Gov. Gavin Newsom at Monday 11/16/20 press briefing. (Photo: gov.ca.gov screen capture)
CA Public Employees and Unions Whining about Returning to the Office 5 Years Later
Tick-tock. July 1 is right around the corner
By Katy Grimes, April 27, 2025 2:48 am
Five years after his original Covid lockdown order, sending nearly the entire state workforce of “non-essential” workers packing in 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a “get back to the office” order Monday… but not until July 1, 2025, and only 4 days a week, the Globe reported in early March.
Newsom’s original order also locked down private sector businesses, K-12 schools, and colleges and universities, most of which were already back at work and school by the time he lifted his original lockdown order February 28, 2023 – three years later.
As we opined, “It’s March 3, 2025 and California state workers are still working from home in flannel jammies and slippers… some of who are very clearly still ‘non-essential.’”
Newsom’s executive order requires “all agencies and departments within his Administration to update their hybrid telework policies to a default of at least four days per week by July 1, 2025. The order establishes a four-day-per-week in-office expectation, with further telework flexibilities granted on a case-by-case basis in light of individual circumstances, consistent with the executive order and existing family-friendly employment policies and legal obligations.”
Tick-tock. July 1 is right around the corner.
But the whining and wailing from many state employees hasn’t let up since Newsom’s announcement.
Labor unions weighed in almost immediately: They filed “unfair practice” charges with the California Public Employment Relations Board over the new mandate.
Ted Toppin, the executive director of the Professional Engineers in California Government, described the recent change as “inexplicable and unnecessary.” The union primarily represents Department of Transportation employees. “It really is trying to end a win-win situation,” Toppin said, the Bee reported.
Labor union protests have been seen in downtown Sacramento.
That’s rich. It wasn’t so long ago when then-Senator John Moorlach exposed that Caltrans was overstaffed by 3,500 engineers, costing more than $500 million a year, and he found abuses at Caltrans that included one employee playing golf for 55 days, as his supervisors approved his time sheets.
In June 2017, Moorlach reported that “the Professional Engineers in California Government union has been salivating to fill vacancies at Caltrans and add 400 to 500 positions in the next fiscal year.”
“In response to the LAO’s report, I wrote Senate Bill X1-9 to bring Caltrans into parity with transportation agencies in most other states, eventually requiring it to contract out 50 percent of architectural and engineering services. Not only did the engineers’ union kill that bill, but it wants more. But a 2016 study for the American Council of Engineering Companies found that contracting out highway construction brings significant savings to taxpayers. The cost for one year of employing a public design team member was $349,734, compared to just $262,866 for one in a private firm. Potential savings: $86,868 per employee. So if 500 new positions are filled, hiring private contractors would save $43.4 million a year. And combining the study with the 3,500 in ‘overstaffing’ found by the LAO and that’s $1.22 billion wasted.”
Gov. Newsom should start with Caltrans.
Now lawmakers are expressing “skepticism:”
“Assemblymembers expressed skepticism with the governor’s order and its cost to California and state employees during a Tuesday Budget Subcommittee hearing focused on state administration,” the Sacramento Bee reported this week. “Those concerns were echoed by dozens of state employees who attended the hearing to testify about how Gov. Gavin Newsom’s March executive order would negatively affect them.”
The world is upside down. And California is suffering from a real lack of leadership.
In the private sector, throughout the Covid lockdowns, business owners and their employees clamored to get back to work. Because in the private sector, employees don’t get paid unless they show up for work. And because they are being paid for a job by a private sector employer, they and their employer know they are “essential,” unlike far too many state employees.
President Donald Trump put an end to remote work by federal employees January 21, 2025, his first day in office. Trump’s executive order told directors of all federal departments and agencies to enforce a fully-in-person 5-day-workweek.
While Gov. Newsom did issue his executive order March 3, he gave agencies, workers and their labor unions 4 months, far too much time to get back to the office.
According to Newsom, he “has led an ambitious effort to modernize California’s state workforce, streamline hiring, and improve government efficiency to better serve the public. His administration has cut outdated hiring barriers and launched faster recruitment efforts, modernized digital government services, reduced bureaucratic inefficiencies, implemented reforms that have cut wait times, and reformed procurement and IT systems.”
Except during his Covid lockdowns, Newsom greatly expanded the size of state government to keep the state’s unemployment numbers from looking so bad.
So the governor will cut vacant positions that haven’t been filled, but have been budgeted for. What a scheme.
During last year’s budget talks and negotiations, the Legislative Analyst’s Office reported that salaries and benefits for California’s approximately 250,000 state employees cost the state $40 billion a year ($160,000 average salary in California state government).
As KXTV reported, hundreds of state workers with SEIU Local 1000 protested Newsom’s return to work order.
Gavin Newsom created this mess. He sent state employees home when he locked the state down March 2020 ostensibly over a flu. And he let state employees work from home for 5 years. Many have done well, and are accountable employees, But many more are not, and need supervision and accountability.
President Trump’s back-to-the-office order and hiring freeze has elicited a lot of kvetching in D.C., but is designed to suss out the deadwood in the federal government – something Governor Newsom should also be doing, figuratively and literally.
Newsom ought to start with the loudest whiners – and Caltrans.
RELATED ARTICLES
-
January 31, 2020 -
-
Well, all I know about this is that many are true believers in the Green Guber, Gavin Newsom, and also fail in their public service regardless of location.
The Article here fails to mention the corruption, the lt. Gov has interest in corporate buildings that she would benefit from which this will surely help her bottom line.
It also fails to mention the cost that will be incurred to adding more leases and payments to building owners (see sentence above) and all that goes into expansion of people into those said buildings such as increased IT resources (cabling, systems, etc), Cubicles, chairs, office equipment,etc.
Then there is increased traffic (more hazards)– which CA will benefit from being they have highest gas taxes, and will increase costs of insurance for many workers.
now with CA thinking of mileage tax and fast lane tax this seems all part of the corruption to get more $$$ off workers who will now have to pay more for using roads covered by their tax — ends up double taxation.
There is more that meets the eye here and all ends up costing more for all residents of CA – services will add fees because of increased costs to make that July 1. Don’t try to villainize the state workers without full information.
Many private companies still have remote work.
Welcome to the world everyone else has to live in.
The solution to these problems is to cut the government workforce. We’ve all seen how much waste and fraud there is at the Federal level. This state has been under corrupt Democrat rule for 30 years. We could probably cut the 75% of all spending, and still have a government that functions better than what we have now.
No government workers should be in a union. This is a corrupt money laundering operation. Democrat lawmakers determine pay and budgets for union government workers, and then get kickbacks from the union for their campaign funds. It doesn’t get any more corrupt than that.
Then the unions protect underperforming or nonperforming workers who are now “working from home” with little to no supervision. Meanwhile, everyone else has to work their butts off to pay taxes for their inflated wages and benefits. I’m sick of this crap.
The state needs a DOGE and complete Republican overhaul.
Inflated wages? I work for $20 an hour pay almost $200 to park, etc. I think that people do not understand that at an administrative level which is a huge portion of state workers we are not over paid. We have almost 30% of our check taken as well. There are definitely some great benefits but not all state workers are lazy. The agency I work for is a full working agency, under staffed, over worked, and take our jobs very seriously. I do believe there are lots of agencies that are overspending and over staffed so how do we determine who is who. We all suffer, I have to pay to work and now my parking will be even more. The union, having our back? Lol not really. I was not paid a raise I was owed for 7 mos. The union said welp sorry. Private sector could have filed a labor claim. Unless you work in the state you do not see the full scope.
Most private companies are going back to the office, if they haven’t already done so. And nobody’s villainizing state or other government workers. If an analysis shows a bunch of positions are not needed, then eliminate them. What the unions want are more people paying dues and they don’t care what that does to the taxpayers. If Commiefornia “leaders” kowtow to them in order to get their elections funded, they should be removed from office. The fact that we don’t hold our elected reps accountable as fiduciaries is beyond me. These people are only interested in perpetuating the sacred cow of taxpayer funded lifetime jobs. And they shouldn’t. They should be doing what private industry does – innovate and make efficiency improvements in order to win business. The problem is that private industry has competition. The government does not and therefore is not motivated to do anything but keep the bloated, bureaucratic status quo.
Thank you,
Your case in support of privatizing state service classifications is a strong one.
Most private companies are going back to the office, if they haven’t already done so. And nobody’s villainizing state or other government workers. If an analysis shows a bunch of positions are not needed, then eliminate them. What the unions want are more people paying dues and they don’t care what that does to the taxpayers. If Commiefornia “leaders” kowtow to them in order to get their elections funded, they should be removed from office. The fact that we don’t hold our elected reps accountable as fiduciaries is beyond me. These people are only interested in perpetuating the sacred cow of taxpayer funded lifetime jobs. And they shouldn’t. They should be doing what private industry does – innovate and make efficiency improvements in order to win business. The problem is that private industry has competition. The government does not and therefore is not motivated to do anything but keep the bloated, bureaucratic status quo.
Public employees:
What, me work?”
As Katy Grimes pointed out, some state workers are clearly non-essential and many are useless wherever they supposedly work? Unlike the Trump administration who has tried to trim the bloated federal workforce, Newsom wants to increase the state workforce even suggesting that the state hire laid off federal workers despite huge state budget deficits.
As for Democrat Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, who was installed as Lt. Governor despite not having any prior political experience and having ZERO charisma, her family’s AKT Investments leases office buildings to the state. She’s the pampered and privileged daughter of wealthy California real estate developer Angelo Tsakopoulos who has donated heavily to Newsom’s campaigns and to California’s Democrat party. Their family owned AKT Investments has substantial real estate operations that includes land development, commercial property, farming, and ranching operations throughout California. They’ve got a vested interest in making sure that state workers occupy the office buildings that they own and also patronize nearby businesses in buildings that they also own?
One comment on Katy’s excellent article. How can deadwood (Newsom) recognize deadwood (bloated budget and overstaffed government)? It’s an oxymoron. One life’s imponderables.
To quote Newsom “That’s true because it’s true”
As though a White Grizzly wasn’t a strong enough symbol of his authority, today Newsom was bobbing around during an interview wearing a CalFire jacket with wings on his chest. Happy Halloween, Governor!
State worker here. My previous position role included providing support to law enforcement while conducting search warrant inspections to illegal cannabis grows. My involvement was critical to successful criminal prosecution of egregious environmental damage. Things like dealing with toxic pesticides from Mexico going into public water. My “office” work included writing reports that can be done in a cube or elsewhere. Requiring an in office setting is not helpful for that. Reading articles like this makes me not want to work for the public but I also know this is just one opinion.
Isn’t it good to have a place to share your one opinion?
What have they really been doing with all that time? Political activism and participating in riots and astroturfing?
Those of us who actually have work to do on a laptop like IT department folks, are working, we dont have time for the riots and such.
Californians always hope, whatever the issue, whether it’s radically pruning state deadwood or refraining from spewing dishonest and incomprehensible word salads, that Worst Governor Ever, Gavin Newsom, will do the right thing for the right reasons. Unfortunately, we also know — 99-100% — it isn’t going to happen. Not as long as Newsom is in charge! And who always ends up suffering for his astonishing arrogance, bad character, doomed Prez ambitions, and criminal neglect with regard to the people he is supposed to be serving? That’s right, everyone EXCEPT Worst Governor Ever Gavin Newsom.
I like how the headline imposes we are whining, as if there is a negative aspect to teleworking. I myself work as a network administrator for an entire state agency that has offices all over California , and I adminster things at each site, when i have an onsite need , im there, if im just managing things from my laptop, what difference does it make where I am?
This article is just one more bit of evidence that we need John Moorlach to RUN FOR GOVERNOR in 2026, and CONTINUE his exposure of the fraud, waste and abuse that has developed in California for the last 25 years-plus under corrupt Democrat “leadership”…
California needs someone with REAL-WORLD FINANCIAL and MANAGEMENT experience, to ROOT OUT the bad management practices that have developed under decades of Democrat “community organizer” “leadership”….