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Labor negotiations between the state and SEIU Local 1000 took a turn this week as the union brought matters to the Public Employment Relations Board, accusing the state of weaponizing time and mischaracterizing a previous agreement.
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SEIU Local 1000 filed its complaint Wednesday after, it says, California waited until the last minute to reject bargaining proposals that would affect the state’s budget, such as employee wage increases and health benefits. Of 16 such proposals, the complaint states, nine were rejected June 30 — the same day the previous agreement expired.
The union’s chief negotiator, Bobby Roy, said he believes the June 30 response was intentional, and union President Anica Walls called it “a slap in the face.”
“It was a tactic to try to weaponize time against us — to force us to rush — and when people rush, one of the unintended consequences is that people will tend to make mistakes,” Roy said.
The last-minute rejections came after the union says it submitted core economic proposals between May 27 and June 3. Negotiations started in late April, Roy previously said.
These June 30 rejections include supplemental health benefits, a night shift differential, geographic pay differential, a recruitment and retention proposal, seniority differential and overtime meal benefits, according to the complaint.
Although proposals with a price tag were rejected by the state, the two parties reached tentative agreements on 13 issues, according to the PERB filing. What these agreements are hasn’t been disclosed, but the filing states these provisions update language, ensure compliance with state law and clarify existing practices.
The SEIU Local 1000 complaint accuses the state of using a 2025 side letter agreement, which deferred a 3% wage increase scheduled for summer 2026 to 2027, as rationale for denying the proposals.
Union officials say that agreement was intended to help California maintain state jobs during a projected financial shortfall. Roy said the agreement allows future negotiations to consider items like wages.
“This is not bargaining in good faith and that’s what led to the unfair practice charge,” Roy said.
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The 2025 letter states, “This side letter does not preclude bargaining of the parties’ successor MOU to the current MOU.”
Angela Musallam, a spokesperson for CalHR, said the state doesn’t comment on pending litigation and will respond to allegations through the PERB process.
SEIU Local 1000 also accuses the state of not coming back with a meaningful counteroffer, saying it didn’t negotiate at least eight proposals individually and instead used a flat rejection. Roy said the approach also creates confusion.
“Does that mean you’re rolling it over so that it exists? What’s happening?” Roy said. “It wasn’t a real counterproposal. It was just a flat out rejection.”
Rejections centered on items with a price tag coincide with a $20 billion spending increase in California’s general fund, causing Walls to question if the state ever intended to negotiate employee benefits.
The union’s top priorities include a 20% raise across three years, telework — which would include $25 commuting stipends for those required to work in-person — and health benefits to ensure accessibility to affordable medical services, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting.
“It’s about prioritizing state employees for the work that they do and making sure that they’re able to earn a fair wage and be able to afford healthcare and be able to provide for their families,” Walls said.
SEIU Local 1000 is also taking matters to the streets, as it picketed Wednesday outside the California Department of Human Resources headquarters. Additional picketing is scheduled next Wednesday across the state, including in Redding and San Bernardino.
The union, which covers nine bargaining units and represents nearly 100,000 workers, is also starting strike schools. An in-person session is at 10 a.m. Saturday at John F. Kennedy High School, 6715 Gloria Drive in Sacramento. There are three online strike schools scheduled before September. SEIU 1000 has not announced if a strike is happening.
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This story was originally published July 24, 2026 at 4:23 PM.