California state workers push back against July 1 return to office, budget cuts
SACRAMENTO — Hundreds of state workers showed up to protest at the California State Capitol on Thursday, fighting to continue working from home and for their paychecks.
Governor Gavin Newsom is mandating that state workers return to in-person work at least four days a week starting on July 1.
Many state workers are concerned about how expensive it will be for them to return to in-person work, and now those costs may only be harder to deal with.
"It really feels like state workers are being punished," said Haley Leguizamo, who works for the California Department of Education.
The governor is proposing to cut nearly $767 million in state worker salaries to address the $12 billion state budget deficit.
State workers said that means they will not be getting their 3% raises that were negotiated for the next two fiscal years.
Assemblymember Josh Hoover called for an audit of what the return-to-office mandate for state workers will cost.
"Why should Californians who have returned to office in their respective fields care about this? How is state workers returning to the office impacting them?" I asked.
"People working in the office already will very much notice a difference on their highways when it comes to traffic congestion," Hoover responded.
Hoover said it is also impacting taxpayer dollars, claiming it costs around $600 million per year to pay and maintain state office buildings that he thinks could be sold and turned into housing.
"It's going to be crazy again," said Andrew Douglas, who works at La Bou.
Downtown businesses like La Bou are hopeful that state workers will bring a boom, but instead, it may be a bust.
"People aren't going to go and patronize those businesses because they just can't afford to," said Vincent Green, an information technology specialist for the state.
State workers may also be paying more for parking, up to $200 a month in some garages.
The city plans to increase its prices on some of the cheaper garages on July 1, the same day the new return-to-office mandate for state workers begins.
The state's finance department gave CBS13 this statement about the budget cuts:
"Closing a $12 billion shortfall requires spending restraint across state government. The budget doesn't propose any furloughs, salary cuts, or health care reductions for state workers - but it does ask them to forego a three-percent salary increase."
CBS13 also reached out to the governor's office but did not hear back.
In the past, Newsom has been standing firm behind his return-to-office mandate, saying that it is good for people to collaborate in person.
Some state workers told CBS13 that this is all a political move.
"We have proven that we can still do our jobs even though we are at home," Green said.
