Dear Member,
A Special Meeting of the Board of Directors was held this past weekend on August 26, 2023, where the CAPS Board of Directors voted unanimously to conduct a strike authorization vote of the membership, and provided the CAPS Bargaining Team the authority to conduct such a vote.
The strike authorization vote does not mean the union is currently calling a strike. The expired CAPS Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) and state law prohibit striking at this time. The CAPS Bargaining Team is currently at the table, continuing to negotiate in good faith with the State of California. The Bargaining Team – and the CAPS Board – still hope to reach an agreement with the State.
This Strike Authorization Vote would empower the CAPS Bargaining Team to call a strike if the State doesn’t reach a fair deal with CAPS and the Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) declares impasse. Negotiations have been ongoing since the expiration of the CAPS Memorandum of Understanding in 2020.
It is imperative that we find a solution to attract and retain a 21st Century Scientific Workforce that is innovative, motivated, and capable of addressing the major existential, public health, and environmental threats facing our society. Find out more about what the CAPS Bargaining Team is fighting for here: https://capsscientists.org/caps-bargaining/value-scientists/
Voting information will be sent to eligible members on August 29, 2023, and the final deadline to vote is set for August 31 at 5 p.m. PDT.
Strike Authorization Vote FAQs
The CAPS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of California expired on July 1, 2020. Since then, the CAPS Bargaining Team has continued to negotiate for a fair contract with the State. The Team has used innovative methods such as Interest-Based Bargaining, negotiating for compensation increases via Side Letters, bringing Subject Matter Experts to the table, and garnering support from the public, representatives of State Departments that employ State Scientists, and California State Legislators. As of August 28, 2023, the State has yet to provide an economic offer that VALUES State Scientists. Negotiations with the State are ongoing, and your CAPS Bargaining Team remains ready and willing to bargain in good faith.
This FAQ provides a general overview of the negotiating process, as well as information about the strike authorization vote that was unanimously approved by the CAPS Board of Directors on August 26, 2023.
A strike authorization is a powerful tool that gives your Bargaining Team added leverage at the bargaining table by demonstrating to the State of California and its representatives that CAPS members support their Bargaining Team and are willing to fight for a fair deal. It does not mean that there will be a strike.
While your CAPS Bargaining Team has made good progress on many contract issues at the table, the State has not made real movement on some of our most important issues, including salaries, longevity recognition, employer health benefits contributions, and more. The current negotiations will determine whether our members can afford to continue doing the job they love: working to protect the public from life-threatening diseases, safeguarding our wildlife and abundant natural resources, ensuring the safety of our food, and protecting our air and water from toxic waste and pollution.
Compensation has been undercut by a disruption in historical salary relationships between other state service classes that perform similar duties, a lawsuit that recognized the idea of “like pay for like work” and provided our supervisors 18-43% raises in 2014, and inflation. The benefit plans that members rely upon for health care and family leaves are under stress. Without transformative change in the successor contracts, the State will lose current scientists and have little hope of attracting the best and brightest scientific minds to serve the people of California in the future.
The time for change is now and we must be prepared to fight if Governor Newsom and his representatives at the table refuse to address our concerns. To maximize our leverage, we are asking members to vote YES to authorize your CAPS Bargaining Team to call for a strike, should discussions with the State at the bargaining table prove unproductive and PERB declares impasse.
A strike authorization vote doesn’t guarantee a strike will occur; rather, it’s a tool we can use to help our negotiating team secure the best deal possible.
A YES vote means your CAPS Bargaining Team will have the ability to call a strike if bargaining fails to produce a deal members will ratify. A YES vote is a strong show of solidarity with your fellow working State Scientists, and gives your CAPS Bargaining Team leverage to reach a deal and fight for the contract we deserve.
A NO vote prevents your Bargaining Team from calling a Strike, even if conditions warrant. It tells the Administration that they do not have to make a fair deal in order to keep State Scientists working. Without the threat of a strike, this Administration has little incentive to provide equitable salaries or change archaic contract provisions that advantage them and exploit our members.
Only CAPS Members can vote. To receive a ballot, you must join CAPS no later than August 31, 2023 at 12pm PDT: LINK.
The strike authorization vote will be held electronically from Tuesday, August 29, 2023, to Thursday, August 31, 2023, at 5PM PDT. A third-party vendor, Ballotpoint, has been contracted to hold the strike authorization vote for CAPS. Members will be provided a ballot to their personal email addresses on file.
If you do not yet have a personal email address on file with CAPS, please update your contact information here.
The vote requires that a majority (50% + one) or more of members who return ballots vote to authorize the CAPS Bargaining Team to call for a strike, should the State fail to negotiate a fair contract with CAPS. While we only need a majority of members who return ballots to vote YES, we want to send a strong message to Governor Newsom, with huge turn out and a clear mandate.. This shows the State that we are united in our pursuit of a fair contract!
No. Instead, the strike authorization vote permits your CAPS Bargaining Team to call for a strike if the State fails to negotiate a fair contract with CAPS and impasse is reached. Your CAPS Team will do everything they can to reach an agreement without a strike, and continues to bargain in good faith with the State. The leverage of a successful strike authorization vote will strengthen us to push for the best deal possible.
In the event of a strike, you would not receive compensation for the days you were out on strike. Employees on strike do not use leave time to cover striking .
The State pays for employee benefits in any month where they have worked 11 or more days. If the strike lasts long enough that you do not work 11 qualifying days in a pay period, the state will no longer pay for any of your benefits. You would be responsible for paying 100% of your health, dental, and vision benefits. By comparison, the state currently pays for 80% of your benefits and you pay for the remaining 20%. ).
Yes. Your CAPS Board and Bargaining Team are asking all rank-and-file members to vote YES to authorize the CAPS Bargaining Team to call for a strike, if necessary. The vote requires more than 50% of eligible members casting ballots to vote YES and we want as close to a 100% YES vote as possible to show the State that we, State Scientists, are united in our resolve for a fair contract.
No. Going on strike before the union officially calls a strike is known as a “wild cat strike,” and can subject employees to discipline up to and including dismissal.
No. This also falls under the heading of “wild cat” actions, which can subject employees to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
CAPS must receive strike authorization from the members reach a tipping point in negotiations where no further progress can be made without the assistance of a mediator before a strike can be called.
If a strike is called, members will need to withhold their labor and not perform any services for the State. CAPS members will then engage in other collective actions such as picketing to put pressure on the State.
If you are a State Scientist in Bargaining Unit 10 who is employed by the State of California, yes.
No, walking a picket line is not mandatory, even for those whose work will be directly impacted by a strike. It is, however, an important way of showing solidarity with workers who are on strike.
No.
There is a bill in the California State Legislature (SB799), which, if passed by the the Legislature and signed by the Governor would , would give striking workers the right to claim unemployment, if their strike lasts longer than two weeks. The bill would take effect on January 1, 2024. Similar bills have been created in the past few years and none have yet made it to the Governor’s desk.
CAPS negotiates with the representatives of the State of California. Typically, that means a representative from the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR), a Department of Finance (DOF) representative, and representatives from the Labor Relations programs in user Departments like California Fish and Wildlife, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Department of Substances Control and others.
Members are the driving force during negotiations. CAPS’ Bargaining Chair, District 2 Director Jacqueline Tkac leads your Bargaining Team. The Team directs, advises, and works in partnership with Chief Spokesperson, Bianca Gutierrez Petzold, and a staff team of seasoned negotiators, attorneys, and labor relations staff who work with the CAPS MOU every day. Your CAPS Bargaining Team is:
- Jacqueline Tkac, Chair
- Margarita Gordus, CAPS President
- Itzia Rivera, CAPS District III Director
- David Rist, CAPS District IV Director
- Monty Larson, CAPS District V Director
Key issues include:
- Competitive and Equitable Salaries
- Recognizing Scientific Education and Experience
- Workforce and Program Stability
- Mitigating Climate Impacts
- Paid Family Leave and Support for Working Parents
Find out more about the Platform here: https://capsscientists.org/caps-bargaining/value-scientists/. Share this platform with your friends, family, and colleagues so they can join State Scientists in our collective fight to protect California’s future.
Many other important issues, including those specific to particular careers and categories, are on the table as well.
Traditional negotiations open with proposals from both sides. The CAPS Bargaining Team brings forth a package of proposals that addresses the concerns of members and, throughout the negotiations, fights for you and the issues you told us were important. The State will often make proposals designed to cut costs at member expense, or at the very least maintain their status-quo. Away from the bargaining table, the CAPS Bargaining Team deliberates on bargaining decisions and debates tactics and strategies. Proposals may then be amended, countered, or dropped, by either side until an agreement is reached or negotiations reach a stalemate.
Read the Strike Rules, then email caps@capsscientists.org if you have more questions.