California State Scientists Walk Picket Line in First-Ever Strike

Scientists working for the state walked off their jobs throughout California this week in a first-ever strike of state civil servants. The California Association of Professional Scientists started the three-day “Defiance for Science” strike on Nov. 15, becoming the first state worker union to strike since California civil servants were first granted collective bargaining rights in 1977. The association’s contract ended in July 2020. State scientists have not received any annual salary increases since then, and negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration have stalled, according to the association. “We’re tired, but we’re also energized,” said the organization’s President Jacqueline Tkac in a press release Tuesday. “We’re tired of this administration’s delay tactics and woefully inadequate offers at the bargaining table. We’re tired of the governor talking up California’s scientific approach to environmental policies while he fails to adequately compensate the scientists who inform and enforce those policies.”...