Can California state employee unions protect civil servants from crackdowns on telework?
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Two California state agencies have publicly announced plans to bring workers back to office twice a week. The governor’s budget also includes a plan to eliminate monthly telework stipends — a small yet symbolic sum of money — to help “offset” the estimated $38 billion deficit.
Understandably, most state employees are ticked. Some are probably asking, “Where’s my union? And will they help protect telework?”
The short answer is: it depends.
The telework stipends and return-to-office mandates are two separate issues. Sadly for the employees who would gladly give up their stipend to protect their telecommuting privileges, it’s likely that the unions will have much more influence over the stipends than remote work policies.
CalHR must bargain with the unions to eliminate the stipend, which means unions could probably negotiate some sort of olive branch from the state in exchange.
On the other hand, when a department intends to change an employee’s work conditions (such as bringing people back to the office), the employer only needs to notify the union and offer a chance to meet and confer about the effects of the change, under the Ralph C. Dills Act.
“Our members are frustrated and find a mandate totally unnecessary,” said Ted Toppin, executive director of the Professional Engineers in California Government. “We’re going to fight it with all our might, and that means advocating with the administration from the governor’s office on down.”
Toppin said PECG would voice its members’ concerns at the table with departments and in the media. And, if necessary, the union will file grievances challenging the in-office orders and allow the courts to decide.
In PECG’s case, the current contract states that telework should not be “unreasonably denied” to members — a phrase that Toppin says is subject to interpretation. The union will argue that the state cannot unnecessarily make people come into work without a demonstrated operational need. On the other hand, departments could opine that they aren’t denying anything to employees.
“We’ve met every deliverable. No one is suggesting that the work isn’t getting done,” Toppin said. “So, what would necessitate everyone coming into the office two days a week?”
Jacqueline Tkac, president of the California Association of Professional Scientists, says the recent return-to-office call from CalEPA feels “out of touch” and like “a slap in the face” to scientists who have been out of a contract for nearly four years. She says CAPS is working to form a pro-telework coalition with PECG, SEIU Local 1000 and the union that represents state attorneys.
“There’s definitely power in numbers,” Tkac said. “This is something that we can all get behind and unite around.”
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