u/No_Carpet_7208

I keep watching state workers, reporters, and even legislators bring up RTO with Newsom, and the follow-ups always seem to stop short. So I sat down and wrote out what I'd ask if I actually had him in a chair for 20 minutes. Not a press conference soundbite. An actual interview.

Curious what this sub would add or push back on.

Leading From the Front

A) How often in an average week do you personally wake up, get dressed, and commute into a Sacramento office to work in person, start to finish, the same way you're requiring state employees to do?

B) If the honest answer is fewer than four days a week, how do you respond to workers who call this hypocrisy, someone setting a standard for others that he doesn't hold himself to?

Where's the Data

You've said collaboration, mentorship, and support for downtown businesses are major factors behind this mandate. But the state's own audit found telework could save California up to $225 million a year, and appointed officials who testified said work quality during telework was equal or better. If you're as committed to data-driven decisions as you claim, why hasn't your executive order required departments to track clear KPIs on collaboration, mentorship, or downtown spending since the mandate took effect? And if a department can't show measurable improvement a year from now, what happens then?

The Real Cost to Workers

Gas, parking, meals, and childcare all go up the moment someone is back four days a week, on top of a personal leave program that already cuts into take-home pay to help close the budget deficit. How do you justify asking workers to absorb these costs while also asking them to sacrifice pay for the state's fiscal health?

Morale and the People You'll Lose

A) What's your honest read on what this does to morale among the roughly 100,000 workers it affects?

B) Some of those workers were hired specifically as remote employees, or relocated with their department's approval. Has your administration modeled how many experienced people, especially in hard-to-fill roles like engineers, scientists, and IT staff, will simply leave for private-sector or federal jobs that still allow remote work? What did that analysis find, and if there isn't one, why not?

Ignoring the Pushback

PERB found enough merit in SEIU Local 1000's unfair labor practice charge to issue a formal complaint. Separately, AB 1729 would simply require agencies to justify any in-person requirement with a real telework plan, nothing more. Why fight a bill that only asks departments to show their work, and what does it say that a neutral labor board saw enough here to move the case forward?

The Downtown Business Argument

You've pointed to downtown business support as one reason for the mandate. Since when is subsidizing lunch counters and parking garages part of a state employee's job description? And if foot traffic ticks up for a few months and then fades, is that success, or did workers just absorb a cost for a temporary bump?

Political Consistency

Texas Governor Greg Abbott reversed a similar remote work ban within three months once workers pushed back. You've held firm for over a year despite union opposition, a labor board complaint, and your own audit's findings. With a possible 2028 run in the picture, what do you say to a union member in another state who asks why they should trust you on workplace rights?

The Contradiction With Your Own Platform

This mandate adds a significant number of daily car commutes back onto the road, which cuts against your record on climate policy. It also pressures workers who relocated to more affordable areas under previously approved telework arrangements. Which of your own stated priorities, climate or housing affordability, does this policy actually serve?

What else should be on this list? What would you ask him?

Dad Hang Out

If I were interviewing Gavin Newsom about the RTO mandate, here's what I'd actually ask