Celebrating Classified School Employee Week

Classified School Employee Week, which takes place May 21-27 this year, celebrates the support staff and paraprofessionals who help our early childhood centers, schools, and colleges succeed. Classified employees perform essential work, but it is often behind the scenes. This is our week to put classified work front and center.

Classified professionals are key contributors to the success of our schools. From janitors, to paraprofessionals, to bus drivers, to school secretaries, to food service workers and beyond, every classified worker plays an important role to ensure our students receive the education they deserve.

Please take a moment next week to thank the classified professionals you work with for their dedication to our students and our schools. Also, please consider using this social media toolkit for materials you can use to recognize their important work.

Join the CFT Union Summer School training program - June 26-30 in LA

The annual CFT Union Summer School this year will take place the week of June 26-30 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, CA.

The Union Summer School program is geared for emerging and veteran local leaders who want to take their skills to the next level. The week-long event is filled with rigorous workshops, motivated and skilled trainers, and applied learning. There is also the opportunity to share best practices with local leaders from across the state and to find inspiration in one another’s work.

This year CFT Summer School will include five tracks to choose from, including:

Crash Course for New Presidents and Leaders
Cultural Proficiency
Politics and Communications: Running Effective Campaigns
Winning the Best Contract: Collective Bargaining & Contract Campaigns
Treasurer Training: Financial Stewardship for a Strong Local Union

In order to take part in the CFT Union Summer School program, CFT members must gain approval from their local union president. Please follow up with them if you are interested.

CFT-sponsored bills on raising TK-12 pay and restoring repeatability in community colleges pass through key Assembly committee

This week, two critical CFT-sponsored bills passed through the California Assembly Appropriations Committee. The first, AB 938 (Muratsuchi), calls on the state of California to increase LCFF funding by 50% with the intention of raising salaries for school workers. The second bill, AB 811 (Fong), would restore repeatability and increase repetition opportunities for community college students.

Thanks to the thousands of CFT members who signed petitions in support of the two bills. The petitions were delivered to the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Chris Holden, this week in advance of the hearing.

Hearing directly from CFT members, students, and allies is critical for our elected leaders to understand why these two bills are so important. These efforts, along with our 2023 lobby day in April, were essential to ensuring our voice was heard in the Capitol.

In total this legislative term CFT sponsored or co-sponsored eleven bills in the Assembly, with ten moving to the full Assembly for an upcoming vote, and five bills in the Senate, with four moving to the full Senate for an upcoming vote. Among the additional CFT-sponsored bills are AB 5 (Zbur), which would require competency training for educators to assist LGBTQ+ students to provide a safe and supportive environment, and AB 800 (Ortega), which would establish the Workplace Readiness Week for high school seniors and juniors to learn about the labor movement and their labor rights.

Learn more about CFT-sponsored legislation on the CFT website.