Classified Insider: Classified Professionals Shaping Our Union’s Future
FALL 2025
Classified Insider: Classified Professionals Shaping Our Union’s Future
Classified Insider: Fall 2025
Calling All CCE Presidents: Join Us for the First-Ever CCE Presidents Retreat!
Are you ready to recharge, reconnect, and reimagine what’s possible for your local union? We’re excited to invite you to CCE’s first-ever President’s Retreat, happening November 7–8, 2025, at the CFT Sacramento office!
This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for local union presidents to step away from the daily grind and come together for two energizing days of learning, sharing, and strategizing. Whether you’re a seasoned leader or new to the role, this retreat is designed just for you.
Classified Representing and Driving Change on the Executive Council
Andrea Edwards has been on the CFT Executive Council for a few months. As a mother, a part-time faculty member, and the president of one of the largest classified units in the state, AFT 1521A in Los Angeles, Edwards doesn’t have a lot of free time. But when she spoke out about a resolution passed at the CFT Convention that bridges elementary worksites with adult education, that made it all worth it.
Classified and Courageous: BCCE and UESF’s Fight Against Layoffs and Win
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.
Balancing the Load: How Classified Professionals Are Shaping Staffing Solutions with the CFT Ratio Work Group
Yvonne Schmeltz, Member Advocate of AFT Guild Local 1931, started out as a clerical assistant and then an administrative assistant to a Dean. This meant she learned about the different work classified professionals do.
So, when the opportunity came up, Schmeltz applied to be part of the CFT Ratio Work Group, made up of different stakeholders figuring out adequate staffing for both K-12 and community colleges.