{"id":355711,"date":"2026-06-11T03:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/355711\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T03:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:48:18","slug":"state-workers-fight-against-impending-return-to-office-mandates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/355711\/","title":{"rendered":"State workers fight against impending return-to-office mandates"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version:<\/p>\n

Hundreds of union members took to the streets of Downtown Sacramento on Wednesday afternoon during a demonstration against return-to-office policies.<\/p>\n

Unions are backing legal action and a pending bill in the Legislature to allow state workers to work from home.<\/p>\n

The governor, two Sacramento mayors and multiple local economic leaders have called on state workers to return to their offices to help revitalize downtown.<\/p>\n

A cacophony of cowbells, whistles, vuvuzelas and bullhorns filled the streets of Downtown Sacramento as hundreds of state workers protested against an impending end to telework.<\/p>\n

After years of tug-of-war between some of California\u2019s most powerful unions and Gov. Gavin Newsom, state workers are on the cusp of returning to offices at near prepandemic levels. Newsom has mandated that most state workers return to working in person<\/a> four days a week starting July 1.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of members of Service Employees International Union Local 1000 drove their cars through downtown Wednesday afternoon, stopping traffic for at least three blocks outside of multiple state office buildings to decry the mandate.<\/p>\n

Unions that represent tens of thousands of state workers are gearing up campaigns to keep telework, or fight for extra dollars to compensate for the cost of commuting.<\/p>\n

\"protesters\"Members of SEIU Local 1000 gather at 1416 Ninth St. in Sacramento to protest on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Workers say telework is effective<\/p>\n

Jenny Ceja hopes to keep working remotely to avoid her 90-minute commute between Folsom and her job at the Employment Development Department. She said she opts to take the light rail to work, rather than pay for parking and gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe absolutely can do our work from home,\u201d Ceja said.<\/p>\n

Ceja, who began working for the department in early 2020, said she has spent most of her time there working remotely.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s going to stimulate the downtown economy, I\u2019m bringing my lunch to work,\u201d Ceja said.<\/p>\n

Sabir Muhammad, who has worked for the state Employment Development Department for 17 years, said he has been a proponent of telecommuting for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2020, it was (Newsom) who sent us home. We were getting the job done and then some,\u201d Muhammad said, recalling the pandemic days when millions of unemployment claims swamped his department.<\/p>\n

Muhammad said that track record proves that telework is effective. Meanwhile, he said his office is among those that do not have enough space to accommodate workers for four days a week. He said his floor\u2019s return to office plans have been constantly shifting as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cDepending on what floor you work on it\u2019s something different,\u201d Muhammad said.<\/p>\n

Leaders tout revitalizing downtown<\/p>\n

Newsom, two Sacramento mayors and local economic leaders have been pushing for state workers to return to offices downtown since the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane.<\/p>\n

Many workers returned to their offices two days per week starting in 2024. Newsom last year tried to raise that number to four days per week, but that proposal was delayed. The governor issued the latest mandate in March.<\/p>\n

Newsom, during his May budget revision news conference, doubled down on his intentions to bring state workers back into the office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to get it done,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s leaders have made repeated calls for state workers to return to their offices, arguing that their return would boost a long-awaited revitalization of Downtown Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty voiced support for the governor\u2019s return-to-office mandates.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving more people working downtown delivers tremendous economic and social benefits to Sacramento,\u201d McCarty said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"protester\"Anica Walls, president of SEIU Local 1000, protests with other SEIU Local 1000 members at 1416 Ninth St. in Sacramento on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Labor group alleges environmental issues<\/p>\n

Last month, CASE, the union that represents attorneys and administrative judges, filed a challenge to the return-to-office mandate, alleging a violation of California\u2019s environmental laws.<\/p>\n

The group sent a letter to Caltrans and Attorney General Rob Bonta alleging that the mandate violates the California Environmental Quality Act. The group alleged that the state failed to study or account for the amount of air pollution that could arrive by requiring state workers to commute more frequently.<\/p>\n

Proponents of the work-from-home policies have frequently pointed to a state auditor\u2019s report that found allowing telework three days a week could save the state up to $225 million.<\/p>\n

Union demands stipends for commuters<\/p>\n

SEIU Local 1000\u2019s contract with the state expires July 1, and if telework goes away, the union is teeing up a list of new demands to compensate for costs workers will face by going into the office more often. The union is advocating for full-time telework options, as well as salary increases and boosts to health benefits.<\/p>\n

The demands include a $25 daily stipend for employees who commute to work, and a $25 daily stipend to compensate for Newsom\u2019s \u201cobjective to use the state workforce to bolster \u2026 downtown economies and local businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The union is also calling for a $500 monthly stipend for workers in \u201chigh crime\u201d worksites. Representatives for the union declined to confirm whether those worksites specifically include offices in Downtown Sacramento.<\/p>\n

\"protest\"Members of SEIU Local 1000 protest at 1416 Ninth St. in Sacramento on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Pending bill in the Legislature<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s most powerful employee unions are also backing Assembly Bill 1729, which would require all state agencies to develop telework plans for their workers. Those plans would have to provide a detailed justification to bring workers back into the office.<\/p>\n

The bill currently has 10 coauthors, including local Assembly Members Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, and Josh Hoover, R-Folsom.<\/p>\n

The telework bill was passed by the State Assembly and is yet to be voted on by the State Senate. If the bill gets approved by the Legislature, it would still require a signature from the governor\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n

\"protest\"Members of SEIU Local 1000 protest at 1416 Ninth St. in Sacramento on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Felicia Alvarez\u00a0is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She\u2019s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, healthcare and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Abridged version: Hundreds of union members took to the streets of Downtown Sacramento on Wednesday afternoon during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-355711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}