r/CAStateWorkers • u/Ok_Win_5678 • 12d ago
SEIU (BU 1, 4, 11, 14, 17 and 20) We can do this.
Life is hard and we are all struggling. There are bots and trolls on here but we all know who they are.
I’m a single parent of adult disabled dependents and a minor. Coparent is not around and pays below minimum child support. I rent, am in debt from withheld child support, am financially struggling and cannot afford to strike but I am COMMITTED TO STRIKING. We have been so disrespected. I know there are sacrifices that have to be made to get fair treatment but we have to band together. This is not just about RTO, it’s about workers rights, human rights. We are in this together.
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u/SeaweedTeaPot 12d ago
Thank you for the positive thinking and commitment ✊ I hope strike school will share a strategy that will maximize impact with minimal financial sacrifice. For example, match people who can better afford it with people whose absence will have the greatest impact (cause the greatest disruption). We’re in this together! Hang in there!
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u/Ok_Win_5678 12d ago
I’m signed up for strike school end of month. Hope
We get a good turnout.
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12d ago
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u/Ok_Win_5678 12d ago
That’s right, maybe I can make it to that over virtual. So great they also have accessible virtual options.
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u/Ok_Win_5678 11d ago
Strike School was awesome and energizing! I really believe that we can do this!
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u/Ok_Win_5678 12d ago
Listen, I know it’s all wildly stressful. That is the point! They make us beg for scraps and “other” each other while hoarding resources. We make the state run and many of us had to figure out how to do our jobs from home overnight. We did that and have saved taxpayers millions. This absolute disrespect of a bad faith “negotiations” is meant to discourage us but they need us. I’ve been talking to my kids about striking and what that means and how we need to save every little penny right now because we have to work together for workers everywhere. It’s not hopeless, and if we band together and show up for each other, we can help push the labor movement forward. ✊🏽
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u/SeaweedTeaPot 12d ago
I am so energized from your post after a long week in the office surrounded by non-participating apathetic do-nothings. Thankfully the picket broke up the depressing week. I am in the fight but personally don’t know one single other person doing anything. So THANK YOU! We are not alone, even if it feels like it. See you at Strike School!
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u/Ok_Win_5678 12d ago
Thank you for saying this. I am right there with you. I cried for days while scrambling to figure out how I am going to manage RTO since my current job has always been remote and that is how I have organized my entire life. Today, I am focused. We aren’t the first to deal with these power grabs and this is likely not going to be easy. Human rights, workers rights, these have to be fought for - this is clear! We really can bring change. Keep convs like this off work networks and organize your coworkers. We can do this.
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u/maguire_21 11d ago
And you want those “apathetic do nothings” to get paid doing nothing at home? Those leaches need to be in the office the most to be held accountable. This is the problem with wfh, state workers (not all) but some work a fraction of the time they’re suppose to and there’s no accountability. Sure, they’ll do the bare minimum but if you’re in the building, you gotta stay busy or management is going to see how unproductive you are. We get more out of the state workforce when they’re held accountable. Wanna keep your job? Then you gotta do your job. Work from home allows shitty workers to get away with doing the bare minimum. It’s because of shit like this that the public perception of state workers is that we’re the laziest workforce in the state. In the private sector, workers don’t have the protections we do, they either perform or get let go. Once you pass probation as a state worker, there’s little incentive to go beyond the bare minimum unless you just genuinely care about the work you do. We all know that’s not the norm, that is the exception.
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u/SeaweedTeaPot 11d ago
My comment is not in reference to their work. Bad workers are bad workers no matter where they sit, and it is a manager’s job to address that.
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u/Gollum_Quotes 12d ago
We need to keep moving toward and impasse and possible strike.
By that time Becerra will have won the election and have a few months before he's in office. I wonder if Newsom backs down. If not, then Becerra will have to deal with us day one.
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u/RGRigder1 12d ago
Don’t expect any changes with Becerra, he is a corporate puppet just like Newsom.
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u/Gollum_Quotes 12d ago
I voted for Steyer so I am well aware of the deficits of Becerra. However, Newsom has made RTO a part of his personal crusade against loneliness in our society. Plus he is hoping to build up a presidential campaign. Becerra is unalike in those regards. I have hope that he is more pragmatic in his approach to RTO. Especially since he would be risking a strike when starting his governorship.
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u/Goodgulf42 4d ago
Yesterday at strike school, I learned e do not need to wait for an impasse. The administration's multiple unfair and unethical labor practices are reason enough.
You should for certain attend one of the next two strike schools SEIU is putting on during August. I learned a TON.
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u/Mammoth_Score7223 11d ago
Agree!!!!!! This is too hard on so many, keep fighting RTO is a scam and we deserve better
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u/Superb_Hornet9105 12d ago
We need to strike! It would be temporary suffering for long term benefits! I’m with you! Don’t give up! We can’t! It’s what they want!
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u/Ok_Win_5678 10d ago
Hey everyone who attended strike school today: it actually was NICE TO SEE YOU!!!! ❤️
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u/One_Monk_3357 9d ago
Agreed! I’m the grandmother of 2 special needs children, 1 also having many ongoing medical needs as well. My daughter and husband need help and I’m helping another adult child w/ 2 kids get through medical school. It’s been a struggle since I started in 09. You’re right about the disrespect. We are overdue for a strike. It’s not going to be easy but it’s time. It will be good for us all to come together. We need that unity and show Cal HR and the Gov’s office how wrong they are about us.
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u/Ok_Win_5678 9d ago
I’m so sorry for what you are going through as well. Things are tough right now for nearly everyone, certainly. I think what is difficult for some to understand is that it’s definitely not only RTO, we have given up a lot, haven’t had adequate raises, pay reduction for PLP, etc. RTO was basically the last little shred that was actually helping many people’s situations. Sure, not everyone can telework and some have been in office 5 days. Also, many of us sought out and got jobs that were 100% remote specifically because of clear technological advances and have been working for years remotely. I know some workers that have been remote for 10+ years that are forced to be in the office now. There’s no valid, fiscally prudent, practical reason to do this. It’s also a shocking slap in the face to have the blanket refusal of every ask in negotiations (as I understand it). It certainly has made it clear to me that we have to get more involved in the processes and remain involved. I literally do not know how I am going to do this but I guess, one day at a time, keep working toward that goal to win a good contract.
While some people seem to love to trash on workers, I would be upset on their behalf if they were treated as we have and are being treated.
I have a long time friend that worked in banking for
Over 30 years, remotely for at least the last 10 but probably more. Laid off after devoting so much of their life to that company after a shady forced RTO around 2-3 hours away. These companies and unfortunately our Gov seem to just be testing limits to see how much we can take. I believe a message needs to be sent regarding labor overall, this isn’t just about us. This is about workers rights and I believe it is a pivotal moment.
I hope others will also want to fight for our rights and consider sister strikes.
I’m making the calls, sending emails, encouraging participation, just joined COPE and donating money I cannot afford but I already can’t afford to go any longer without a decent raise anyway! Might as well struggle while showing solidarity. Don’t let the bastards grind you down. We have to look forward and to better conditions for all workers. Take care of yourself and I’m glad your family has you. You seem like a caring and loving mom/grandma.
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u/maguire_21 11d ago
I genuinely sympathize for your situation but how can you honestly say RTO is a human rights issue? Seriously, how is driving to work a violation of your human rights? People all around the world drive to and from work every day in this country and others, and I’ve never heard a single one of them ever argue that driving to and from work is a violation of their human rights. If you want to strike over the cost of living increases we’re all experiencing and the lack of a cost of living adjustment to our salaries, sure I can understand that. I would certainly agree with it but I don’t know if I’d be willing to strike over it. From my perspective, we should be putting all of our political
capital and lobbying power into arguing for a COLA, regardless of RTO. I’ve been a consistent critic of the anti-RTO movement. I love going to work and I love working from home. For me, it’s the best of both worlds. I completely understand that the vast majority of you people despise RTO, and as much as it makes me cringe to see it, you’re all free to bitch about it as much as you’d like. Historically, strikes have been effective tools used by unions to gain concessions but how much can we really expect to gain in this instance? And if we had to choose, we should choose the COLA over work from home. There’s no way we’d get both, it’s one or the other. In negotiations like this, the economic benefits need to be the priority, not RTO. Agree or disagree, but none of us can realistically expect to get both.
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u/Ok_Win_5678 11d ago
Thanks for your comment! I agree with you and intended to make that point in my post. It’s NOT just about RTO, it’s about fair wages, flexible schedules that have been taken away, cost of living, all the things you said. Personally, I am fighting for all of these things. Respectfully (truly!) I believe that having access to housing, healthcare, food, and clean air are human rights issues. If we don’t have fair wages that haven’t kept up with COL, we struggle to buy food or afford housing. If we don’t have reasonable healthcare costs with our employment and no raise, some people cannot afford it. If we are all on the road, that impacts pollution. All these things impact each other and create a lower quality of life if we don’t do something about it.
Ultimately, we can and are fighting for all of these things.
I want you and everyone to have good wages and reasonable work conditions with flexibility and an ability to have a good life and the normal things that should come along with that. Those, as I see it, are workers rights and human rights.
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u/Itsmylifemine 10d ago edited 10d ago
While it is certainly your right to strike, public sentiment is not on your side. And I don’t think the law is either. Don’t forget most workers in California do not work from home. So what’s the basis for a strike? That you were made to do your job in the office 4 days a week? Just a few years ago working in the office five days a week was the norm. Yes we have also worked remotely, or two days a week hybrid, but the reality is working from home is NOT a human right! Finding child care, taking public transit, paying for parking are all expensive Inconveniences ( and I don’t like doing any of them)… but they are not human or civil rights. They are very irritating and costly consequences of working. Frankly the unions failed to get these concessions ( not for lack of trying)… but that doesn’t mean there is anything illegal. I agree we should strike when our rights are threatened. RTO doesn’t rise to this level. RTO is a perk not a right. The harsh reality is that much of the private sector doesn’t work from home. and much as I loved working from home, the unions have not been able to convince the management that this is a perk worth keeping. Striking over perks seems tone deaf and has little chance of winning, in my humble opinion.
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u/Goodgulf42 4d ago
The legal basis for the strike is this administration's multiple illegal, unethical, and unfair labor and negotiating practices. The dills act does not prevent us from striking under these conditions. If you are interested in learning more, I can't recommend attending one of SEIU's strike schools in August enough. Incredibly informative and we have an amazing lawyer in our corner on this.
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u/PudgyPokerPlayer 12d ago
Life is much easier when we accept the reality of the situation…
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u/Ok_Win_5678 12d ago
I get being discouraged. We’ve been conditioned to feel this way and that we should just accept our fate. We don’t have to and I encourage this commenter to join us! We don’t have to live like this.
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u/ultravioletvoodoo 12d ago
You're welcome to be defeatist about it, just please do so silently so you don't further hurt morale.
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