Nearly 100,000 California state workers represented by SEIU Local 1000 went on a one-day Unfair Practice Strike on Wednesday, October 21 — the first statewide walkout in the union's 44-year history — after mediation with the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) produced no deal, the union and Workers Rights News reported.

Members voted 96% to authorise the strike. The union has worked without a contract since June 30 and is seeking raises of 7%, 7% and 6% over three years — yaani about 20% in total — along with cheaper health care and more telework. The state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) declared an impasse on October 2 and appointed a mediator; mediation began on October 15. PERB declined to seek a court injunction after the union agreed in writing to keep designated essential workers on the job — about 4,400 workers, most of them nurses and nursing assistants in prison health care, stayed on duty, the Sacramento Bee reported via CalMatters coverage.

Morning picket lines ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Sacramento state offices including the Secretary of State, the Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters and the Department of Education, with a further line in Fresno, according to SEIU Local 1000's official strike page. Strikers were then due to rally at CalHR headquarters at 1810 16th Street in Sacramento from 11 a.m. and march to the Capitol Annex. Strike lines were also planned in Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Norwalk, San Bernardino and San Diego.

For residents — including the large Punjabi community in Sacramento, Fresno and the Central Valley — the practical warning is delays. Union president Anica Walls warned of slower service at the DMV and at the state's unemployment and disability insurance offices, and CalHR said it is committed to maintaining state operations and critical public services during the strike, according to PBS KVIE's Abridged. Workers taking part will not be paid for missed hours, and the state has told departments to record strike absences as AWOL, which the union says is a timekeeping code and not discipline by itself.

A last-minute deal could still have cancelled the walkout, as happened in 2016, but none had been announced as pickets formed on Wednesday morning. The union says October 21 will not be its last show of strength if the state does not bargain fairly.

Sources: SEIU Local 1000 official strike page (seiu1000.org); Workers Rights News, October 20, 2026, citing the Sacramento Bee, CalMatters, KQED and PBS KVIE Abridged.