President's message

CSEA siblings,

When you hear CSEA has your back, you better believe it, and the cover story of this issue of Focus Magazine is a perfect example. We all know there are countless benefits to being a member of CSEA. There are many things we hear about, like representation on the job, discounts on banking, insurance, and purchases, and being part of the CSEA family with your colleagues. Your membership is much more than that, however. Being part of CSEA means you have a quarter million fellow members standing alongside you and a team of dedicated, professional staff working on your behalf on the jobsite and behind the scenes. The million-dollar settlement that CSEA recently won for the former bus drivers of Bellflower Unified School District took ten years of dogged and persistent determination by our legal and field staff. Ten years! This hard won settlement shows that CSEA will stand up for you when you have been mistreated on the job, and we won’t stop – no matter how hard or how long we must fight. Fighting for our members doesn’t just happen on the jobsite. We fight for you from the district office to the Governor’s office and even in our nation’s Capitol. Critical to our strength in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. is supporting candidates who support us, which is why so many of you are members of our Victory Club. Your voluntary donations to the Victory Club allow us to help elect these pro-labor candidates who then help us protect and expand your rights and benefits on the job. I am thrilled to say that in the recent general election, the vast majority of our endorsed candidates won their election or re-election. This means that you — via your union — will continue to have a strong and respected voice when elected officials make decisions that affect you and your family. I cannot thank you enough for making these crucial victories possible through your donations to the Victory Club, which is truly a demonstration of our strength through unity. As we prepare for the gift-giving season, please take advantage of the many discounts offered through your member benefits. And don’t forget that your membership goes far beyond buying presents — it gives back to you in ways that are too many to count.