Having been on both sides of the bargaining table with AFSCME/AFL-CIO and on the management side facing off against the Teamsters its never as cut and dry as it looks. Hint, I won against the Teamsters in my first job as a manager because I was the union president's daughter.
Not defending either side just stating the pragmatic reality. Its the pragmatic, the devil in the details, those often sidetracks both labor and management.
There just is an art to the bargaining table. It takes an artist to paint the picture. The union failed at two issues. One, LWOP exception. Two, equipment. Those bases should of been covered even if more concessions had to be made for less telework. You can always grow but its pretty hard to put the jeannie back in the bottle.
The rush to educate labor leaders lost the art of the bargaining table. My mother didn't have a stitch of accounting skills and no understanding of public budgets when she wrote the first union contract for an AFSCME local. The first contract was a few pages long. The fill in the contract came later when the labor attorneys got on the bargaining table. My mother opened the door and envisioned FMLA in 1965. Her local members had a clause in their hiring paperwork that barred any leave during the school year. They had to quit at 6 months and petition for rehire.
After 20 years as union president my mother would go on to other offices and the union members had rights we take so much for granted today. 1965 the workers could not have any food at their desks, no beverages, there was no paid time off for any urgent sick needs, men could not be hired in many jobs including as clerk or secretary, women had to adhere to dress codes standards where they could be fired, paychecks were delivered only on Mondays after 5pm when shifts ended at 3pm and the banks closed at 5pm, there was no direct deposit, workers had to used approved supplies at their desks and there was no tolerance for having any personal pictures at work.
There is an old saying steady on the horse reins in the buggy race.
How could 100% telework really function without 2 sets of equipment?
LWOP can cover FMLA so really moms would have to sacrifice maternity leave?
Working 9 to 5, it is better than it was and not as great as it could be. Rock It Out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xxv_Fizvsw