How state workers convinced one department to reverse return-to-office order

Following Gov. Gavin Newsom's directive for public employees to return to the office four days a week, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond initially supported this change. However, facing employee pressure from Department of Education staff advocating for a hybrid work model, he reversed the decision, delaying the four-day requirement until the end of 2025. In a recent development, he announced that the department would sustain its current policy of requiring only two days in the office, also establishing a committee to explore effective hybrid work practices.

"He didn't want us to be protesting anymore," Cecelia Wilson, the president of an SEIU Local 1000 district labor council that represents CDE employees, said of Thurmond's pivot on telework.

Weeks later, Thurmond pumped the brakes, delaying the four-day requirement until the end of 2025, responding to months of pressure from Education Department staff.

Read at Sacramento Bee