r/CAStateMgrs

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Hi everyone! I’m preparing for Supervisor I interviews and would love to hear from those who have recently interviewed for a supervisory position or have served on an interview panel.
I’m especially interested in what the panel is looking for in a strong candidate. Beyond answering the questions, what makes someone stand out?

For those who have been through the process, I’d appreciate any insight on:

What types of questions should I expect?

What are the biggest things the panel looks for in your answers?

For someone transitioning into a formal supervisory role, how can you demonstrate you’re ready when most of your experience has been in analysis, mentoring, training, and leading projects?

What do you think separates a high scoring answer from an average one?

Any tips on preparing for questions involving employee performance, conflict, progressive discipline, and program management?

I’ve been studying the duty statements and preparing examples from my experience, but I’d love to hear advice from people who have actually sat on these panels or successfully interviewed for Supervisor I.

Any tips, lessons learned, or things you wish you had known beforehand would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Screenshot this! Removed twice from the State Worker sub Reddit. Their main moderator is an SEIU 1000 DLC President.

I have been trying to piece together a realistic timeline for what’s next with the Local 1000 contract negotiations. When it’s all laid out, one hopes this isn’t theater with some predetermined outcome.

On September 29 PERB issued the formal complaint over the bad faith bargaining claims. It’s not a final ruling or anything, but it does give the union some real leverage heading into the strike vote. We won a battle with PERB but not yet the war.

On October 7 the strike authorization voting will end. Results should come out in the next couple days after that. Assuming it passes (which we know it will), local 1000 leadership will have the green light to call an unfair practice strike and start getting members ready while they keep pressure on the State. It’s a good weapon to have in the arsenal when negotiating.

Somewhere around late October, is when the PERB settlement conference likely happens. They basically try to get both sides into an informal conference within about 30 days of the complaint. That feels like the first real chance something could actually move because PERB at this point isn’t under the impression that the State has been an Angel in bargaining.

If the State still hasn’t budged by then, then late October into early November is where I could see them announcing an actual strike date. Basically 3-4 weeks from when the vote results come out. Back in 2016, for those of us that remember, there was about three weeks between the authorization results and the scheduled strike,likely to prepare but also to give the state one last opportunity to work out a deal before the nuclear option.

November 3 is Election Day for the new Governor. Newsom is still governor after that for a little bit, but everyone will know who’s coming in on January 4 and that will change the tone of negotiations.

Early to mid November feels like the likely window for an actual strike. Either we see one then or the threat of it forces a serious round of talks between the state and local 1000. Historically we’ve gotten right up to the edge and then a deal got done. Hopefully the state will want to prevent an embarrassment and a crisis as Newsom heads out of office but we shall see.

All that said, if there’s still no deal by late November, it starts looking a lot more possible that this l drifts into the next administration. Unknown if this is what Newsom wants or not. I think it’s safe to say he has national ambitions on his mind and how he leaves office is a calculated choice. Perhaps he wants to seem like he ‘Stood up to labor’ to ‘save the state’ or some BS like that.

December 7 the new Legislature starts. That’s another natural window because any deal with money in it still has to go through the legislative process.

However this is a small window. From December 7 through maybe the 18th is probably the last decent shot at getting something done while Newsom is still in office.

January 1 is a date I’d specifically keep an eye on for when any pay increase or expensive stuff becomes effective. This is because pushing the effective date back saves the State actual money. It looks clean “January 1st”. If they agree to a raise but make it start in January instead of November or December, they dodge one or two months of higher payroll costs. Across 100k+ people that adds up fast. SEIU may just let that happen as this was a ‘Hard fought win’ and the contract will be good overall and we just suck up missing the 6 months of no contract. Also it works out kind of well for Newsom leaving office. Pay effective January 1 but you won’t see it for a month.

We’ve seen the state use timing and deferrals for budget savings before. The 2025 side letter deferred our scheduled 3% GSI for a full year because of the budget situation. So a deal in December with the money starting January 1 or the first pay period around then would not surprise me at all. The state will still feel like it won by robbing us the earlier months.

January 4 the new governor takes over. If there’s still no agreement by then, everything continues under a completely different administration. Unknown if Bacerra the likely Governor, will want to have the first part of his term a crisis or solve this quick.

If the PERB case is still open, January or February is roughly when a formal hearing could happen.

Putting it all together:

Sept 29 – PERB complaint
Oct 7 – strike vote ends
Oct 8-10 – results
Late Oct – PERB settlement conference / maybe more bargaining
Late Oct / early Nov – possible strike announcement
Early-mid Nov – possible strike or last ditch talks
Nov 3 – governor election
Dec 7 – new Legislature
Mid Dec – last strong window under Newsom
Jan 1 – plausible effective date for any economic stuff if a late deal happens
Jan 4 – new administration
Jan/Feb – possible PERB hearing if it’s still going
My gut is late October through mid November is the first real pressure point, and then December is the second.

And I wouldn’t sleep on January 1. If they can get basically the same agreement in December but push the actual raise to January, they save real money. With a union local 1000s size, even one month of delayed increases is a lot of money the state will save.

Before all of this, I used to feel incredibly lucky and happy to be a state employee. I was grateful for my job and genuinely enjoyed what I did. But these past few months have completely changed how I feel.
Pay cuts and the four-day RTO has taken a toll on me mentally and physically, and it has started affecting so many other areas of my life. I know I can’t be the only one feeling exhausted, stressed, and just worn down by the uncertainty of everything.
At this point, I just want some kind of conclusion. Whether things change or they don’t, I think a lot of us just want to know where this is ultimately going so we can make our own decisions about what we want to do next.
I’m curious how everyone else is feeling now that we’ve been living with this for a while.

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