u/TechWorker111

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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/

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.

Hi everyone,

We’re re-opening up our GoFundMe to fundraise for a 2^(nd) billboard. The target is to put up a billboard in Marin County, near Newsom’s residence, by or around August 1^(st). We have resumed donations. Here is the link: https://gofund.me/f63d024a5

Previous 2026 billboard

Here is a link to some posts about the previous billboard, which was in Sacramento from June 1st to June 30th:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CAStateWorkers/comments/1tyldw3/sacbee_article_on_2026_billboard_is_out/

https://www.reddit.com/r/CAStateWorkers/comments/1tqlzno/update_antirto_billboard_2026_will_go_up_week_of/

 https://www.reddit.com/r/CAStateWorkers/comments/1ti7rws/help_decide_the_2026_antirto_billboard_design/

Accounting

Here’s a summary of what we raised in May 2026 for the June billboard:

Total raised: $8983

Cost of billboard: $7850

GoFundMe fees: 347.94

Remaining funds from prior cycle: $785.06 

Fundraising goal

The remaining amount from the last cycle will be used towards the next billboard. The goal right now is to fundraise another $10,000, although we may adjust the number depending upon the vendor quotes that we receive. I’ve adjusted the new GoFundMe goal amount to $19,000. Once we have enough for what we need, we will stop accepting donations. We understand this is a financially stressful time for most of us. If you can donate and/or share, that would be most appreciated. We believe the billboards have an impact. As u/TeachtoState2022 says, nobody knows which action will tip the scales. That's why we need to create pressure through every available avenue.

Organizers

This effort is a team effort being coordinated by last year's billboard organizer and this year's billboard organizer. We support the union. This effort operates independently of the union while complementing its efforts. We are working towards a common objective: end this ridiculous RTO mandate and preserve telework.  

 Billboard Design 

Our esteemed graphic designer from the previous billboard has put together some designs for this one. We will share them for feedback and also solicit other ideas/designs. Keep an eye out this weekend.

 

Anticipated F.A.Q.s:

 Q: Isn’t it too late to do another billboard?

 A: Union negotiations will likely drag on for a while. Additionally, AB 1729 will be heard by Senate Appropriations on August 3^(rd). We’re likely in for the long-haul with this fight. We think it’s still worth it to put up another billboard and generate more attention/pressure. We need to look past July 1^(st). https://www.reddit.com/r/CAStateWorkers/comments/1u3i8f6/one_note_for_now_look_past_july_1st/

 

Q: Why didn’t you do this months ago?

 A: Yes, it would have been better if we had done this months ago. Like many of you, we were busy with life. But, we think it’s better late than never. Many thought it was too late to start fundraising in May, but we still managed to get up a billboard by June 1^(st) and (IMO) it made an impact.

 

 

 

Proud of the THOUSANDS who showed up today!!!

If you weren’t able to make it, contact Newsom because we need to keep adding pressure for our raises and his illogical RTO mandate

He needs to HEAR YOUR RAGE! (Be professional)

Call Newsom:
(916) 445-2841
https://www.gov.ca.gov/contact/

Email Newsom’s senior staff:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CAStateWorkers/s/PUkhzzFbQS

[deleted]

It costs money and resources for SEIU, etc to file PERB lawsuits, build support for the AB 1729 legislation, meet with Dept Exec Teams to point out how illogical RTO is and press them for data, etc.

You are blaming the wrong entity (SEIU, etc) if you pull your dues and you should focus your anger at Gov. Newsom.

We will also have a new Governor in 6 months so we need to keep up our unions strong and ready to pressure Becerra.

Yes, we all want our unions to have a magic wand to have WFH and solid raises. But Newsom is a shithead and stubborn as hell.

SEIU isn’t as incompetent as you think.Even CASE, the lawyers union with all of their best legal minds, struggle with Newsom.

There’s a reason why all the unions (CASE, PECG, CAPS, etc) have a hard time negotiating with this evil joke of a man, Newsom.

Don’t just upvote and scroll.

This Reddit of 70,000 people needs to fking do something and TAKE ACTION.

Stop just complaining and doing absolutely nothing.

Imagine if we had 5,000 or more people at SEIU's rally.

Yes, you may need to take vacation time or other paid time off, but a strike = you don't get paid at all for weeks/months.

1. Attend SEIU's July 1 rally (other unions are welcome to join us)!
2. Email Newsom’s senior staff personal stories so they can’t filter them out easily (and follow up with them weekly)
3. Flood Newsom’s social media
4. Sign up for SEIU's Lobby Visits (meetings directly with Legislators on AB1729)
5. Follow Reddit user TeachToState2024 on AB1729 future Actions to take

And we need to keep our union membership rates high, especially when our next Governor Becerra has control of CalHR instead of shitty Newsom.