Telework animated state workers this year. Gov. Newsom remains unmoved
At this point, Gov. Gavin Newsom has heard all the arguments in favor of maintaining California’s current telework policy for state workers — the potential cost savings, the benefits to employee well-being, the reduction of carbon emissions. His position remains unchanged.
“I’m still trying to get people back to work, physically, in the office,” Newsom said, laughing in response to a question about whether he would consider moving California to a four-day workweek during a recent interview.
Despite Newsom’s unyielding attitude, state workers and their unions are gearing up to fight the governor’s pending requirement that employees return to in-person work four days a week beginning July 2026.
In the six months since the state’s workforce persuaded Newsom to postpone his unpopular return-to-office order, some departments have quietly changed some employees’ telework conditions, frustrating those who are now required to be in the office more than twice a week.
Several union leaders remarked on how animating an issue of telework has been over the last nine months. Those groups are optimistic about returning to the bargaining table in March 2026, now armed with the long-anticipated report that found the state could save money by offloading some state offices.
Additionally, after the governor used telework as a bargaining chip during negotiations this summer, unions saw an opportunity to gain traction on a working condition that labor groups previously had little say in. Given the state’s precarious budget position, labor leaders said they are eager to work with the Newsom administration next year to secure favorable telework policies.
In the case of one bargaining unit that represents state attorneys, the threat of the return-to-office order contributed to a leadership overhaul after members felt they needed to take a more aggressive approach toward fighting Newsom’s directive.
“It’s just not something we’re letting up on,” said Talene Ghazarian, the new president of the union representing the state’s legal professionals. “We’re going to join forces with whoever and whichever other union and other employees necessary to make sure that we’re not used as political pawns against all rationale that points in the opposite direction.”
Telework has already changed for some state workers
The conditions of remote work for state employees are set by telework agreements between individual employees and their department. For many, those agreements require them to be in offices at least two days a week.
The side letters that unions signed with the Newsom administration this summer explicitly prohibited departments from making changes to those telework conditions for three months. Those agreements were pivotal in preserving some workers’ telework privileges.
In late July, the California Public Utilities Commission directed employees to begin working from office two days a week. The commission reversed that decision after state workers raised concerns that the policy change ran afoul of the 90-day pause outlined in the side letters with unions.
Now that the pause has expired, some departments have drafted new telework agreements that require employees to come into the office more than twice a week. The CPUC is finally moving forward with that two-day requirement for rank-and-file employees in January.
It’s not clear which agencies have issued new in-person requirements, but representatives for the California Department of Transportation, the Department of Rehabilitation and the California Department of Public Health confirmed that some employees were required in offices at least three days a week.
Alternatively, a spokesperson for the Department of Water Resources said no department-wide changes have been made to telework agreements.
Spacing concerns remain
The issue of whether there is sufficient space for employees to return to government offices four days a week still remains a top concern for unions.
“Based on our review of state buildings, we found that at least some departments would likely need additional office space to accommodate all returning employees,” state auditors wrote in an August report. “For example, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) would likely need at least an additional 541 workstations.”
State auditors estimated the state could save as much as $225 million annually if employees were allowed to keep working from office two days a week and the state reduced the amount of office space used.
The Newsom administration has disputed those cost-saving estimates, but it’s clear that some departments will need more space if the four-day requirement goes into effect.
Christopher Clark, a Caltrans spokesperson, said the agency is “actively working with the Department of General Services to acquire sufficient space to address this issue.”
Union leaders see the audit’s findings about potential cost savings as a negotiating tool.
“We have one more year with this administration,” said SEIU Local 1000 President Anica Walls. “I would hope that we could work together more closely on this issue, so we are not on opposite sides during a tough budget year.”
New union leadership captured member’s RTO frustration
One union preparing itself to push back against Newsom’s return-to-office order recently elected a new board to lead those efforts.
The California Attorneys Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment elected a slate of candidates that promised to take a more aggressive stance toward fighting the return-to-office order and other issues impacting members.
“It seemed to be that the strategy was to litigate our way out of RTO and to be honest … when you take things to court, it’s a gamble,” said Ivan Waggoner, a newly elected director on the union’s board who chairs the telework committee. “One thing that unions do well is that they rely on strength in numbers, and the union wasn’t doing that.”
Waggoner hopes that the union’s new leadership can help Newsom understand the situation differently. He pointed to Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has maintained a flexible telework policy for Department of Justice employees, which Waggoner said could serve as a model for the governor to change his attitude toward remote work.
Ghazarian, the new president, said there was a frustration with the status quo with prior union leadership, which led to a landslide victory by the slate of eight candidates she led.
“With the threat of RTO looming, it became incredibly important for our members to feel that they had a union that was strong enough, creative enough, driven enough, knew how to organize itself, knew how to collaborate with other unions to amplify our voice,” Ghazarian said.
Tim O’Connor, the former CASE president, expressed skepticism about the new leadership’s ability to make good on its promises. He noted that striking, which the slate of newly elected officers support, has legal hurdles such as the no-strike clause in the union’s contract and ethical duties of attorneys.
Ghazarian and Waggoner did not share exactly what actions the union plans to take to fight for an extension of return-to-office, but the president said that all labor actions are on the table, “including legislation, litigation if necessary, but most importantly, active member engagement and action — the keystones of every successful labor movement.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 10:48 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the SEIU Local 1000 president‘s name.
