MiraCosta Classified Professionals are ready for a serious conversation about union representation, stronger bargaining, and a fairer workplace.
The message is clear: Classified Professionals want a real conversation about stronger representation. Many employees already support forming a union. Others want accurate information before deciding. We heard you. That is what this site is here to provide.
Support union representation
Strongly or somewhat support forming a Classified union.
Neutral or unsure
Many employees said they want more information before deciding.
Source: MiraCosta Classified Senate Representation & Advocacy Survey, conducted April 27–May 11, 2026. The survey was anonymous. The union-openness question had 197 valid responses from Classified Professionals.
Times: 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 1:00–2:00 p.m.
In person: Oceanside Campus, Student Services Building 14, Room 14180
Online: Join via Zoom
Lunch will be provided.
Representatives from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) will be available to explain their organization, answer questions, and discuss what AFT representation could look like for MiraCosta classified employees. AFT is a national union that also represents classified professionals at many institutions. It is a different union than the California School Employees Association (CSEA) that met with us on campus in July.
Please attend only during your scheduled lunch or break period. Additional materials will be shared after the sessions.
MiraCosta Classified Professionals are the only California Community College classified staff without a union.
We depend on the existing governance and meet-and-confer system for decisions involving pay and working conditions. A union would give eligible Classified Professionals a legally recognized bargaining representative and a direct voice in negotiations.
Employees hired after 2018 are placed on a five-step salary schedule. After reaching the final step, regular salary progression stops and employees only get COLAs and small one-time cash payments that don't add to their base salary. This creates a serious retention problem and treats employees doing comparable work very differently based on hire date.
This graph illustrates how the post-2018 Classified salary structure falls behind the progression available to other employee groups.
The last major study created the current two-tier compensation system. During the current study, Classified Professionals need independent expertise, research, and representation. A union would put professional advocates on our side of the table instead of leaving employees to navigate the process alone.
Employees were not asking for a union simply to have a union. They identified practical improvements that collective bargaining could provide.
A union-backed team focused on compensation, COLA, longevity, classification, benefits, and working conditions.
“Stronger negotiations: We are at a disadvantage compared to the district, as we do not have the same level of legal expertise or depth of knowledge regarding labor laws and regulations. As a result, negotiation outcomes often favor the district when we engage directly.”
Survey respondent
Including workload, out-of-class work, scheduling, flexibility, and workplace fairness.
“Teleworking for eligible employees to support work-life balance. COLA. Longevity.”
Survey respondent
Representation that recognizes the varied work and roles of Classified Professionals.
“Advocating for staff needs, fostering professional development and keeping all staff in the loop about what is happening”
Survey respondent
Clearer, more transparent, and more equitable application of workplace rules and processes.
“Ensuring the Class and Comp study is done fairly and effectively. Ensuring that Classified are appropriately represented in the various spaces and conversations.”
Survey respondent
Nearly twice as many employees said the current system does not adequately represent their interests as said it does.
44% disagreed that the current system adequately represents them, compared with only 25% who agreed.
Dues cost was the number one concern reported in the recent MiraCosta Classified employee survey. That makes the structure of the dues, not just the stated percentage, important. Organizers are talking with two unions and holding information sessions for employees to ask questions and compare them before anything is final. The main difference: CSEA dues have an annual cap, while the AFT continues to increase with salary.
CSEA state dues stop increasing once the annual cap is reached. Under the assumptions used here, the maximum deduction would be $50 in each of 10 paid months.
Under the published San Diego AFT Guild example, dues continue increasing as salary increases because the percentage applies to all gross pay. This comparison adds the same assumed $2.75 in local dues each month.
| Annual salary | AFT monthly (12 months) |
AFT annual | CSEA deduction (10 months) |
CSEA annual | Annual savings with CSEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $40.25 | $483.00 | $40.25 | $402.50 | $80.50 |
| $50,000 | $65.25 | $783.00 | $50.00 | $500.00 | $283.00 |
| $80,000 | $102.75 | $1,233.00 | $50.00 | $500.00 | $733.00 |
| $100,000 | $127.75 | $1,533.00 | $50.00 | $500.00 | $1,033.00 |
| $120,000 | $152.75 | $1,833.00 | $50.00 | $500.00 | $1,333.00 |
Dues would not begin merely because someone signs a card. They would apply only after employees vote to unionize and a chapter is formed.
Assumptions: Salary is paid over 12 months. CSEA figures assume 10 payroll deductions per year and $2.75 in local dues per deduction. The AFT comparison assumes 1.5% of gross pay over 12 paid months, plus the same $2.75 in local dues for each of the 12 deductions. The $21 minimum does not affect the salary examples shown.
CSEA source: CSEA states that annual state dues are 1.5% of the first $3,150 of monthly gross salary, capped at $472.50 annually. Local chapters may assess additional dues. View the CSEA dues information.
AFT comparison source: A published SDCCD AFT Guild membership packet states dues of 1.5% of gross pay, with a $21 minimum, for each month in paid status. This comparison is illustrative and is not a dues quote for MiraCosta employees. View the SDCCD membership packet.
Dues rates and local assessments can change. Confirm the final structure with each union before an election or formal membership campaign.
The California School Employees Association is a member-run union representing non-teaching public-school and community-college employees throughout California. CSEA provides negotiators, research, training, organizing support, and legal assistance.
The American Federation of Teachers is a national union representing educators, higher-education faculty and professional staff, paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel, public employees, and healthcare workers. In San Diego County, AFT Guild Local 1931 is a member-driven affiliate representing community-college classified professionals, faculty, and hourly workers. AFT provides bargaining, organizing, research, training, and legal support.
MiraCosta Classified Professionals would form their own local chapter and elect their own officers and stewards. CSEA would provide professional support, but the local chapter would be run by MiraCosta employees.
A union and the Classified Senate serve different purposes. The Senate participates in shared governance and campus decision-making. A union bargains over wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions and enforces the resulting contract. Both can continue to serve Classified Professionals.
A union protects existing compensation and benefits while giving all employees a stronger voice in future negotiations. The goal is not to take longevity away from pre-2018 employees. It is to protect what employees have earned and improve the system for those who were left behind.
The five-step salary schedule sharply limits long-term salary growth. A union could bargain for additional steps, stronger longevity payments, better benefits, or other improvements that recognize continued service.
Organizers are collecting signed union cards. If enough eligible employees sign cards, the process can move toward formal recognition or an official vote. If employees choose union representation, MiraCosta Classified Professionals will form a chapter, elect local leadership, identify bargaining priorities, and negotiate a first contract.
Yes. Eligible non-supervisory Classified Professionals have the right to form, join, participate in, or decline to participate in employee organizations. Employers may not interfere with or retaliate against employees for exercising those rights.
Asking questions does not commit you to a position. Supporting a union, opposing it, remaining undecided, and seeking information are all protected choices.
Learn more, ask questions, and help build a stronger voice for MiraCosta Classified Professionals.
Completed cards must be physically signed and returned to an organizer. Email [email protected] to arrange pickup or drop-off.