SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 California state workers began a one-day strike Wednesday, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s administration to agree to a new contract that increases workers\u2019 pay, ensures affordable healthcare access and allows more flexibility for remote work.<\/p>\n
SEIU Local 1000, the largest union for California government workers \u2014 representing more than 100,000 employees, including auditors, nurses and counselors \u2014 hit the picket lines in cities across the state for the first time since the union\u2019s founding in 2004. Members overwhelmingly voted to authorize the strike earlier this month, accusing the state of failing to bargain in good faith after their contract expired in June.<\/p>\n
Irene Green, who\u2019s worked with the state\u2019s Employment Development Department for 17 years, said workers were picketing because the state refused to compromise with union leaders on raising salaries, among other issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeventeen years with the state, I feel disrespected,\u201d said Green, who leads a labor council for the union. \u201cI\u2019ve given up a lot of my time, a lot of my pay in order to help the state out, time and time again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green was among dozens of members picketing outside the secretary of state building in Sacramento on Wednesday afternoon. Most of them wore purple union shirts and many held signs. One read: \u201cNoted. NO raise and RTO with these gas prices??? The math is not mathing,\u201d using an acronym to refer to a return-to-office mandate ordered by Newsom.<\/p>\n
The order required state workers to return to the office four days a week by July 1. Newsom, who\u2019s preparing to leave office in January and eyeing a 2028 presidential run, argued that the mandate would improve workplace collaboration and innovation, which will help government better serve the public. He vetoed a bill backed by the union last month that would have required state agencies to provide a written justification for making workers report to the office.<\/p>\n
The California Department of Human Resources said it was \u201cfocused on achieving a fair and responsible agreement and continues to be available at the bargaining table.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union argues that remote work saves the state money it would otherwise spend on office space and improves people\u2019s work-life balance.<\/p>\n
The union is also pushing for the state to raise workers\u2019 salaries by 20% over the next three years and increase the state contribution toward employees\u2019 healthcare costs.<\/p>\n
State workers are fighting for a better future, said Josh Guile, who works for the secretary of state\u2019s office and leads a labor council within the union.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we\u2019re out here to say enough is enough,\u201d Guile said at a rally in Sacramento. \u201cWe deserve a fair contract.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica Brooks, an innovation analyst at the state\u2019s Department of Health Care Services, said she was picketing because the state refused to bargain in good faith. The state should give workers a raise in part to help them afford costs associated with reporting to the office most of the week, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s got to be one or the other: Give us a raise or let us save money, both personally and with the state by working from home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 California state workers began a one-day strike Wednesday, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s administration to agree…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-503537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503537","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=503537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}