‘The work I do matters’: California Fish and Wildlife environmental scientists rally for telework and raises

On August 5, a group of California Department of Fish and Wildlife staffers, organized by environmental scientist and union steward Dyana Judnick, stood together at the Sundial Bridge to take a photograph. They were gathered as part of a statewide rally organized by CAPS, UAW Local 1115, a union of scientists and researchers employed by California and working across the state in sectors such as public health and environmental protection. 

In March 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order, mandating that California’s state employees return to in-person work. 

His decision has spurred a wave of protests all over the state, with thousands of workers rallying against what they say are impacts on costs of living and productivity. Environmental scientists in Shasta, whose work protects California’s environment through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, are no exception. 

The scientists are also fighting for a pay raise, which was promised to them by the state in 2024 before being suddenly revoked this June. 

As the group gathered in front of the iconic Redding bridge a week ago, Stacey Alexander, one of the environmental scientists for CDFW, held up a sign that read “Our Raises! Our Rights! Unite! To Win This Fight!”

“I love my job, so that’s what makes all of this happening difficult,” Alexander said. 

What is RTO, and how has it impacted CDFW scientists’ work? 

Newsom’s demand for a return-to-office, or RTO, called for over 108,000 state workers with hybrid work options to return to work in the office at least four days a week, starting July 1. The order cited a “commitment to operational efficiency and high-quality public service,” noting that in-person work increases collaboration and accountability.

Many CDFW scientists interviewed by Shasta Scout said that the RTO has forced them into what they described as a poor work environment, making both their work and their quality of life difficult to sustain. The mandated return to office has forced workers to reverse a series of actions taken four years ago, when they were given orders to work from home. 

At the time, California had issued a statewide telework guidance policy in response to COVID-19. In an email to employees from that era, CalHR noted that the administration supported telework “as a long-term strategy to decrease office space, allow more flexibility for employees, and provide resiliency in the case of future emergencies.” 

Alexander, whose work involves writing expedited permits for restoration projects such as the Klamath Dam removals, said that she paid out of pocket four years ago, to establish her ability to work from her home. 

“My previous state agency, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, didn’t have the equipment to have us all work from home, so I had to purchase a computer just to work from home,” she said, adding that she also had to purchase a desk when the pandemic suddenly shifted the state’s work plans. “But I was okay, because I knew it was an emergency and I cared a lot about the work I do.” 

Eventually, as online work became the norm, employees adapted their work styles, and lifestyles, to telework. Judnick, whose role at CDFW involves cannabis permitting to protect local waterways, added that telework also allowed for more flexibility to accommodate long days of fieldwork, which many CDFW’s scientists conduct as a frequent part of their responsibilities 

“I go out in the field probably twice a week, sometimes less. Everything else I do is very regular work, and we have Teams,” she said, referring to Microsoft’s online messaging system. “I actually feel like I collaborate more now than I did before [COVID], because we all have Teams.” 

By the time the RTO was issued this year, Judnick and Alexander both say, their Redding office was ill-equipped to accommodate all employees coming back in-person. Changes made by CDFW after telework began in 2020, including a decision not to renew a building lease, meant current facilities lack space with not enough desks or meeting rooms, they said. 

Dacota Huzzen, who began working for CDFW as a wildlife biologist last year, added that the office also lacks sufficient air conditioning and internet connection, making it difficult to work productively — especially as much of the work is still being conducted on Teams, requiring strong connectivity. 

“Now I’m stuck in a room with two other people,” Huzzen said. “While the camaraderie is nice, I don’t feel like I’m as efficient because it’s just louder, and we don’t have proper cubicles, and it’s too hot, and the internet doesn’t work properly.” 

Many sources also pointed out that they’ve been communicating with coworkers and supervisors effectively online, and Microsoft Teams already tracks their productivity, meaning employee efficiency is already streamlined without in-person management. 

Since labor protests against RTO have broken out, Newsom has explained his reasoning behind the mandate in several ways, including his belief that it will increase accountability, vitalize local businesses, and battle a “crisis of loneliness.” He’s also referred to the four-day mandate as a “three-day weekend,” implying that employees do not work on the one day they are permitted to telework. 

In contrast to Newsom’s statements, local CDFW scientists’ claims are backed by a state audit conducted last year which concluded that telework did not negatively impact employee productivity, and could save California as much as $225 million in facility and real estate costs. The governor’s office did not respond to Shasta Scout’s questions regarding state workers’ concerns about RTO. 

In addition to difficulties in their work environment, CDFW employees say that the RTO has contributed to financial challenges, particularly given increased gas prices and new parking costs in Redding. Judnick noted that RTO has also created unique financial challenges for CDFW employees who live outside of the Redding city center, explaining that long driving distances and limited public transportation contributed an added expense for those living in the North State. 

Carolyn Buesch, an environmental scientist at CDFW, said that she was forced to find housing in Redding close to the office, with higher rent and fewer options, as she couldn’t afford the higher gas prices to commute from outside of town. She added that she now bikes to the office four days a week in order to avoid gas prices and associated car expenses. 

“My rent would have been cheaper if I lived just outside of town,” Buesch said. “I could have saved commuting time, gas money, reduced wear and tear on my truck, and saved more money for a house down payment and retirement.” 

Promised pay raises that were never delivered 

On June 30, the night before they were preparing to return to office after years working from home, CDFW scientists received an email from CAPS which outlined that they also wouldn’t be receiving the pay raises that had been signed into their contract in 2024. 

“This evening, hours after bargaining concluded for the day, we received notice from CalHR that the State Budget Act of 2026 does not contain funding for our 2026 special salary adjustments,” the email read. 

“What it really is, is the state deciding that they won’t allocate money in the budget to fund salaries that were previously agreed to in our contract,” Eli Scott, head steward for the Northern California district of UAW 1115, explained. 

Scott was referring to a contract signed by the state and ratified in 2024, which promised special salary adjustments ranging from 3% to 5% increases depending on the classification of the position. CalHR notified the union that the raises, which were to be effective this July, were not included in the finalized state budget. That budget was signed into law on June 29 with a comment stating that the budget was  “balanced” with “zero deficit this year, and next,” something scientists have referred to as “balancing the budget on state workers’ backs.” 

Prior to the 2024 contract that included those promised raises, Scott said, the union hadn’t had an effective contract for four full years, and the lack of pay raises only added to financial challenges and frustrations CDFW scientists faced. 

During the peak of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, state workers took pay cuts and furlough days amid budget uncertainty. But the following year, the state recorded a record-breaking surplus of $97.5 billion, Alexander noted. 

“So [given that context,] I don’t really feel like the economic uncertainty warrants us having to take pay cuts,” she said. “And then the governor saying that we have a balanced budget, and we’re not getting those raises anyway.” 

Scott added that although the union has had little time to respond to the pay cuts, given that the announcement came so suddenly, he hopes the agreements can be clarified in dialogue between the union and the governor’s office. 

“If not, we’re hoping to get a trailer bill as the legislature comes back into session, that would fund our raises,” he said. 

CalHR responded to questions about the lack of salary adjustments and the union’s claims by saying the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation. The governor’s office has not responded to the same questions. 

What comes next?

In response to frustrations over the governor’s unilateral decision on RTO, CAPS filed an unfair labor practice charge earlier this year, which the Public Employment Relations Board accepted for expedited processing on July 10. The union’s charge alleges that the state’s change to its telework policies was in violation of prior agreements that promised negotiations regarding RTOs, as well as that CalHR refused to engage in good-faith negotiations. 

In response to questions, CalHR said that the state will “review the filing by the California Association of Professional Scientists and will respond as appropriate through the PERB process.”

Meanwhile, unions are supporting AB 1729, a bill introduced this February which would require state agencies to establish structured remote policies and provide justification for in-person work. The bill came back to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, and while the analysis by the committee has been favorable, it’s been placed in the suspense file for additional fiscal review. The bill is scheduled to return for a hearing this week, on August 13. 

In the meantime, CAPS is continuing to file workplace grievances surrounding RTO, as well as continuing its statewide campaign to spread the word, Scott said. 

The environmental scientists in Redding have their hopes high both for the telework bill and for the return of their promised raises, which they say would allow them to remain committed to a line of work that they love. 

“I always wanted to work for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. I’m finally here, and I’m so happy,” said Jennifer VanDyke, a senior environmentalist at CDFW who graduated with a degree in biology and went on to work in different environmental departments with the state. “I feel like the work I do matters, and that I’m actually using my degree for something that I’m invested in, like trying to restore the environment.”

Her love for the work, she said, makes her frustrations all the more disappointing. 

“Just honor the contracts, and allow the flexibility we’ve been able to work with for so long. We do a lot.” 

Moe Shimizu is a student at Yale University. She’s reporting for Shasta Scout as a 2026 summer intern, with support from the Nonprofit Newsroom Internship Program — created by The Scripps Howard Fund and the Institute for Nonprofit News.

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