SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – It was a brisk cold morning, evidenced by the breath seen from the chanting strikers. Many were outfitted in beanies and gloves, holding signs on Lake Tahoe Boulevard on Nov. 17, 2023.

Honks from passing cards would ignite praise and a rapidly ringing cowbell from the protestors, as the cars acknowledges their hand-written sign that said “Honk if you value clean water.”

Scientists from many agencies, including the Lake Tahoe Regional Water Control Board, California Tahoe Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Cal Fire joined a three day rolling strike that started in Sacramento on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

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They’re seeking equal pay, equal work, and salary relationships with supervisors, according the strike captain, Adam Henriques.

The California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) union has been working towards a new agreement with CalHR after the old one expired over 1,300 days ago in July 2020.

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Henriques says some colleagues get paid up to 27% more than others for essentially the same job duties. Some job descriptions only differ by one word. He says the disparity has grown significantly since 2004.

Senior Environmental Scientist Laurie Scribe at the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board says “We’re hoping to send a message to Gavin Newsom that he should value scientists’ salaries in addition to saying that he values science and he wants California to be a science leader, that he’s got to pay scientists a fair wage.”

She says scientists are the ones that perform the research and collect the data to keep the water, air, and human health protected.

“We want CalHR and the governor,” she says, “to value science like he says he does.” 

Henriques says CAPS has been using all legal processes through union negotiations with the state over the three plus years since the last contract expired.

CAPS Media and Communications Consultant Jon Ortiz says “there was a sense that the administration was foot dragging.”

Ortiz says it felt like the state was asking the union to bargain against itself, “it seemed like the administration just wanted concession.”

After about three years of this, CAPS went to the Public Employee Relations Board, who determined the state and the union were at an impasse in which further meetings without the assistance of a mediator were considered futile.

According to Henriques, this also meant it nullified the no strike provision in the current contract.

Ortiz says this is the third time in history since the Ralph C. Dills Act in 1977, which gave state employees the right to organize and collectively bargain, that state employees have taken on the governor in an impasse. It highlights just how deadlocked negotiations were, he says.

Over 90% of members authorized the strike. Scribe says they started in Sacramento because around 50% of CAPS workers are located there. The second day included the bay area and southern California.

The state says that operations and public services continued during the strike.

The union and the state had a mediation session on Nov. 8, sparked by the impasse, but that session didn’t result in much progress. Another mediation is set for Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023.

Henriques and fellow strikers hopes this puts pressure on CalHR and Newsom to come to the table with a fair offer this time.

When asked whether the strike will change what CalHR plans to offer on Nov. 28, they responded, “The state is committed to continue to bargain in good faith.”

They say this includes participating in the scheduled mediation.

While leading the strike, Henriques says, “I don’t think this is where anyone wants to be. People are taking hits to their pay all across the state and these are tough times and we’re standing up and saying we’re willing to put ourselves out there.” 

Henriques describes a proposed third party study that was passed by congress and landed on Newsom’s desk. The study would have documented salary relationships between environmental scientists and other classifications, but the governor vetoed the bill.

“It highlights the irony of this administration,” he says, “that they purport to support science but the governor actually vetoed a bill that was scientistic study, so to us it is very contrary to what the administration is standing for actually, unfortunately.” 

Henriques says they’re grateful to everyone who showed up to support the strike, including the friends and family members who braved the cold morning with their homemade cardboard signs, to which he acknowledged, “doin’ what we can.”