Newsom administration, SEIU Local 1000 failed to reach new contract, union says
The Newsom administration and California’s largest labor representative of state workers failed to reach an agreement on Tuesday to replace a contract that expires June 30, SEIU Local 1000’s chief negotiator said in an interview.
SEIU Local 1000, which covers nine bargaining units and represents nearly 100,000 workers, is the only union negotiating a new contract with the state this year. In the absence of a deal between SEIU Local 1000 and the state, the union’s existing contract conditions remain in effect.
Bobby Roy, the union’s chief negotiator, said SEIU Local 1000 has been negotiating with the state since May 22. The union has passed several proposals related to pay, health benefits and telework across the bargaining table, but the California Department of Human Resources rejected all of those offers, according to Roy.
“As far as where we are in negotiations,” Roy said, “they provided a dead end.”
Angela Musallam, a department spokesperson, said in a statement, “CalHR respects the confidentiality of the bargaining process and does not speak on ongoing negotiations. CalHR remains committed to continuing to negotiate in good faith with SEIU Local 1000.”
SEIU Local 1000 set bargaining expectations high by calling for a 20% general salary increase spread across the three years of the next contract. The union also put forward ambitious proposals related to telework, including commuting stipends for employees who are required to work in person, in advance of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s return-to-office that goes into effect July 1.
Despite presenting proposals related to salaries earlier this month, Roy alleged that representatives from CalHR did not respond to the union’s proposals for pay until this week, only days before SEIU Local 1000’s contract expired.
“We’re obviously disappointed that the state has waited until the 11th hour to essentially force us to accept a deal,” Roy said.
Roy said that during negotiations the state agreed to maintain a 3% general salary increase for SEIU Local 1000 employees scheduled to take effect in July 2027, which the Newsom administration and the union agreed to last year.
But Roy said that the state’s representatives did not respond with additional pay increases this year or in 2028. SEIU Local 1000’s past contracts have typically lasted three years, but Roy noted that the parties had not yet addressed the contract’s duration in negotiations.
SEIU Local 1000 plans to hold a large rally at the Capitol on Wednesday to garner support for the union’s ongoing contract fight and protest the governor’s RTO order.
Negotiations will continue until the two parties reach an agreement.
