Letters in Solidarity: Vote Yes on Prop 50 to Defend Public Education

It was so inspiring to see all the pictures of SDEA union educators wearing red and stickers with our demands during our last bargaining session with the District on October 2! Make sure to go to your school’s October union meeting so you are ready to participate in this month’s collective action as we continue to escalate our We Can’t Wait contract campaign for safe, stable and fully-staffed schools.

As we fight for the priorities in our bargaining platform, we can’t ignore the threats to our students who are being targeted by a federal administration that seeks to destroy public education and terrify our vulnerable immigrant and LGBTQ communities. This week we all got our mail-in ballots for the November 4 election with one item on it: Prop 50.

Prop 50 is California’s bold response to unprecedented redistricting efforts led by Texas and other states working with the Trump administration. These efforts are designed to consolidate power and maintain control of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections—all to slash funding for public education, healthcare, and essential services while providing tax cuts for billionaires.

In July 2025, nine members of Congress in California, including Darrell Issa in East County, threw our students under the bus and voted to eviscerate funding for special education, school meals for hungry children, and other critical programs.

We’ve seen the federal administration freeze more than $6 billion in previously appropriated education funding for afterschool care, teacher training, and support for multilingual learners– including over $13 million for San Diego Unified – just weeks before the start of the school year, destabilizing our district budget and jeopardizing vital equity initiatives. They’ve cut healthcare for millions of our students and their families, attempted to dismantle the Department of Education, and passed a new voucher program designed to undermine our public schools.

At the same time, the White House rescinded protections against immigration enforcement at sensitive locations such as schools and dramatically increased funding for its reign of terror by armed, masked federal agents who seize parents as they drop off and pick up our students and tear families apart.

Given these extreme threats, our statewide union CTA, alongside district leadership and labor and community allies is fighting back and supporting Prop 50. Now is the time for all of us to stand up together against Trump’s election rigging and to defend the students and communities we serve. Vote YES on Prop 50, and join our local labor siblings in weekly events to Get Out The Vote!