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What is the CCE?
The Council of Classified Employees (CCE) is one of the four governance councils of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), which is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. It comprises the leadership of 23 local unions which represent classified school employees such as secretaries, bus drivers, maintenance and operation employees, food service workers, paraprofessionals, early childhood workers and police officers – all essential to providing education to California’s students. Established in 1983, the CCE now represents more than 6,500 employees statewide working in public schools, community colleges and county offices of education.
Why is there a CCE?
Classified employees play an indispensable and integral role in public early childhood and kindergarten through twelfth grade and higher education. Without us, the educational system could not function.
However, we are often treated as though we are "last in line," both at the worksite and in labor relations. The CCE was established to win and safeguard rights specifically for classified employees and to guarantee classified employee input on educational decisions. We are career employees and are proud of the work we do. The CCE works to represent and unify our interests throughout the state.
What are our issues?
Issues of concern to classified employees are often the same as those of K-14 teachers and college faculty. At other times they are not. Some of the issues we are most concerned about are:
Living Wages and Benefits
Classified employees want to be fairly compensated for the experience, talents, skills and efforts they bring to the job. We are among the lowest paid workers in public employment and receive some of the smallest benefit packages. Frequently, when school budgets are tight, we are the targets of budget cuts and often end up subsidizing public education through reduced wages and benefits. School employees only seek to take home a living wage for the dedicated work we perform.
Contracting
Out Contracting out of public school services such as transportation and food services can cost classified employees their jobs and undermine the quality of services provided to the community. All too often privatized and volunteer services mean less accountability to governing bodies and substandard products and services. Frequently the interests of contractors win out over the needs of students, employees and the public. Contracting out public school services also increases the danger of patronage, financial improprieties and failure to comply with labor standards. Sometimes the pressure to balance budgets results in false savings when competent career employees are replaced by workers without a commitment to the educational system. Also, some employees of contractors are not held to the same accountability that we as public employees who work around children are required. The CCE opposes efforts to privatize public school services.
Charter Schools
Classified employees are key to the success of any school. In the past, classified staff have been omitted from all stages of charter school development, resulting in contract violations and a loss of job security. It takes the efforts of all employees of a school to make a charter successful. The easiest way to guarantee meaningful services to children and students is to include all groups of employees at the beginning of any charter school planning. The CCE is working to pass legislation to include classified employees in any charter school development.
Vouchers
Classified employees believe, as do teachers, that vouchers are not an answer to the problems of our schools. We are committed to public education and believe it the duty of every citizen to help improve the public school system. Doing so helps ensure that all of America’s children have access to a quality education. The CCE fights any and all attempts to abandon public schools through vouchers, however they may be disguised, whatever they may be called.
Greater Representation
The CCE strives to ensure that the voices of classified employees are heard in the decision making processes of our educational system at local and statewide levels. Classified employees are often overlooked or are not included in shared governance systems or charter school development, but our participation in and support of any plan is essential to its success. Classified employees hold years of valuable experience and have good ideas about the delivery of quality public education. We continue to support legislation to give classified employees representation on the California Community College Board of Governors, one of the highest levels of decision making for education in the state.
Health and Safety
Classified employees often work in unsafe and stressful conditions, use dangerous chemicals and are subjected to potential violence and injuries in our schools. As we all work to make our schools safer, classified employees must be included in the development of student conduct codes and must be given authority to protect themselves from physical assaults and intimidation. Additionally, many of us are assigned to perform work without proper ergonomic equipment or regulations, resulting in injuries that could have been prevented. We are working to strengthen California’s ergonomic standards.
Fair Share
Under California law the union selected by a majority of workers in a bargaining unit must represent fairly all workers in that bargaining unit, whether or not those employees are members of the union. This means that those who belong to the union and pay dues are paying for services others get for free. We don’t think this is fair.
We support fair share or agency shop provisions which require all employees who benefit from union representation to pay at least the core cost of that representation. Some districts refuse to consider such a plan and won’t even allow an election to determine support for agency shop. We seek legislation requiring school districts to allow employees to vote on fair share dues provisions.
Overtime after Eight Hours
Recent actions by the Governor and the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) eliminating overtime pay after eight hours in a day threaten to harm all of California’s workers. We are concerned that erosion of overtime guarantees will make it even harder to balance work and family needs and will lead to employer abuse. We are not opposed to alternate or flex work schedules when negotiated through collective bargaining and approved by a vote of affected workers. Adequate staffing and proper planning by employers can eliminate the need for excessive overtime. Workers should not be mandated to work overtime, but when they do have to rearrange their lives to fit employer needs, they must be paid premium rates. We are calling upon the California Legislature to overturn recent action by the IWC and restore overtime pay for work in excess of eight hours in a day.
Survivor Death Benefits
Most classified employees participate in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). The death benefit for a survivor of a classified employee in PERS is only $600. That amount was established many years ago and has not been updated to keep pace with today’s burial costs. (Some CCE members participate in other local systems, the death benefits of which vary.) Currently the PERS death benefit for a survivor of a state employee is $2,000, while teachers’ survivors receive $5,000 from the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). School employees contribute a substantial portion of their salary to PERS and their families deserve better. The CCE is working to increase the death benefit for classified employees to a level comparable to that of teachers. |
