Telework: A Win-Win for Workers & the Climate!

California’s hybrid telework program is a proven success: it keeps cars off the road, reduces carbon emissions, saves money, and supports family-friendly working conditions for state employees. It also helps California achieve our climate goals by attracting and retaining great staff in our environmental and public health programs. 

But telework is under threat from Governor Gavin Newsom’s Return to Office order, currently scheduled to go into effect on July 1. AB 1729 (Alex Lee) would protect state workers’ telework rights–a win-win for workers and the environment.

Below, three union members who work to protect California’s environment break down why Return to Office undermines working conditions and environmental progress. Join them in asking the California Assembly to pass AB 1729 and protect telework!

Wasim Ali

I’ve been with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) since 2005, and for the past 12 years, I’ve focused on the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program. Since 1998, the program has been one of California’s most cost-effective tools for cutting smog-forming and toxic emissions — allocating roughly $1.6 billion to date in grants that help local air districts retire and replace older, dirtier engines. My job is to administer those grants and help accelerate the shift to cleaner, zero-emission equipment. The work has a direct payoff: healthier air for Californians. I’m also a member of Professional Engineers in California Government — PECG — and I serve on the bargaining team that negotiates our salaries and benefits for the rank and file.

I came to this field because I genuinely care about public health and protecting California’s natural resources. When a grant I helped administer results in cleaner engines on the road and reduced particulate matter in the air, that’s not abstract. People are breathing easier because of it. That kind of tangible impact is what keeps me motivated.

Here’s what a Return to Office mandate would actually look like: nearly half of my branch is based at Riverside. My office is in Sacramento. I’d need to go in four days per week while continuing to work virtually with colleagues at other locations. That’s the worst of both worlds — more commuting without the in-person collaboration benefits that are supposed to justify it. Layer on top of that the financial pressure, daily commute stress, and the grim irony of working under a policy that works against the environment, and you get lower morale — and eventually, experienced people deciding they’d rather find other work or retire than deal with it. That will make our institutional knowledge challenges worse than they are now –– and take years to recover from.

Read Wasim’s analysis of the Return to Office order on CalMatters.

Hannah Goldsmith

My name is Hannah Goldsmith. I’m an attorney with the State of California, and I’m a member of CASE (the California state attorneys’ union).  My background is in environmental and energy law, with a focus on zero-emission vehicles.  In my role, I provide counsel on zero-emission transportation, energy, and climate efforts, among other matters.

I love my job, but if the Return to Office order were implemented, it would significantly disrupt both my work and my family.  I live in El Dorado Hills, so I drive more than 60 miles each in-office day, which adds up to nearly two hours of travel time. Under the current two day in-office schedule, I’m able to manage daycare drop-off and pickup for my 2.5-year-old, but it already requires careful coordination.  Increasing the required commute days would add substantial travel time, reduce the hours I can dedicate to focused work, and introduce new financial and family pressures. The
additional strain would ultimately diminish my productivity and efficiency rather than enhance it. Given all of these impacts, I would consider seeking a position that offers fully remote or predominantly remote work.

California’s environmental and climate goals rely not only on policy design, but also on the state leading by example.  A broad Return to Office order would increase vehicle miles traveled and traffic, which both contribute to poor air quality and intensify climate impacts. Telework allows state employees to reduce
unnecessary travel, align our own behavior with the state’s climate commitments, and dedicate more time to mission-critical work rather than commuting.

Rob Rossi

I’m a senior environmental scientist for the Department of Toxic Services Control. My job is to make sure consumer products are chemically safer for people and the environment. My department is currently working on finding alternatives to chemicals in tires that are toxic to coho salmon, and regulating dioxane in soap and shampoo.

If the Return to Office order goes through, I’d be looking at spending at least 12 hours a week sitting in a metal box–and that’s not even factoring in cuts to public transit. I have to take three modes of public transportation to get to work. My partner is a nurse and works nights, and we only have one car, so driving isn’t an option. I love my job–I get to help people and the environment. I’d planned to stay here till I retire. But if I have to do that commute 4 or 5 days a week, it’s only a matter of time till it gets unsustainable. 

When people are forced to drive to work, the impact isn’t just carbon emissions. There are contaminants and carcinogens in tires, exhaust, and brake pads. And disadvantaged communities are often close to highways and bearing the brunt of that toxic load. It’s much cheaper to not drive in the first place than to remove the carbon from the atmosphere and the toxins from the environment. Based on state data, we’ve estimated that state employee telework saves up to 200,000 metric tons of carbon a year. Now that the federal endangerment rule has been rescinded, many states may stop regulating carbon emissions entirely. California needs to be a leader. We can do that by embracing telework.

Join Wasim, Hannah, and Rob in asking the California Assembly to pass AB 1729 and protect telework!