Tens of thousands of California state employees are expected to leave their jobs Wednesday in an unprecedented one-day strike, potentially disrupting public services including operations at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
SEIU Local 1000, which represents roughly 100,000 state workers, said 96.2% of members who voted supported the walkout. The strike is planned before Gov. Gavin Newsom leaves office because of term limits in January and could delay basic services relied on by Californians.
“State workers have spoken loud and clear,” union President Anica Walls said in a video message. The union described the strike as a response to what it called the state’s “bad-faith bargaining.”
SEIU Local 1000 and the Newsom administration have been locked in a prolonged dispute over pay, benefits and remote-work policies.
Negotiations have centered on higher wages and workplace conditions, while Newsom has declined to reverse a return-to-office mandate that triggered strong opposition from state labor groups.
The union’s previous contract expired June 30 and has not yet been replaced.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Human Resources told the California Post that “CalHR remains ready to sit down anytime with the union to negotiate a fair and responsible agreement.”
“The state remains focused on protecting the critical and essential services that Californians rely on,” the department said. Union representatives and CalHR are scheduled to participate in mediation Oct. 30.
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In the state capital, striking employees are expected to demonstrate outside the California Department of Human Resources, the Secretary of State building, the Department of Education’s May Lee Complex, DMV headquarters and the Resources Building, Walls said.
The union’s website also lists planned picket lines outside government facilities in Oakland, Fresno, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Norwalk and San Bernardino.
Residents could encounter delays at DMV offices as well as state unemployment and disability insurance locations, according to Walls.
Walls asked Californians “to give our employees some grace” during the walkout.
“If you happen to go to the DMV office and the services are limited, make an appointment for another day,” Walls said.
The union said approximately 5,000 employees are barred by law from striking because their absence “would create an imminent and substantial threat to public health or safety.”
Wednesday’s action would be the first strike in the history of the massive state workers’ union.
SEIU Local 1000 last held a strike vote in 2016, but the sides reached a labor agreement just days before the planned walkout.
