SEIU Local 1000 Workers Strike Across California Over Wages and Remote Work

Garbed in purple and holding signs that read “Fair contracts now!” and “Here to serve, not to starve,” thousands of state workers rallied at government buildings across California on October 21, 2026, to protest what they describe as unfair labor practices by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. According to CalMatters coverage, the 44-year history of SEIU Local 1000 saw its very first strike take place across multiple locations, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento.

Contract Talks Stalled Over Wages And Remote Work

The union represents about 100,000 workers, which accounts for nearly half of the state workforce. Contract talks with the Newsom administration have remained contentious since the latest agreement expired in late June. Members are pushing for higher pay increases than the administration has offered, alongside expanded flexibility for remote work.

Just a year prior, Gov. Newsom requested wage reductions from the union to help address a state budget crisis. State employees accepted pay cuts in three of the eight years Newsom has led the state.

The budget is balanced on state employees’ backs, said Local 1000 President Anica Walls, as reported by CalMatters. It’s just showing how frustrated employees are with the lack of prioritizing us as people who really help California remain the fourth largest economy in the world.

Negotiations for the administration are handled by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR), and agency spokesperson Angela Musallam conveyed that the department remains available at the bargaining table while prioritizing the creation of a fair and responsible agreement. Both parties are scheduled to resume mediation talks on October 30.

State Operations Adjusted As Pickets Form In Major Cities

Outside the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building in downtown Oakland, workers marched and chanted No contract, no peace.

Amy Dickinson, an information technology associate at the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Office of Information Systems, joined the picket line because she feels the state has decided workers are not worth bargaining with. They have done nothing but say ‘no’ all this time. They won’t even give any counteroffers — that’s not bargaining, that’s a maximalist position, Dickinson said.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon spoke to the crowd in Oakland before joining them in a brief march. Nothing happens without the workers, Simon told the gathered employees. For anyone to say that you don’t deserve wage justice, they haven’t looked at the rates of rent … at grocery prices.

Healthcare Contributions And The In-Office Mandate

Beyond general wage boosts, union members are demanding higher state contributions toward healthcare coverage. They are also pressing for revisions to Newsom’s four-day-a-week in-office mandate, which employees argue increases commuting costs, traffic congestion, and pollution.

Don Chaddock, a long-time analyst for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, wore a Santa costume in Sacramento and carried a sign reading Newsom + CalHR = Naughty List. Chaddock expressed frustration over driving to a suburb south of Sacramento just to sit in a shared workspace. I don’t mind in-person if we’re actually doing something in-person, he said. Right now, I drive to Elk Grove to sit in a cubicle.

Rebecca Bean, an analyst at the industrial relations office who commutes three hours daily by public transportation to Oakland, noted that the return-to-office policy complicates her caregiving responsibilities for her elderly mother. Every time she has an emergency, I have to run all the way home, Bean said.

While labor organizations like SEIU Local 1000 have historically supported Newsom’s political campaigns, this walkout marks the second state worker strike during his tenure, following a three-day strike by the California Association of Professional Scientists in 2023.

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