Since CSEA hosted the 2024 Campaign Kickoff event in June, members and staff have worked tirelessly to support and promote candidates for local school board, State Legislature, and Congress who champion public education and classified school employees.

CSEA plays a powerful role in helping elect pro-labor candidates to statewide office through our endorsements, coordinated campaign efforts, and independent expenditures campaigns.

In the year leading up to Election Day, the PACE Committee recommended candidates and the CSEA Board of Directors endorsed in 119 races. In addition, CSEA endorsed YES votes on three statewide ballot propositions, including Proposition 2, a $10 billion bond for revitalizing TK-14 school facilities, which passed overwhelmingly.

“As the largest classified employees union in the country, our endorsement is highly sought after by candidates for public office and respected by voters who value public education and care about workers’ rights,” said Association President Adam Weinberger.

CSEA members and staff dedicated countless hours to getting out the vote through phonebanks and door-to-door canvassing, working an impressive 977 phonebank and walk shifts from September through Election Day—amounting to a total of 96,256 calls dialed and thousands of doors knocked.

Out-of-state retirees in District O didn’t let distance stop them from contributing, either. District O “adopted” Assembly District 54 candidate Mark Gonzalez, with 25 retirees completing 166 call shifts to help Mark secure a decisive victory.

CSEA also mailed nearly 80,000 letters and postcards with information on our endorsed candidates and published an online voter guide highlighting our endorsements on races from President and US Senate to Congressional and State Senate and Assembly seats.

Efforts to stress the importance of this election didn’t stop with phone calls, door-knocking and mailers. CSEA also dedicated Victory Club dollars to elect pro-labor and pro-public education candidates up and down the ballot, from school board seats to the legislature and congress.

“Candidates value CSEA’s endorsement not only because it signals their commitment to organized labor and public education, but also because CSEA mobilizes our members to take an active role in our electoral process through volunteer efforts and financial support,” said PACE Committee Chair John Sullivan.

While the final results of this election are still being tabulated with millions of votes left to count at time of writing, we are proud to share some significant early wins:

• Endorsed state assembly candidate Sade Elhawary prevailed over a well-financed anti-labor opponent in Assembly District 57.
• Incumbent Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, a champion for classified school employees, successfully defended her seat in a highly competitive district.
• State Senator Dave Min won election to the House of Representatives in the race to replace Congresswoman Katie Porter, ensuring that crucial seat continues to be held by a champion for public education.

On local fronts, CSEA-endorsed candidates for school board and bond measures also found great success. All 10 local school bonds that CSEA supported with financial contributions prevailed. And of the 174 candidates for school board that CSEA chapters endorsed, 109 won, with 10 races still too close to call. Although significant threats to public education and workers’ rights loom on the national horizon, we can expect the candidates that we worked so hard to elect this year to stand with us and fight back—in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, and in our local communities. The new year brings us renewed opportunities to come together and use our collective voices and power to advocate for our members and the students we serve.