In conclusion
In an agreement with unions, Governor Gavin Newsom postponed his requirement that the majority of state employees report to work four days a week. His assertion of operational necessity now seems flimsy, according to labor leaders.
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Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that it was operationally necessary for all California state employees to work in person at least four days a week, tens of thousands of state employees were preparing to return to work on July 1.
CalHR, the governor’s collective bargaining representative, made a series of agreements with public employee unions just prior to the deadline, delaying the mandate by a year. The news was greeted by relieved employees.
However, labor leaders and even some in-office evangelists claimed that the governor’s readiness to abruptly withdraw his demand demonstrated that the order was a shrewd political ploy and weakened his claims that face-to-face work is better, essential for productivity, and fosters public trust.
“Anica Walls, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000, wrote in an email that many of our members believe the abrupt move toward strict (return to office) policies was more about pressure and politics than performance.” Nearly 96,000 state employees are represented by the union, which is the biggest in California state government. Our members’ resistance is the direct cause of this stoppage.
Walls insisted that CalMatters submit their questions in writing and turned down many requests for an interview.
Since Newsom wrote the executive order in March that would have forced an estimated 108,000 state employees who were still on a hybrid schedule to return to work almost full-time, many employees have been on edge. The new directive expanded on Newsom’s initial assault on work-from-home in April 2023 by doubling the number of compulsory in-office days from two to four.
Two groups sued Newsom and CalHR, the state’s human resources office, after a number of state employee unions filed grievances, claiming that the administration’s directive improperly circumvented the collective bargaining process by altering working conditions unilaterally.
Angry state workers also raised over $30,000 to put up billboards accusing Newsom of causing traffic bottlenecks in Sacramento. Many employees claimed there would not even be enough space for them to work in person because the state had reduced the size of certain of its venues.
Lawmakers, who are seen as allies by public employee unions, questioned whether the state was prepared to abruptly return so many employees to their jobs. They received ambiguous responses.
You don t have numbers for us
Members of the Assembly subcommittee that is in charge of government administration questioned CalHR and Department of Government Services officials at budget hearings in April and May about the cost of having tens of thousands of employees come in four days a week rather than two.
When administration officials acknowledged they didn’t even have a ballpark estimate, the lawmakers weren’t hiding their frustration.
During a committee hearing on May 22, Assemblymember Liz Ortega, a Democrat from Hayward, stated, “I’m still really surprised that you don’t have numbers for us.”
San Francisco Democratic Assemblymember Matt Haney echoed, “This is pretty bewildering.”
However, Newsom said that because teams were not obliged to report to work on the same days, the two-day in-office policy compromised the advantages of in-person work, including improved cooperation, communication, and mentorship for newer employees. That problem would be lessened with four days in office.
Tension increased in May after Newsom revealed the state had a $12 billion budget deficit and proposed suspending contributions to their retiree health care funds and postponing state employee pay increases for a year in order to save money.
In order to postpone the in-office order until July 2026, CalHR ultimately came to new labor agreements with three unions, including the largest in the state. Some of the cost savings the governor desired were also included in those new agreements.
Recently, SEIU Local 1000 decided to use five more hours of unpaid leave per month to make up for this year’s 3% wage increase. A third of the union’s 96,000 represented employees are impacted by the agreement, which may end up costing the state more because an employee’s accumulated hours increase in value as their salary increases over time. When they retire, many state employees wait to cash out any unused leave, usually at their greatest salary.
Newsom’s reversal also disappointed proponents of in-office work. Telework should not be exploited as a luxury to sweeten contract discussions, according to Michael Genest, the former financial director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This is a bargaining chip, but why? “Genest said.” It demonstrates a total disregard for the notion that the taxpayer is spending money on something valuable.
Only a fraction have returned to the office
Only a small percentage of the estimated 108,000 workers who still adhere to hybrid schedules have been forced to report back to work since their unions were unable to reach an agreement to postpone the directive. Many are state scientists, whose union fought for a contract for four years, eventually organizing the first state worker strike in California, and finally reached an agreement in August 2024.
The California Association of Professional Scientists, the scientists’ union, has so far turned down the state’s demands to reopen its contract and discuss the pay cuts that the other unions agreed to in exchange for an additional year of remote work rights.
There is no evidence, reasoning, or operational necessity supporting the governor’s RTO mandate. The president of the scientists’ union, Jacqueline Tkac, stated in a written statement that it is political. While we are willing to work with the state on this matter, we will not jeopardize our contract to play Gov. Newsom’s political games.
The governor’s administration remained silent when questioned about why he was suddenly willing to postpone the return-to-office order. CalHR spokesman Camille Travis commended the cooperative approach with unions that resulted in the agreement in an emailed statement.
Departments were preparing to implement the return to office order, and this one-year delay gives us the opportunity to refine those plans and work with our teams to ensure a smooth transition, Travis wrote.
Genest said Newsom s sudden reversal on the in-office order, just a week before it was set to take effect, created unnecessary whiplash for departments that were scrambling to prepare enough office space to accommodate returning employees.
If he s telling the departments, Gear up, and then he s later going to say, Oh, never mind, we re going to be able to pay them less so you don t have to gear up, Genest said, that s a very cynical thing.
Read More
State workers get a reprieve from Newsom s return-to-office mandate
Return to office: Newsom orders California state workers back four days a week
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