The Classified Day of Action motivates and mobilizes
On May 21 hundreds of CFT members gathered outside of the Sacramento Capitol to celebrate and honor the work of classified professionals. The crowd was filled with excitement, pride, and a sense of readiness. All of which fell right into place with the theme of the event: No Class Without Classified: Filling the Gaps to Educate California Students.
.png)
T-shirts, buttons, and posters were handed out and gleefully sported which created a colorful bold gathering that drew the curiosity and attention of passersby.
President of the CFT Council of Classified Employees Carl Williams got the crowd going and proudly introduced AFT President Randi Weingarten, who took to the stage in her usual energetic and focused character. Weingarten started off on a strong note stating that workers have power and the labor movement needs them. She continued to highlight the importance of staying motivated and ready to organize for better working conditions and increased wages.
“We need to make sure that collectively our classified workers, who make the village of schooling possible, that you have a voice! A real voice. And the vehicle for that voice is our movement. The labor movement!”
Classified professionals benefit from summer aid program
In 2018, when Arti O’Connor was serving a 10-year term as the president of the Gilroy Federation of Paraeducators, AFT Local 1921, the Classified Employee Summer Assistance Program started.
The purpose of the program is to offer some relief for school employees who don’t work the full year and may struggle not getting a paycheck in the summer. The program offers people not only a way to get paid when school is out, but also more for every dollar they have put in. The way it works is people have money withheld from their paycheck, and then get it in the summer — along with more funds, which the state allocates for the program. The assistance is available to K-12 classified employees who work 11 months or fewer out of the year and make less than $62,400.
This year, things have changed. The district has a new superintendent, and the members of the Gilroy Federation of Paraeducators, can now take part in the program.
Classified Shining: A profile on Patti Serafin
Classified Shining highlights a Classified Professional in and outside of work. Do you know a Classified Professional that you would like to nominate to be profiled in our next Classified Insider newsletter? Email CFT Communications Specialist Nason McCarthy: [email protected] with a bit about the member in mind and we will reach out.
.png)
Before she helped students in the financial aid office at Palomar College, Patti Serafin traveled around the country, announcing golf tournaments on live TV. She shared the booth with the legendary Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers (in this case, he was the voice of golf), and in 1998, she was on the NBC Golf Tour production team that won an Emmy for outstanding live sports series.
