You likely found us after talking to someone who recommended that you check out our website. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Most of your questions will be answered on this page.
It’s true! In the past, MiraCosta was one of the best Community Colleges to work for, and there wasn’t a need for a union. But that is no longer the case. The “Mira-Cozy” environment of the past is gone, and current Classified Staff that were hired after 2018 have been limited in their career progression with only 5 steps, and very little longevity after that. We want to change that, and now is the time.
There has been a lot of misinformation spread about the cost of Union dues. We are teaming up with the California School Employees Association (CSEA), and the state union and local chapter dues combined would be capped at about $500 a year. If you make less than $39,000, it will be less than that. The one-time longevity bonus for Classified Staff hired after 2018 is currently $500 when they hit year six. If the union negotiates anything above $500, it pays for itself!
If we join with the CSEA, dues would be 1.5% of pay per month, up to an annual salary of $37,800. If you make more than $37,800, dues are capped at $47.25 per month for the union, plus local chapter dues (typically around $3 per month).
| Annual Pay | Dues per Month (10 months) |
|---|---|
| $20,000 | $28.00 |
| $30,000 | $40.50 |
| $60,000 | $50.25 |
| $80,000 | $50.25 |
| $100,000 | $50.25 |
For a school that focuses heavily on Equity, the divide between pre-2018 staff and post-2018 hires is significant at all levels, including Administrators. Someone at Range 20 who has been working for MiraCosta for 10 years will get a $6000 longevity bonus according to this chart, while someone hired after 2018 will only get $1000 after they reach year 10. We don’t want to change anyone’s longevity for staff that was hired before 2018, we want to elevate the staff hired after 2018. When we get to negotiations, we will ask for your pay schedule to remain the same. There are no guarantees, but this is our intention. The union will help guide us to get what we are asking for.
Right now, any staff hired after 2018 is on a 5-step schedule. This means that after 5 years, your pay flatlines. The only increases will be the annual COLAs. The longevity bonus for year 6-10 is only $500. That comes out to approximately 25 cents an hour. We intend on negotiating for either an expanded step schedule, increased longevity bonuses, or both. Sure, our current negotiations committee may negotiate a better deal than what we currently have, but that is a gamble. There are people on our current negotiations committee that voted for this change in 2018, and may not vote with the Classified Staff’s current requests. The union would back our requests and will provide guidance on how to achieve what we want. We will have a stronger voice when going to the negotiation table.
This slide says it all. We were told that longevity wasn’t “financially sustainable”, but apparently that only applies to Classified Staff. We are the solid purple line. Faculty (solid yellow line) got what they asked for. So did the Administrators. By the way, the faculty are union.
📊 View Our Salary Schedule Presentation
The California School Employees Association (CSEA) is the largest classified school employees' union in the United States, representing approximately a quarter of a million non-teaching public school and community college employees in California.
Established in 1927, CSEA advocates for its members in areas such as wages, benefits, and working conditions. These classified employees hold vital roles in schools, including positions in food service, transportation, clerical work, maintenance, and paraeducator services. CSEA is a member-run union with over 750 local chapters and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
We would be creating a new chapter specifically for MiraCosta, with elected union stewards from the classified staff. The only thing that CSEA will do is advise the best strategy to negotiate. They will only step in if requested.
The organizers will initiate what's called a “card drop”. You may have gotten here because someone gave you one of these cards. If enough cards are collected, it will force a vote among the classified staff. If the vote passes, we create a new union chapter. The “cards” are payroll deduction forms for union dues that will only be used if we vote to unionize. Nothing will be deducted until after the vote is won and the chapter formed.
Great! The first thing to do is to return the card to who you got it from, as soon as possible. Within a week at most. You can also pick up extra cards to give to other classified staff to fill out and return.
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