North Bay environmental scientists join California strike, demanding equitable pay

Matt Erickson would just as soon have been assessing water flow in the creeks of the North Bay on Friday. Instead, he was marching alongside fellow scientists in Santa Rosa, calling for what he and others who work for the state say would be a more equitable pay structure.

“I wish we didn’t have to strike,” said Erickson, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife who specializes in habitat restoration for coho salmon and steelhead trout. “But we feel we really have to. We’ve been in this salary disparity for 20 years now. Every time we ask for a raise, they say, ‘Well, we’re in a downturn.’ Or, ‘We’re afraid a downturn is coming.’

“There have been booms and busts over decades, and the same excuses are being used to deny us the fair pay we’re asking for.”

Erickson and more than 50 of his local colleagues were joining a statewide walkout by California state government’s environmental scientists. In Santa Rosa, they began with a morning rally at the North Coast Water Quality Control Board office on Skylane Boulevard. A couple hours later, they marched down the street to the Fish and Wildlife office; joined by workers there, they continued to the intersection of Skylane and Airport boulevards, for greater visibility.

All told, more than 1,000 California scientists took to the picket line Thursday. Friday, when the labor action was expanded beyond “active worksites,” the turnout was expected to be larger.

The California Association of Professional Scientists, a union representing about 5,200 members across more than 50 state departments, called for the strike after three years of stalled contract negotiations, according to union President Jacqueline Tkac.

The strike comes during a big year for labor, one that saw the passage of new California laws granting workers more paid sick leave and increased wages for health care and fast food workers. Also this year, health care professionals, Hollywood actors and writers, and autoworkers staged high-profile actions for better pay and working conditions.

Scientists, who typically work outside the view of the public, on subjects that might well mystify the common citizen, would seem a less likely pool of roused workers.

They say they had little choice after 20 years of waiting for fair compensation.

Pay for environmental scientists used to be closely aligned with that of engineering geologists and water quality engineers. In the early 2000s, the state negotiated a sizable pay raise for the engineers, but not the scientists, the latter group claims.

“We do pretty much identical work, but they make 40-60% more than us,” said Mike Thomas, the freshwater harmful algal bloom coordinator for the state Water Quality Control Board’s North Coast region — he tests rivers for algae that can make people sick or kill their pets — and a co-captain of the local labor action.

“And the gap keeps increasing every year,” he said.

The state agreed in 2014 to raise the pay for scientific supervisors to something close to the engineers’ salaries. The rank-and-file scientists supported that move, they insist, on the principle that a rising tide lifts all boats. After that move, some supervisors were making more than directors. The state then bumped the pay of the directors, but not the rest of the scientists.

“They fixed the upward problem immediately,” Erickson said. “They never fixed the downward problem.”

It’s an issue, he said, because California’s human resources guidance contains wording that indicates the state will “strive to maintain historical salary relationships.”

“It’s a weak word to use — ‘strive,’” Erickson said, adding that the salary gap between supervisors and staff used to be “a few percentage points. Now, all of a sudden, it’s 40% or more.”

The state says it has been working to reach a fair deal with the scientists. The California Department of Human Resources recently filed a complaint of unfair labor practices against the union in an attempt to prevent the strike, which is set to end Saturday.

The department told the Associated Press on Wednesday it was disappointed by the walkout, and that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office continues to bargain in good faith. Camille Travis, a department spokesperson, said the union sought mediation, then called for the strike before that process concluded.

The state will continue working toward a fair agreement with the union, as it has with other bargaining units, she wrote to the AP in an email. Travis said the state “has taken steps to ensure that service to the public continues with as little disruption as possible.”

The scientists want Newsom to recognize the important work they are doing every day, in a state that prides itself on leading the way on environmental issues.

That work includes creating earthquake warning systems, protecting wildlife and reducing air pollution.

“All we want to do is provide the best science to the state — work that helps protect people, addresses climate change and the quality of our air, food and water,” said Thomas, the harmful-algae scientist.

Erickson offered an example from his own work. He and colleagues recently removed a barrier to coho salmon migration in Marin County, opening up 3½ miles of crucial spawning habitat. “With climate change, this species is under stress, because we’re the southern end of salmon range,” he said. “Any opportunities we can provide for them to reproduce and make the species stronger, that’s our goal.”

Erickson, 57, fears the effect the wage stagnation is having on younger scientists.

“I wouldn’t call it a dead end, but they don’t see opportunities,” he said. “So they move on. We need to develop expertise in our younger staff. So when I retire, the expertise is still there.”

Negotiations are expected to resume Nov. 28, according to Thomas.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.