Why We Chose AFT Instead of Starting an Independent Union

We considered forming an independent union for MiraCosta Classified Professionals. We decided against it for practical reasons: resources, experience, bargaining power, and the ability to protect our members when things get difficult.

An independent union is legally possible. MiraCosta's full-time faculty have one. But the question isn't whether we could start our own union. It's whether doing so would put Classified Professionals in the strongest position to negotiate fair compensation, defend our rights, and hold the District accountable. ^[1]

We believe organizing with AFT Guild, Local 1931 is the stronger path.

The Faculty Assembly is not an apples-to-apples comparison

The MiraCosta College Faculty Assembly (FA) is a successful independent union, but its circumstances are substantially different from ours.

Full-time faculty have a long history of organized representation, an established Academic Senate with specific authority under California law, and longstanding relationships with college leadership and the Board of Trustees. Faculty have institutional influence and bargaining experience that Classified Professionals have not historically enjoyed to the same degree. ^[2]

The Faculty Assembly also has significant financial resources. In 2022, it reported reserves exceeding $300,000, built through years of contributions. ^[2] More than 85% of full-time faculty currently contribute financially to their union. ^[3]

This matters when discussing the financial viability of an independent union. Faculty have a substantially larger earnings base from which to collect dues and fund their own representation. Classified Professionals cannot simply adopt the faculty union's model and expect the same financial resources, especially when those resources must cover legal representation, contract negotiations, budget analysis, and enforcement of a collective bargaining agreement.

Even the Faculty Assembly acknowledges the risks of independence. In its own published history, FA leadership explained that when the organization was new, it lacked substantial financial reserves, reassigned time, and an attorney on retainer. A serious bargaining impasse at that stage could have left the organization with few effective options. ^[2]

We cannot assume that an approach that works for faculty, with their particular history, resources, and institutional influence, would produce the same results for Classified Professionals.

An independent union would have to build and pay for everything itself

A union needs far more than enthusiastic volunteers willing to sit across a negotiating table.

Consider what meaningful representation actually requires:

• Experienced labor attorneys to advise the union, defend employees, and address legal disputes.
• Professional negotiators who understand California public-sector labor law and community college contracts.
• Budget analysts and compensation researchers capable of scrutinizing the District's financial claims and salary proposals.
• Trained representatives to handle grievances, disciplinary matters, and contract enforcement.
• Administrative support, training, and financial reserves to sustain the organization through difficult or prolonged negotiations.

An independent union would have to hire, contract for, or develop all those capabilities itself.

And what happens when bargaining breaks down? The Faculty Assembly's own published history describes another community college union that incurred legal expenses exceeding $100,000 annually during a prolonged impasse. ^[2]

The District already has professional administrators, labor relations specialists, attorneys, and financial analysts. Those resources do not disappear when we sit down to negotiate.

Why would we voluntarily enter negotiations without comparable professional resources on our side?

AFT already has an established organization, experienced representatives, legal resources, and a track record representing community college Classified Professionals. We do not have to create that infrastructure from scratch. ^[4]

What about supervisors?

There is another important complication: an independent union cannot simply be an extension of our existing Classified Senate.

The Classified Senate serves a governance function. A bargaining union serves a different purpose, and California labor law requires separation between supervisors and employees they supervise for purposes of union representation. ^[5]

A new independent union would need its own structure, leadership, membership, finances, and bargaining authority, separate from supervisory influence.

That distinction matters. An organization negotiating compensation, workload, disciplinary protections, and working conditions must be accountable to the employees it represents—not to supervisors or administrators whose interests may conflict with theirs.

Under AFT, eligible non-supervisory Classified Professionals would have their own bargaining unit and elected local leadership, backed by an established union organization.

We would retain control of our local priorities without having to build an entire independent institution to support them.

Our history shows why stronger representation matters

We already have experience with a meet-and-confer process without union representation.

The previous structure gave us the compensation arrangement that created the 2018 hire-date pay split.

Employees hired before 2018 retained longevity-related salary progression that employees hired afterward do not receive. Newer Classified Professionals are limited to a five-step salary schedule, with no additional regular step progression after reaching the top.

That division has lasting consequences for compensation, employee retention, and fairness among colleagues doing comparable work.

This is not an attack on the Classified employees who volunteered their time to negotiate. It is an argument for giving our representatives substantially better resources and leverage.

The old system did not provide the bargaining strength we need. Creating a small independent union without established professional support would risk reproducing many of the same disadvantages under a different organizational name.

We want to change the balance of power at the negotiating table, not simply change the name of the group sitting there.

Lower dues do not automatically mean a better deal

The Faculty Assembly recommends contributions of 0.4% of gross income. AFT Guild membership dues are 1.5% of gross earnings. ^{[3] [6]}

That difference is real, and dues are a legitimate consideration.

But comparing those percentages alone tells us very little about what an independent Classified union could actually afford to provide.

We cannot simply adopt the Faculty Assembly's contribution rate and assume we would have its financial reserves, professional relationships, volunteer participation, or negotiating effectiveness.

There is also a significant difference in the earnings dues are based on. In 2024, the most recent publicly available year, full-time faculty at MiraCosta College earned an average of $172,678 in total pay, compared with $80,021 for non-supervisory Classified Professionals. That's more than twice as much. ^[7]

If an independent union needed additional money for attorneys, researchers, negotiations, or legal disputes, where would it come from? Would employees face special assessments? Would services be limited? Would we rely on volunteers to handle matters that demand professional expertise?

A lower contribution rate is attractive only if the organization can still provide the representation employees need.

Our goal isn't to find the cheapest possible way to have a union. It's to build representation that can deliver meaningful results and protect them over time.

With AFT, we keep our voice and gain the support to make it count

Choosing AFT does not mean surrendering our identity or allowing faculty to negotiate our contract for us.

MiraCosta Classified Professionals would have our own bargaining unit, our own local leadership, and our own bargaining priorities. Employees would participate in selecting representatives and shaping proposals.

What we gain is an experienced organization behind us when we need legal expertise, economic research, negotiations, organizing support, and contract enforcement.

We also gain the collective strength of an organization representing thousands of other education workers rather than standing alone against a single employer.

Local control and professional support are not mutually exclusive. We can have both.

We considered the options. We made our choice.

Independent unionization was a possibility. But possibility alone is not a strategy.

After considering the options, holding information sessions, and surveying eligible Classified Professionals, a majority of those who expressed a preference selected AFT.

We are moving forward with that choice.

Our objective is not simply to obtain legal recognition as a union. It is to negotiate better compensation, strengthen workplace protections, address inequities such as the post-2018 salary structure, and ensure Classified Professionals have a meaningful voice in decisions affecting our livelihoods.

We have spent years operating without the professional bargaining resources available to other represented employees.

We don't need to start from scratch to prove we can do it alone. We need the resources and collective strength to negotiate effectively—and that's why we're organizing with AFT.