California’s Largest Public Sector Union Set to Strike Later This Month
California’s largest public sector union is set to strike later this month, in a conflict escalation aiming to pressure the Newsom administration to reach a contract deal soon.
The announcement comes after a vote, open to the roughly 100,000 state employees the union represents, resulted Wednesday in overwhelming support for a walkout if negotiations keep stalling, according to Service Employees International Union Local 1000 representatives. Office workers, cooks, custodians, nurses and others statewide plan to go on strike on Oct. 21.
“State workers are prepared to hold the line and, if necessary, go on strike to say, there is no California without state workers keeping it running,” union President Anica Walls said.
“We are demanding a fair contract that recognizes the work that we do, and that makes it possible for us to live in the communities that we work in,” said Walls, a disability evaluation analyst with the Department of Social Services since 2006.
Union-represented employees at libraries, hospitals and agencies such as Caltrans, CalFire and the Department of Motor Vehicles have never walked out of their jobs before, though SEIU Local 1000 members first authorized a strike that was averted by a last-minute deal a decade ago.
This time, Walls argued that a work stoppage may be necessary because the administration has failed to bargain in good faith since earlier this year on worker priorities. The union has proposed a 20% across-the-board wage increase over three years, lower-cost healthcare benefits and more flexible telework requirements, bids that were summarily rejected.
“There wasn’t a real negotiation,” she said, adding that the two parties remain far apart with no future bargaining dates on the calendar yet.
The strike authorization vote comes as the California Public Employment Relations Board has appointed a mediator to help the administration and SEIU Local 1000 resolve their dispute. Last week, the agency determined the existence of an impasse after the union filed unfair labor practice charges against the administration in July.
In a statement, a spokesperson with the California Department of Human Resources said the state remains open to negotiation and is prepared to move into mediation.
“Our focus is on reaching a fair and responsible agreement, and we continue to be available at the bargaining table,” said Angela Musallam, a spokesperson for CalHR.
One of the biggest sticking points has been Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order requiring most employees to return to the office at least four days a week, which went into effect in July after a one-year delay. The mandate upended previous in-person work expectations adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEIU Local 1000 and other unions pushed back, including by sponsoring a bill that would have required state agencies to develop their own remote-work policies and provide detailed justification to employees when in-office work was required.
A state auditor’s report found that savings from broader telework could reach $225 million. The California legislature approved AB 1729, but Newsom vetoed the proposed legislation last month.