The Governor Newsom "Return to Office" mandate blatantly violates the collective bargaining LAWS that protect us DTSC State Scientists. We Scientists know better than anyone that the Newsom administration thinks nothing of breaching laws and violating State worker labor rights.  It's time to PUSH BACK before you are wasting precious hours back on the road fighting traffic in just a couple weeks, waiting months for PERB to decide on our Unfair Labor Practice case in court, and enduring miserable working conditions in our crowded State offices.  

The RTO mandate was illegally implemented from the start for State Scientists -- but we have been indoctrinated into believing it's legitimate, allowed, and a "done deal" for State workers.  The State has deliberately withheld information on the cost of RTO, and disregarded its effect on productivity and our careers.  

Effective July 1 -- unless you speak up -- you will be expected to perform top-level scientific work in cubi-cells drowned in noise and distractions from all directions, inadequate and missing equipment, and not enough bathrooms or space for everyone, all after leaving your telework office that you spent hundreds or thousands of dollars creating in your home. You will arrive exhausted at work from road rage and horrible traffic, and struggle to find a parking spot.  All this has been forced on you and your coworkers while the Newsom administration illegally by-passed the Collective Bargaining process enshrined in California law for us.  

DTSC Director Katie Butler, and DTSC EXECUTIVE STAFF: We reject Return to Office, and you know as well as we do that even an "Executive Order" from Newsom is subject to ALL of the State's Bargaining Laws.  Tell Newsom to stop violating the law. We need you to stand up for us and make the right ethical decision here -- for your sake and for ours.