach. My dad was an AFSCME lobbyist so I’m probably a turncoat here.

rohtweets.bsky.social•7 days ago

This is an odd move, so I think it’s primary goal is for leverage in union negotiations and not actually for non-existent gains in productivity or to help with foot traffic in St Paul.

kotz.bsky.social•6 days ago

Since Walz seems to be emulating the felon in chief and his right hand Nazi muskrat, I wonder how long it will be until "Minnesota committed to equity and inclusion" bites the dust?

elemen.bsky.social•7 days ago

When you hear how needlessly adversarial corporations have recentlu been with return to work, it’s hard to see these two things as disconnected.