Hi fellow State Scientist,

My name is Lisa Jensen, I work at State Waterboards and am ecstatic to let you know effective October 1, 2024, the State is adopting the federal government’s reimbursement rates for business and travel expenses! 

These improvements to our travel reimbursement rates were a hard-fought win for rank-and-file employees during the last round of contract negotiations!

State scientists won improvements to Article 6.1 (and the associated Appendix) in the CAPS-UAW Total Tentative Agreement, including:

• Adopting the federal standard Meal and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) rate established by the federal General Services Administration (GSA) at time of travel for in-state and out-of-state travel
• Adopting federal standard and non-standard reimbursement lodging rates at time of travel for in-state, out-of-state, and out-of-country lodging 
• Federal per diem rates include M&IE and a maximum lodging allowance which is tailored to better fit the city you are visiting for work. 

CAPS-UAW has been advocating the State adopt these federal reimbursement rates for business and travel expenses for many years, as the federal rates are higher. State scientists should not incur any additional expenses simply to travel for work. The changes to Section 6.1 in our contract is a win for State Scientists, because it shifts travel costs onto the State!

The new rates will go into effect for rank-and-file employees on October 1, 2024, after the Governor signs Assembly Bill (AB) 181 ratifying our Total Tentative Agreement.

The bargaining strength of the rank-and-file to win better pay and benefits often indirectly helps supervisors and managers. All excluded state employees (supervisors and managers) will benefit from the gains of the rank-and-file and will also receive the same reimbursement rates on October 1! 

CalHR will release the updated CalHR Manual Sections and travel webpages accordingly to align with the federal GSA. Learn more about the federal reimbursement rates here and on CalHR’s Benefits Division Travel Frequently Asked Questions page. 

Reminder – Catalyst Committee

Your CAPS-UAW Board of Directors is soliciting interest in joining the CAPS-UAW Catalyst Committee, to research a new structure of elected leadership that fosters democratic culture in the workplace and enables our union to be more effective at achieving the goals of all State Scientists, and to outline a process to enable the broad membership to deliberate and make a democratic decision. We are looking for motivated members to think critically and help reshape CAPS-UAW for years to come. 

Any member can self-nominate to work on this committee by submitting this nomination form. Nominations will close tomorrow: Wednesday, September 25. To learn more about the purpose of the CAPS Catalyst Committee, see our Statement of Purpose.