Classified employees hold rally outside SMJUHSD Board meeting

SANTA MARIA, Calif.- CSEA Chapter 455 held a Rally at the SMJUHSD Board meeting in their efforts to increase salary wages.

Classified workers and supporters rallied outside santa maria smjuhsd board before the board meeting.

“Our classified employees are not making ends meet. We are living paycheck to paycheck. We want to make sure that those of us that are the backbone of our district is able to afford to actually stay here and live here in our community," said Tami Contreras President of Classified Union Central Coast Chapter 455.

The rally was for school workers

“Classified employees these are bus drivers and food service workers and front desk attendants and instructional aides. These are really the people who work behind the scenes and sometimes in front of the scenes to make sure that kids are serviced and learning is happening. So what we really want is we want to make sure that they're being appreciated, that they're able to stay living here in Santa Maria," said Carlos Lopez, Labor Relations Representative California School Employees Association.

“We understand the financial struggles our employees have been facing, taking that into consideration, we believe our total pay and compensation proposal will help our staff meet those challenges. Due to the higher-than-normal inflation and hearing the voices of our CSEA staff, we’ve also offered a one-time three-percent payment to help address their needs. The total of the District offer is 12.44 percent for 2022-23. If we had reached agreement on October 7th, the much needed raise would have been in employees’ October pay," said SMJUHSD.