u/Beautiful-Apricot167

I’ve seen numerous folks say only if the union gets results on raises/telework, THEN they’ll join.

That’s completely backwards thinking.

If anything, your union needs your dues NOW to pay for resources.

For example, if you appreciate SEIU hiring legal counsel to prep for a strike or to file PERB cases, or funding staff time to coordinate legislative visits to push for AB1729, those are not free. Your dues pays for resources to fight those battles with the State.

If you actually want to strike, put your money where your mouth is and actually join the union.

If you can't afford the member dues, how realistically are you going to strike? Make it make sense.

We all want the same thing main priorities: 20% raise and telework. LET'S DO THIS!

https://www.seiu1000.org/sign-up/

https://capsscientists.org/application/

Neighbors free-piled a bunch of clothes on the curb, grabbed this and a bunch of blanks. Though y’all might like it

Some gems from the excellent article below on RTO:

"Attendance can be mandated. Commitment cannot."

"A worker who spends two hours commuting to sit on video calls with colleagues in other cities is not experiencing culture. They're experiencing theater."

"The return-to-office fight is no longer really about where laptops are open. It is about whether leaders still know how to lead without coercion."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/ripple/2026/07/28/office-attendance-backlash/

Let’s strike!

If you want to better understand what a strike is, how it works, and why it matters, consider attending virtual or in-person Strike School. It’s a great opportunity to learn how collective action can help workers advocate for the pay and working conditions they deserve.

Register here: https://www.seiu1000.org/2026contract-events/

Shout out to those who walked, chanted, held up their signs, made noise and made history today!

Also, danced, sang, wore costumes, showed solidarity, shared union time to alert management!!!!!

WE CAN CUSS AND COMPLAIN ONLINE BUT LOOK WHO PICKETED TODAY AT WORKSITES!!

Looking at you fine people who walked the pickets in these fine California union worksites:

COALINGA Pleasant Valley State Hospital took action today!

ATASCADERO State Hospital took action today!

COACHELLA Valley State Prison took action today!

COACHELLA Womens Central California State Prison took action today!

SAN BERNARDINO the Rosa Parks State Buidling took action today!

REDDING City Hall took action today!

If you have any photos, great stories from the day, videos of solidarity or of your picket, please send in! www.SEIU1000.org or call the Member Service Center. Love to see your energy, keep it up there!! For any request for purple SEIU tee shirts or other sway, please please contact SEIU1000.org or call the Member Service Center.

In Solidarity, SEIU1000 SACRAMENTO members

FRESNO action will be on August 5 at the Burns Bldg!

SAN FRANCISCO action will be on August 12! In Civic Center Plaza by City Hall of SF! Come on!!

SAN DIEGO action will be on August 19!

Pretty good show out at DT-SBR. Easily over 100 people showed up!

After a successful recent SEIU rally at CalHR, CAPS will be keeping the fight going at CalHR Wednesday August 5th to continue the fight for telework and our raises! Please show up, get loud, and bring others (other union folks are welcomed!)

Not sure if y’all have seen this yet, but gotta share in case you haven’t. Perhaps it bears repeating.

Hi, r/CAStateWorkers

I am pleased to see so much continued action at worksites and online. People are working on being educated and attending things like SEIU's strike school. Right alongside those actions though, starting next week, we'll have the opportunity to advocate on AB 1729, the state telework bill yet again. It's been a while so I want to make sure people can remind themselves of what's going on with the bill and what we can do to move it forward.

Reminder:

• The bill would hamper the Governor's blanket approach to RTO and compel agencies to right-size their office use based on written, specific operational needs.
• This bill has an urgency clause whereby it would go into effect immediately, if it becomes law
• The bill would also recognize telework as a productive and efficient way of work in state government and reinstitute the telework dashboard.
• The bill has received wide support so far. 67-7 overall and 50% Republican support in the Assembly. It is currently supported 17-1 amongst Senate committee members who have voted on the bill so far.
• The bill has so far received approval from Senator Ashby, Sacramento's Senator and the majority leader. She will continue to be important to target. More on that in actions.

Overall reminders:

• This bill is not a small issue. It is widely talked about inside the legislature. I have confirmed in conversations with staffers that despite all the noise of other issues and even national topics in the state legislature, our bill is one of the TOP items of focus amongst legislators. That is not a small thing. There are hundreds of bills in development at any given time. We have succeeded in bringing the bill to a level of importance where it is not going to be thrown away easily. That is a big deal.
• Our bill is popular. It isn't a 50/50 thing. Not even close. We should be confident in advocating for our bill and applying political pressure. We are on the right side of this issue and we can win this. Try to keep an eye on the process. Don't get lost in big doom or big hope. One battle at a time.

Our current battle

Our bill is headed into consideration by Senate Appropriations on August 3rd. This hearing will not feature grand policy debates or presentations of our bill. Our bill will be sent into the committee's suspense file simply because its cost will likely exceed the committee's threshold for additional review. This does not mean the bill is doomed. It's procedural. However, that window of time during suspense is a consequential advocacy window.

For bills that are not under much pressure, but are opposed within the Governor's office or within leadership, that suspense window is a time where the bill can be quietly killed off because Appropriations does not need to publicly debate the bill's policy. Our goal should be to ensure that our bill is not something that can be quietly scuttled away. We need to make sure our Senators, especially Senator Ashby, understand that letting this bill go will have political consequence.

We have succeeded thus far. Senator Ashby has supported our bill in her first committee. 4 of the 7 Appropriations members (Cervantes - the chair, Dahle, Wahab, and Richardson) have already voted in support of our bill in the Governmental Organization committee. Our bill is hot in terms of attention and support. We need to give a strong push to the bill.

So how do we give that strong push?

I'm going to write out a list of options from highest effort to lowest effort. I will recommend highest effort options for state workers who find themselves in Downtown Sacramento offices right now. You happen to work near The Capitol Swing Space where so many Senators work every day. You have the ability to directly influence this legislation and may be able to talk directly with key Senators. It's honestly pretty cool. When you do this, you will feel like you're actually working the gears of democracy. Or at least I do. I'm a dork though. Whatever, man.

Take on any of the actions below. Try as many as you can. It will matter. It will help.

Before doing anything else, please make sure you know the name of your State Senator using this lookup portal.

High Effort Actions

A) Make an appointment to visit your Senator's Capitol office.

Every Senator has a place on their website where you can request a meeting. Fill out the form on the website and - if you're not sure what to put down - here are some pointers. Under "Organization" just list "Self." Under "Topic to be Discussed" - "Support for State Telework Bill, AB 1729." "Date meeting must take place by" - "August 5th," let's say. If you get a meeting, they'll send you some dates and coordinate with you. Where it says "Provide background information," feel free to write why this bill is important to you and why the Senator's support matters to you as a constituent. A couple of sentences is fine. Emphasize whatever you think might resonate with the Senator using the talking points in the phone bank or any other resources. Indicate that you will meet with staff if the Senator is not available.

B) Drop in to Senators' offices.

This is one I've found particularly fun and interesting. Go alone or grab a couple of coworkers and visit a few offices of particular Senators. Think of this like a 30 minute or hour long field trip. Here's what I recommend you do to prepare.

- Open / download this form letter and customize it based on your experience for why Senators should support AB 1729 (if they haven't supported it yet)

- Select a group of Senators to visit... some I'd recommend: your own Senator, Appropriations members (NOTE: Cervantes, Dahle, Richardson, and Wahab have already supported our bill once so a "Thank you" and some encouragement is probably all that's needed), other Senators who have already supported the bill (scroll to page 2) that you just want to personally thank (always fun and staff really appreciate it), and Senators who have opposed the bill (Scroll to page 2). The suite # for any Senator's Capitol office is at the bottom of their website. If you need some concrete goals. I'd say... visit 5 Senators. Visit your own. Hit up a couple Appropriations members. Hit up a couple of "Thank you" Senators as well.

- Walk into each office and introduce yourself. Share that you'd like to encourage the Senator to support AB 1729, the state telework bill, and drop off your letter as a resource to the scheduler or - if they introduce you to an aide - the aide. Thank them for your time. Be kind and courteous! Staffers are state workers too and they are our best advocates in many cases.

I know this sounds like a lot, but truly it's an easy process. When you walk into any Senator's office, you'll generally see a reception desk. That's the person to talk to and drop off your resource. Easy as that. They get this all the time! You can also do this at local field offices for your Senator if you live state-wide outside Sacramento. They are happy to take visits anytime during office hours.

C) Attend the hearing on August 3rd at 10:00 AM at 1021 O Street Room 2200

Not because you're going to hear an amazing policy debate on the bill, but because you may have an opportunity to give public comment and show public support. It all matters.

Medium Effort Actions

D) Write a position letter for AB 1729 before the end of this week

E) Call Appropriations Chair Cervantes (Riverside - 916-651-4031), Majority Leader Senator Ashby (Sacramento - 916-651-4008) and Senate President Limon (Santa Barbara, Oxnard - 916-651-4021) - especially if one of them is your own Senator!

F) Open the phone bank and make additional calls based on your assignment. Feel free to pick up another list as well. The more calls the better!

Minimal Effort Actions

G) Call your Senator and encourage them to support the bill. Feel free to consult any of the talking points as well.

*** *** ***

One additional note on how to sharpen your advocacy. I believe that one of the reasons people oppose or don't care about this bill is because they are under the impression that on July 1st, 2026, the state simply turned a bunch of lights on in dark offices and everybody saw their whole teams and supervisors again. If you want to help people understand why the 4-day RTO mandate approach is a bad idea and why agencies should have greater discretion over their office policies, simply ask yourself or state workers you know the following question:

Are you actually reporting to the office 4-days a week... at a reasonable commute distance/time... with your supervisor and team present... at an assigned workstation... equipped to do your job with proper equipment... for work that meaningfully benefits from being in person (a.k.a. you're not just working remotely from a state building)?

Any place where you or people you know differ from the assumptions of that question is your place to advocate when explaining your story. Most people who are ambivalent about this bill will perk up when they understand the ridiculous workarounds or expectations that are applied under the current mandate. Granted, some people truly don't care and would prefer to see state workers in bad working conditions, but most of the time when I've spoken about our bill and the challenges of the Governor's mandate, people just really haven't known the realities of how useless and inefficient the office has become in many cases. I think in many cases, the best response we can have from people who are voting on our bill is for them to say... "Wait. That's what your office is like? That's so stupid." Take any reaction like that as a win!

Good luck to us all. Let's continue working. And I'm proud of how far we've come.