Classified professionals with United Educators of San Francisco got surprising and welcome news on May 16th. Rather than laying off the 34 counselors and more than 100 paraeducators who had received notices, the San Francisco Unified School District sent out a release saying almost all those positions would be retained.  

The decision came after months of outcry from members, students, and parents. Like her colleagues, Teanna Tillery, the Vice President of Paraprofessionals with UESF, was thrilled. 

Tillery felt satisfied as well. A lot of the protests about the loss of vital positions that led to the district’s reversal came out of organizing she and her fellow UESF members did. Tillery attended a board meeting on February 25, where there was a resolution to reduce the workforce, and she began organizing the next day. Tillery is not new to this, having been laid off four times in her 25-year career at SFUSD. 

 “I know what it feels like,” she said. “I also know what it feels like to go back to work after receiving the preliminary layoff notice and having to continue to do the work that you do, all the while not knowing.”

So on February 26, members started talking to their colleagues as well as to families and students at their school sites about testifying at board meetings. To show their power and unity, people showed up every two weeks. At the May 13th meeting, with Elliott Duchon, the state-appointed adviser to the district coming, they formed a human gauntlet he and others had to walk through.

In a 10-minute speech at the May 13th board meeting, Tillery emphasized not the numbers of people to be laid off, but the jobs they do, which go beyond the classroom. She added that the people in these roles have also built crucial relationships with the students and their families over years. 

In her speech, Tillery compared the relationship the district has with its classified professionals to an abusive one.  She thinks talking about the kind of work those professionals do, often unseen, made a difference. 

Tillery calls UESF a “powerful force,” and beyond organizing families, they reached out to different people in the community, including State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, members of the Board of Supervisors, and community groups.

“There’s still a lot of moving parts,” she said. “But I will say that every single para will have a job next year, if they so choose, including the ones who we had initially said did not have the layoffs rescinded.”

Across the Bay in Berkeley, Berkeley Council of Classified Employees got equally surprising news in March: Due to organizing efforts, most of the 166 layoff notices members of AFT Local 6192, received in March, have been rescinded. 

The notices, prompted by a state law that says employees at risk of being laid off at the end of the semester must be notified by March 15, made employees feel confused and uncertain, said BCCE President Frank Hernandez. 

The employees whose jobs were at risk — nearly a third of their 600 or so members — were mostly paid for by so-called “soft money,” or money coming from outside the general fund, Hernandez*** says. The affected positions included administrative and clerical, school aides, and those working in after school programs and to help low-income families.  

Without any layoffs, schools are already understaffed, particularly in classified positions, Hernandez says. 

“The classified gets hit pretty hard, and it creates a problem because you have staff who have to pick up that slack, and then at the end of the day, the students aren’t getting the attention that they really need, especially when it comes to after school programs and nutrition services,” he said. “Sometimes that’s fine for a short period of time, but when you’re talking all year long, that just takes a toll on the workers, which you can imagine also takes a toll on the students.”

BCCE members joined with their sister union, the Berkeley Federation of Teachers (whose members also received layoff notices) to organize rallies at Board of Education meetings and speak out to protest the layoffs. 

The rallies got attention from the news media, including Ed Source and the Daily Californian, which reported BCCE Vice President Mildred Scheff saying during public comment that classified workers are essential, not extras.

“We are the heartbeat of this district, and we’ve stood by our students year after year,’” she said. “Now we’re asking you to stand by us. Let history reflect that we did not allow loyalty to be met with a pink slip.”

“We have a really good support group of parents and students, so it always helps when they show up and voice their opinions,” Hernandez said. “The community really supports the school district employees.”

He went on to report that this quick action resulted in most layoff notices being rescinded, except for 15 or so people. Although that is a startling victory, Hernandez says they’re not finished and plan to keep negotiating.