UNION GRIEVANCE FILED: We’re Fighting Back Against the City's Push to Gut Remote Work
On Wednesday, April 17th—the union officially filed a grievance against the City of San José in response to its plan to force hybrid employees back into the office four days a week starting June 2, 2025, without negotiating with us.
🔗 Click here to read the full grievance we filed.
Let’s be clear: this is a political move, not a policy based on what's good for workers—or even the City's operations.
What’s Really Going On?
This push isn’t about productivity. It’s about appeasing downtown business interests.
Mayor Matt Mahan, under pressure from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, wants the City of San José to set an example for private employers by forcing employees back into the office. Their goal? Boost foot traffic downtown so restaurants and service businesses get more lunchtime customers.
But sacrificing your flexibility, well-being, and work-life balance to try and save the sandwich shops on Santa Clara Street? That’s a ridiculous strategy.
The City's Own Policy Says Otherwise
Let’s not forget what the City’s own Flexible Workplace Policy—originally adopted in 2015 and last updated in November 2023—was created for:
To attract and retain talented employees in a competitive Bay Area market
To support employee work/life balance
To reduce the workforce carbon footprint
To decrease traffic congestion
To increase employee job satisfaction
To protect employee health and safety
And to ensure continuity of government services during emergencies
This was never just a perk. It’s a smart policy that’s helped stabilize a struggling workforce. And now they want to undo it—because it makes for good optics in the Mayor’s downtown PR campaign.
The Union’s Position
Under California labor law, once a policy like this becomes a consistent and widely applied practice, it’s a working condition—and the City can’t unilaterally change it.
Our Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) clearly states the City can’t force the Union into mid-contract negotiations. We’ve told them: we are not reopening bargaining on this issue. They must maintain the status quo—period.
What We’re Doing
We met with the City on April 11 to raise our objections.
Today, we filed a formal grievance to block the change.
We are committed to fighting this all the way—to arbitration if necessary.
What You Can Expect
We will keep you informed every step of the way.
This is not just about remote work. It’s about whether City Hall values its workforce—or sees us as pawns in someone else’s political game.
We know what this program means to our members. And we are not backing down.
In solidarity,
Your MEF-AFSCME Local 101 Team
