California's largest state worker union says it's ready to strike in the final months of Governor Gavin Newsom's administration.
SEIU Local 1000, which represents about 100,000 public employees, announced yesterday morning that its members overwhelmingly authorized a strike with 96% of people who voted in favor of walking out.
CalMatters reports the union set a date for one-day walkout on Oct. 21. It wants better pay, more affordable healthcare coverage, and more flexibility to work from home.
The union's contract expired June 30. It's pushing Newsom to provide a larger raise and boost to benefits than the administration offered. The union says the state has room to offer more, pointing to a $20 billion increase in general fund spending over the past two years.
The union also filed a complaint with the state's Public Employment Relations Board, accusing CalHR, the state agency that handles labor negotiations on behalf of the administration, of bad faith bargaining, delaying negotiations, and rejecting proposals outright.
In late September, the board sided with the union, and concluded that CalHR "refused to meet and confer in good faith."
In response to the board's findings, Angela Musallam, CalHR's deputy director of communications, said in an email to CalMatters that "the state has been, and remains open to negotiation, and is prepared to move into mediation to assist the parties in reaching an agreement."
