California state employees union threatens "Mass Exodus" if Return To Office enacted

SEIU is pushing a bill in the Cal legislature that would mandate work from home for all state employees except those deemed "critical". And not just for IT. This would cover all manner of admin/paper pusher jobs. The union is basically holding a sword over the heads of state residents.

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California state workers are challenging a new mandate requiring them to return to the office four days a week starting July 1, as lawmakers advance a bill to ensure telework options. A billboard off a Sacramento highway warns of future traffic jams caused by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order. State workers argue they have been working efficiently under hybrid schedules since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since COVID we have been working and doing the jobs and being efficient and doing the jobs to keep California running,” said Anica Walls, the president of SEIU Local 1000, which represents state workers in Sacramento. “This mandate as overarching as it does not give departments the space to bring back our workers as needed.”

It’s not clear which departments exactly are struggling with space and how the Newsom administration is handling it. A spokesman with California’s Government Operations Agency declined an interview request with California Politics 360.

At his budget presentation in May, Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged the challenges of returning to the office but emphasized the benefits of in-person work.

“Change is hard. I'm empathetic” he said. “Everyone has unique criteria, circumstance. We try to accommodate for that. I mean, four days a week, nice to see you again. I mean, would be nice to see you again, nice to see you again, nice to run into you in the hall, nice to develop a relationship, nice not feel so alone,” Newsom said.

From an economic perspective, the return-to-office mandate could benefit local businesses, according to Robert Heidt, president of the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

“There is a lot of value in bringing people back to the office. The ebb and flow. The next generation of workforce. There is a value in experiencing by observation. Even me as the CEO, if I wasn't here every day, there are things I wouldn't notice or pick up or see in the office,” Heidt said.

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BTW this is the same bunch pushing the "one-time billionaire tax" in Cal. It's the brainchild of SEIU's president.



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