California’s Largest State Employee Union Holds 1-Day Strike
An estimated tens of thousands of California civil service state employees walked off their jobs Wednesday for a one-day strike that was expected to disrupt operations at many government departments and agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Employment Development Department and State Parks.
The walkout is the first ever by the state’s largest government workers’ union, the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents about 96,000 employees. Picket lines were held in Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno, Los Angeles and other cities.
“We are making history!” Susan Rodriguez, a claims adjuster with the State Compensation Insurance Fund, and a bargaining team member, told a cheering crowd outside the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building in Oakland. “I’m so proud of everyone for having the courage to do this because I’ve had a lot of conversations with people over the last few weeks and there were a lot of nervous souls.”
Analysts, paralegals, health educators, custodians and other employees protested what the union called delayed meaningful negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. Months-long contract talks have yet to reach a deal on worker priorities such as pay, healthcare costs and telework requirements.
“The intention for today is to withhold our labor, let the state know that we need them to come back to the table and bargain with us in good faith,” Rodriguez, who has worked for the state for 24 years, told KQED.
Fewer than 5,000 state employees deemed essential at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Transportation, State Hospitals and other agencies were exempted from the walkout and required to work.
Angela Musallam, a spokesperson with the California Department of Human Resources, which has been bargaining with the union, said her agency coordinated with state departments to ensure all necessary preparations were in place.
“As part of these preparedness efforts, CalHR continues to provide guidance, training, and support to state departments,” Musallam said in a statement. “The department remains focused on achieving a fair and responsible agreement and continues to be available at the bargaining table.”
Each agency keeps contingency plans to address disruptions in government operations, she added. SEIU Local 1000 represents about 40% of the nearly 246,000 active state employees, excluding California State Universities.
The union, which bargains a single contract for all of its members, proposed across-the-board wage raises of 20% over three years, higher state contributions toward healthcare costs, and for each department to develop remote-work policies according to its needs.
Newsom’s mandate for tens of thousands of hybrid or remote employees to return to the office at least four days a week, which went into effect in July, remains a hot button issue. Many workers argue they can do their jobs efficiently without having to commute into an office, which represents an added cost, especially for those who must travel longer distances.
Maryann Yunsan, a hearing officer at the Department of Motor Vehicle’s driver safety program, said she and co-workers valued working from home three days a week.
“The three days that we have been doing for the past years were taken away just like that,” said Yunsan, a state employee for 33 years. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
The standoff comes after the administration asked a public-sector labor regulator earlier this month to stop the strike from happening, arguing that it added “undue pressure” to concede to the union’s demands, as both parties entered mediation. CalHR officials also said public safety and health would be at risk if essential workers joined the strike.
The Public Employees Relations Board decided on Oct. 16 that the walkout could move forward if the union exempted additional employees, the bulk of them at state prison facilities. PERB also directed the state to seek as many replacement workers as possible.
At the Oakland rally, workers said the administration delayed previously promised raises, stagnating their wages even as the price of food and gas has continued to increase.
“State workers are underpaid compared to private industry and we definitely use benefits to try and make up for some of that. But more recently, our premiums have gone up significantly,” said Ezra Roberts, an analyst with CalTrans. “It can be hard to make ends meet.”
In 2016, the union also threatened a strike, but reached a last-minute agreement with the state.