The State - News from Aug. 23, 1987

State mediators are negotiating to head off a strike by the 80,000-member California State Employee Assn., which rejected a final contract offer and voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if mediation breaks down. A spokesman for CSEA, state government’s largest employee union, said state workers will remain on the job at least until Monday. The state has offered a 3.5% pay raise effective Jan. 1. Union spokesman Jim Jacobs said the offer was rejected as insufficient since it actually amounts to less than 2% when spread over a full year. Jacobs said initial targets of a strike in Los Angeles County could include the Department of Public Social Services, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Employment Development Department and several state hospitals. This is the first time CSEA members have voted to give the union strike authorization, Jacobs said.