California state union questions open floor plans, shrinking cubicles in an age of coronavirus

California leaders should give the same attention to reopening state government as they are giving to reopening businesses and public spaces, a state union said this week in a letter to the Newsom administration.

The letter, sent Wednesday by the Professional Engineers in California Government, aims to “start the conversation” around how the state will make sure its offices are safe for employees when they begin to return to them, said Ted Toppin, the union’s executive director.

“We’re talking about what restaurants will look like next month and into the future; let’s do the same evaluation of what state buildings and state workplaces will look like,” Toppin said.

The engineers’ union isn’t pressing for a return to state offices, but wants to make sure the offices are safe when the time comes, Toppin said.

Deputy Director Monica Hassan said in a statement that the department has begun preparing for reopening.

“DGS is working with other state departments, administration officials and labor representatives in planning on how to keep state buildings safe and protect the health of state workers as the state takes gradual steps toward reopening,” she said. “We will be guided by the governor’s roadmap and guidance from our health colleagues to evaluate current and future space planning needs.”

That discussion should also include a new look at Department of General Services plans for renovating and building new state offices, the letter says.

The department is in the early stages of a multi-year, $3.4 billion plan to renovate and construct 11 state office buildings in Sacramento, including at least two occupied by engineers’ union members.

Open floor plans, collaborative spaces and reductions to private offices should be reconsidered given threats from the coronavirus and other infectious diseases that could come along, the letter says.

Renovations at the California Environmental Protection Agency shrank cubicles to 49 square feet from 80 square feet for rank-and-file workers.

Design changes “encourage workspaces that are shared by two or more employees, increase densities by cutting the space allotted to all classifications of employees and drastically limit the height of cubicles,” says the union letter, signed by union president Joe Mello.

In addition to the Department of General Services, the letter was addressed to officials in the Governor’s Office and other agency secretaries and department directors.

The union’s represented employees also are affected by an upcoming Air Resources Board move to Riverside from El Monte in Los Angeles County, Toppin said.

This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "California state union questions open floor plans, shrinking cubicles in an age of coronavirus."