![\"Anica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_5510_RTO_HA_260422.JPG\" "\\"Anica")
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Anica Walls, president of SEIU Local 1000, leads a rally against the return-to-office mandate for state workers at the CalHR building on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. <\/p>\n
HECTOR AMEZCUA<\/p>\n
hamezcua@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Two years and two weeks have passed since Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his first<\/a> return-to-office order, which directed state employees to begin working from government offices two days a week. Newsom upped the in-office requirement to four days last year, but subsequently postponed that mandate after facing steep push-back from state employees and labor groups. In the intervening time, unions have filed lawsuits, lawmakers have introduced legislation and state workers have continued rallying, all to push back against the governor\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the state workers again vocalized their opposition to the governor\u2019s telework policy during a march from the Capitol grounds to the headquarters of the California Department of Human Resources, leaders of which met with SEIU Local 1000\u2019s bargaining team this week to begin negotiations for a new contract.<\/p>\n About 150 state employees turned out for Wednesday\u2019s demonstration, substantially fewer<\/a> workers compared to the first rally unions hosted in March 2025, shortly after Newsom first issued his second, more onerous telework executive order.<\/a> For those who have been advocating for more telework protections since 2024, their fervor hasn\u2019t diminished.<\/p>\n \u201cAttitudes haven\u2019t changed, if anything telework has made us stronger,\u201d said Monica Nepomuceno, an education programs consultant with the Department of Education.<\/p>\n Nepomuceno noted that state employees have been teleworking for the past six years and that it has proven to be successful for agencies and has improved workers\u2019 wellbeing. \u201cWe still know that telework works,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Last year, unions regularly held large rallies opposing the return-to-office order; an anonymous group of state workers erected billboards<\/a> along Interstate 80 criticizing the governor. This year, unions have taken a different approach, sponsoring legislation<\/a> that would allow agencies to establish department-specific telework policies.<\/p>\n That bill earned support from an Assembly committee<\/a>, but faces a major hurdle: the governor\u2019s desk. In the two years since Newsom first issued his executive order on telework, he has not deviated from his position that government employees will benefit from more time collaborating in offices.<\/p>\n Alisa Abraham, an Employment Development Department employee who has been a regular presence at anti-RTO rallies over the past two years, said that she has seen more apathy around the issue of telework compared to last year because some state workers have become reconciled with looming return-to-office deadline.<\/p>\n For many state employees like herself, though, she said, telework remains an important topic because the ability to work from home has made it easier to do her job and improved her work-life balance. Abraham said she doesn\u2019t think some of her colleagues realize how disruptive a four-day, in-office schedule will be if the executive order goes into effect in July.<\/p>\n Additionally, Abraham remains opposed to the policy change because she believes the administration is using the issue of telework as a bargaining chip<\/a> during negotiations with the unions. Last year, SEIU Local 1000 and the other state worker unions agreed to personal leave programs<\/a> to help the state address its budget shortfall. In exchange, the Newsom administration agreed to suspend the return-to-office order for one year.<\/p>\n A common refrain among workers who rallied Wednesday was the financial strain they are facing due to inflation and increasing gas prices, which in California, have reached nearly $6 per gallon \u2014 40% higher than the national average, the Public Policy Institute of California<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Carl Miller, the interim president of AFSCME Local 2620, which represents health care and social service employees of the state, said that telework protections remain a top priority for some of his members because it helps them save on gas money and enables them to spend more time with their families.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of living is far surpassing 3% \u2014 3% isn\u2019t enough to keep up with inflation,\u201d said Anita Phelps, a Department of Consumer Affairs employee.<\/p>\n Phelps said she hopes SEIU Local 1000 can at least secure a 3% raise in contract negotiations this year, though a bigger pay bump would be preferential.<\/p>\n Although she doesn\u2019t reap the benefits of telework, Sarah Mack joined her fellow SEIU Local 1000 members on Wednesday to advocate for this benefit.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though I work in the office every day, I still think it\u2019s valuable for my coworkers to telework,\u201d Mack said. \u201cThere are a lot of things we need to be in the office for\u2026but there\u2019s a lot we can do from home securely, safely, and it makes a lot of peoples\u2019 lives better to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Mack is currently an office technician for the California State Water Resources Control Board, but she hopes to eventually secure a position in that agency that will enable her to telework.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just about me right now. It\u2019s about me in five years. It\u2019s me when I have a family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Monica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_5601_RTO_HA_260422.JPG\" "\\"SAC_5601_RTO_HA_260422.JPG\\"")
Monica Nepomuceno, a member of SEIU 1000, joins a rally against the return to office mandate for state workers at the CalHR building on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com The changing telework fight<\/p>\n![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SAC_4990_RTO_HA_260422.JPG\" "\\"SAC_4990_RTO_HA_260422.JPG\\"")
Members of SEIU 1000 prepare to march against the return to office mandate for state workers from Capitol Park to the CalHR building on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com \u20183% isn\u2019t enough to keep up with inflation\u2019<\/p>\n
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