We’re putting the governor on notice: pass our contract now

Updated 11:15 a.m., July 30
At meetings up and down the state, the predominant theme from members is that state workers must fight back or the governor will keep taking and taking until there is nothing left.

“We need to send a message loud and clear to the governor: stop holding our contract hostage, and stop using state employees as scapegoats during this budget crisis,” said Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker.

Thousands of members are doing just that—signing commitments to take action to stop the governor’s furloughs and get him to sign our contract.

Faced with the prospect of even more furloughs and a governor who sabotaged our new contract with legislative Republicans, members like Shannon Redwine feel they have no choice. “Hell yes, I voted to strike,” Redwine told the Sacramento Bee. “I feel that we have to stand up for ourselves and fight back.”

“There is no shared sacrifice in this budget deal,” Walker said about amendments to the budget that include three furlough days per month and excludes our new contract. “While state workers carry an unfair burden, corporations continue to enjoy tax loopholes, big tobacco and big oil don’t pay their fair share, and billions are wasted in private vendor contracts.

“I’m a state employee who comes to work every day with a smile on my face—and when I get my paycheck I’m behind before I get started,” said David Alexander, a Department of General Services employee in Oakland.