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The Public Employment Relations Board has agreed to SEIU Local 1000’s request for an impasse declaration. Negotiations between the labor union that represents about 100,000 state workers and the California Department of Human Resources have been stalled for more than two months.
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Friday’s impasse approval will bring in a third-party mediator to oversee negotiations between the two parties, who each blame the other for failing to bargain productively. SEIU Local 1000 made the impasse request on Tuesday.
“The state is trying to distract from what brought us here: the state’s bad-faith bargaining,” said SEIU Local 1000 Chief Negotiator Bobby Roy in a statement. “PERB has now issued its second complaint over the state’s alleged unfair labor practices and today, PERB sided with us and determined that negotiations have reached an impasse.”
State officials have maintained they’re bargaining in good faith with the union but, until now, haven’t countered with any direct accusations against SEIU Local 1000. That’s changing, as CalHR now says SEIU Local 1000 is the one refusing to meet.
“SEIU — not the state — is responsible for the lack of negotiations since July 29, 2026,” CalHR wrote Friday in its opposition to the impasse request. “Since that date, the parties’ negotiators have engaged in sidebar discussions about ways to make headway toward (a new contract).”
“SEIU, however, has taken the position that it will not return to the bargaining table unless the state shows movement away from the four-day-per-week in-office mandate,” the agency said.
The impasse was declared the same day CalHR submitted its opposition. After the decision was made, the agency maintained it’s ready to meet with the union.
“The decision today sends the parties back to the table to mediate,” said CalHR spokesperson Angela Musallam in a statement. “The state has been, and remains open to negotiation, and is prepared to move into mediation to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. Our focus continues to be on achieving a fair and responsible agreement, and we remain available at the bargaining table.”
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Negotiations started in April ahead of SEIU Local 1000’s contract expiration at the end of June. Union officials asked for 20% raises across three years, telework benefits — which would include $25 commuting stipends for those required to work in-person — and health benefits to ensure accessibility to affordable medical services.
Proposals that could affect the budget were denied, according to the union, with many rejections coming at the last minute. This caused SEIU Local 1000 to file an unfair bargaining charge with PERB in late July, which PERB issued a complaint for, meaning the union’s allegations have the substance to continue the case.
Roy said, in an interview with The Sacramento Bee last month, the union was open to meeting with the state if it had a good proposal.
The union reports it’s spent about 1,000 hours in negotiations across 125 sessions, according to Tuesday’s PERB filing. There are currently 486 unresolved issues when combining all 10 bargaining groups — one for each bargaining unit and a master that applies to each unit — and nearly 248 tentative agreements.
Friday’s decision comes less than a week before SEIU Local 1000 members wrap up a strike authorization vote which concludes Wednesday.
“We filed this request to protect our members’ rights and make sure the state has no opening to try to undermine our right to strike,” Roy said. “But let’s be clear: The state’s unfair practices pushed workers to the brink and our plans for a potential Unfair Practice Strike have not changed.”
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This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 5:52 PM.