We have a three-year contract, but the Legislature has to approve funding for the contract every year. The State can try to undo our contractual salary increase by taking away the funding for it in the budget. In this year’s budget plan, the Governor is asking them not to fund the raise. That means if the Legislature goes along with his plan, we won’t see the 3% general salary increase (GSI) in our July paycheck. This is why making our voices heard with the state legislature is so important. We’re fighting this change in every way we can.

The budget is currently in a subcommittee. Once it’s voted out of that subcommittee, it goes to the full Budget Committee. After the Budget Committee votes on the budget (including any revisions and amendments) it will go back to the full legislature. The Legislature must vote on the budget by June 15. The Governor signs the final budget by June 30. However, with the impending federal funding cuts, the Legislature will likely have to resume after summer recess to make additional modifications to the budget. We’ll be fighting for our 3% at every stage, along with fighting against the wasteful changes caused by the return-to-office (RTO) mandate.

The no-strike clause in our contract doesn’t mean we can never strike. It just means there are specific legal conditions we have to meet in order to strike without risking legal challenges.

Virtually all unions today have a no-strike clause in their contract. And it hasn’t stopped them from striking when it truly matters.

In our case, under California’s Dills Act, contract provisions (including the no-strike clause) continue even after the contract expires. This is sometimes called an “evergreen” provision. That means the contract provisions including the no-strike clause do not automatically expire with the contract.  They remain in effect until the parties reach impasse in bargaining when other legal standards must be met.

So until impasse is declared, the no-strike clause continues to legally bind us, just as if the contract were still in place. However, as we have seen in the UC system, there are still situations where striking may be legal — even before impasse. If the state commits what’s called an unfair labor practice (ULP) — such as refusing to bargain or committing other unlawful acts — labor law experts say we can legally strike as long as the strike is in response to the unfair labor practice and is not to gain leverage for better economic terms in bargaining.  Ultimately, the validity of the Union’s strike would likely be challenged by the State and adjudicated by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

We’ve seen a number of legal strikes recently in the public sector. When LA teachers went on strike in 2019, it was after their contract expired and after bargaining reached impasse. When workers at the University of California struck over unfair practices, those were legal ULP strikes.

 The bottom line: A no-strike clause doesn’t take away our right to strike. It just defines when we can legally do it. So don’t be misled — a no-strike clause doesn’t mean we’re powerless. We can still fight back and strike when it counts.

SEIU Local 1000 Leadership is committed to fighting for Telework. Our union is actively working in coalition with other state employee unions to continue to put pressure at the department level and with the state legislature while pursuing all legal options. We believe that RTO wastes taxpayers dollars at a time when the state is hurting economically.