Vote Union: June 2, 2026

Election day is coming up on June 2, 2026 - let your union help you with your democracy homework! Every election is important, but right now we’re facing a big picture fight for public education, and there are some important decisions for voters to make about who they want making decisions about public education at every level! All registered voters should have received their ballot already: See more information about this election and your voting options at sdvote.com. 

SDEA’s endorsements:

Over the past months, SDEA members elected as site and program reps and to the Board of Directors have voted on a few specific endorsements. See more about the SDEA process for endorsements.

🍎 Vote YES on Measure A: Vacant Homes Tax, which addresses the housing crisis and declining enrollment in San Diego by making empty homes available for families with school-aged children. Learn more here & access more information (including the full text of the measure) via Ballotpedia.

🍎 Vote for Hayden Gore for SDUSD School Board in District C, a full time teacher and union leader. *SDEA’s early endorsement may have been enough to discourage anyone else from competing for that seat, so Hayden actually doesn’t need to run in the June primary. 

Vote Union, Up & Down Your Ballot:

While SDEA does not endorse in every race, see below for other labor endorsements, from CTA and from our local San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council. (Note that depending on where you live, not all these seats will be on your ballot.)

Legend:

🍎 Endorsed by SDEA (See above)
🔵 Endorsed by CTA (See more information about their recommendations, including recommendations based on exactly who will be on your ballot)
✊ Endorsed by San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council (See more about their endorsements)

Statewide:

  • Governor: Tom Steyer 🔵
  • Lt. Governor: Josh Fryday 🔵
  • Secretary of State: Dr. Shirley Weber 🔵✊
  • CA Controller: Malia Cohen 🔵✊
  • CA Treasurer: Eleni Kounalakis 🔵✊
  • Attorney General: Rob Bonta 🔵✊
  • Insurance Commissioner: Jane Kim 🔵
  • Board of Equalization - District 4: Tom Umberg 🔵✊
  • US Congress - House of Representatives - District 25: Raul Ruiz 🔵✊
  • US Congress - House of Representatives - District 48: Marni von Wilpert 🔵✊
  • US Congress - House of Representatives - District 49: Mike Levin 🔵✊
  • US Congress - House of Representatives - District 51: Sara Jacobs 🔵✊
  • US Congress - House of Representatives - District 52: Juan Vargas ✊
  • CA State Assembly - District 74: Sergio Farias 🔵
  • CA State Assembly - District 76: Dr. Darshana Patel 🔵✊
  • CA State Assembly - District 77: Tasha Boerner 🔵✊
  • CA State Assembly - District 78: Chris Ward 🔵✊
  • CA State Assembly - District 79: Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins 🔵✊
  • CA State Senate - District 18: Steve Padilla 🔵✊
  • CA State Senate - District 40: Mara Elliot 🔵✊

School:

  • State Superintendent of Public Instruction: Richard Barrera 🔵
  • San Diego County Board of Education - 3: Alicia Muñoz ✊
  • San Diego County Board of Education - 5: Rick Shea ✊
  • San Diego Unified School District Board of Education District C: Hayden Gore 🍎✊
  • San Diego Community College District - A: Maria Senour ✊
  • San Diego Community College District - C: Craig Milgrim ✊
  • San Diego Community College District - E: Geysil Arroyo ✊

San Diego County:

  • Board of Supervisors - District 4: Monica Montgomery Steppe ✊
  • Board of Supervisors - District 5: Kyle Krahel ✊
  • Treasurer-Tax Collector: Larry Cohen ✊

City of San Diego:

  • City Council - District 2: Nicole Crosby ✊
  • City Council - District 4: Henry Foster III ✊
  • City Council - District 6: Kent Lee ✊
  • Measure A - Empty Homes Tax: Vote YES 🍎✊

by Sara Kennedy

Survey: Help shape AI policy in education!

From student assignments full of emdashes to suggestions of humanoid educators, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to Artificial Intelligence and education. In our most recent union contract, SDEA members won AI protections for the first time in Article 2, along with a new Joint Committee to develop recommendations for parameters around the use of AI Systems. We know this is an area of quickly developing technology, and our protections need to develop quickly as well! Our community partners at the Center on Policy Initiatives are collecting educator insight through a survey that will identify issues and inform policy solutions. 

Take 5 minutes to share your voice on how AI is shaping your work! 

 

by Sara Kennedy

Letters in Solidarity: We Ratified Our New Contract. Now We Must Organize

We Ratified Our New Contract: Now We Must Organize

Fellow SDEA members, did you hear the news? The votes are in and our 2025-2027 contract has been ratified! An overwhelming 93% of SDEA members voted to ratify our tentative agreement, with over 5000 SDEA members participating. The contract will go into effect as soon as the District signs off at next Tuesday’s school board meeting.

This contract includes improvements to staffing, pay, and stability including:

See more details of what has changed and answers to frequently asked questions in our 2025-2027 Contract Resources.

This historic new contract did not come without a fight. Each collective action we took together, from walk-ins, to pickets, to rallies, built solidarity and pushed district leadership closer to saying "yes" to the union contract we wanted. SDEA members participated in every step of this contract process, and the improvements that we won are because members showed up to fight for them, including getting strike-ready for the first time in 30 years in our district!

So what’s next? Once the SDUSD board signs off on our new contract, all of the improvements that we won can be implemented. The key piece that will be on hold, however, is our 5% salary increase that we need to be able to remain competitive with surrounding districts and staff hard-to-fill positions like Special Education (not to mention afford to live near our schools in one of the most expensive cities in the country). Our 5% raise is being delayed because it’s tied to the Prop 98 funding that our district receives from the state. With Governor Newsom playing hardball in negotiations with the state legislature over the education budget and holding hostage $5.6 billion in Prop 98 funds (including about $80M from San Diego Unified), our 5% raise might not be paid until NEXT year.

But this is bigger than just our raises: our schools need these funds! In the wealthiest state in the country, we can and should invest in our future by investing in our public schools. Just as we demonstrated with our contract campaign, by mobilizing as SDEA union educators, together with families and community allies, we can leave the powers that be with no other choice but to do the right thing for our students and our schools. Sign and share our SDEA school funding petition today to be part of this movement as we take our first steps toward advancing education justice in our district!

by Sara Kennedy

Know Your Rights: Preparing for Next School Year

Know Your Rights: Preparing for Next School Year!

The end of the school year is when many discussions and plans are made for the following school year. Here are a few contractual rights for SDEA members to keep in mind during those conversations and decisions at each school site, and resources to help enforce our rights!

 

 

 

 

 

You have a right to participate in important decisions.

SDEA members have a powerful and unique right to have a voice in the decisions that impact their working conditions through Site Governance Teams (SGTs). SGTs empower educators to collaborate with their entire school community to make decisions like schedules, instructional changes, before and after school programming, and more. 

You have a right to site plans that include your voice.

The SDEA Contract says that within ten days of reporting to work at the beginning of the year, members should be given a copy of the existing School Safety Plan and Site Restorative Discipline Plan. Starting the year with everyone on the same page prepares school communities for emergencies and for effective collaboration on student discipline, and because you have a union, you get to have a voice in the decisions about those plans!

The School Safety Plan should be developed by your supervisor with the input of unit members, and the Site Restorative Discipline Plan should be reviewed annually and developed with the Site Governance Team.

You have a right to preparation time.

To effectively do your job as an educator, you need time to prepare! Our union contract outlines our rights to prep time, in your daily schedule, and also during non-instructional days at the beginning and end of the school year. Every unit member has the right to prep time - that includes prep time teachers, non-classroom teachers, and even Visiting Teachers! Your prep time is protected so you can use it to actually prepare. While any unit member can be asked to cover a class in an emergency, that coverage needs to be equitable and is paid if you cover more than one hour in a school year.

As your school discusses next year’s schedule, schedule decisions must respect the rights of all members. That’s why elementary schools should have a Preparation Time and Enrichment Advisory Committee (PTEAC) to collaborate on an equitable schedule.

You have a right to bathroom breaks.

This has always been a basic worker right, but our recently ratified contract clarified that each school is now required to create a plan for emergency student supervision coverage when educators need to use the restroom. (This means that violations are enforceable under the grievance procedure instead of filing a Labor Code complaint!)

  • Check out the newly added 8.9.3!

You have a right to a reasonable number of meetings.

As plans for next year start to fill up calendars, remember that you have a contractual right to a reasonable number of meetings within the “balance of the 40-hour work week” (your work time that is not instructional time.) The SDEA contract also sets limits on IEP scheduling to balance educators’ time with family needs. Additionally, our newest contract says that staff needs to get a full-year meeting schedule by September 30th, with reasonable notice for changes and exceptions for prior commitments.

You have a right to elect your union representatives.

Our union is a democracy, which means YOU decide who represents you! Union Representatives represent members when issues come up, but the primary duty of a union representative is that of connection. Reps help unify and organize SDEA members within their site and program, and they help connect their site or program to bigger picture solidarity across our large union. 

Each year, sites and programs elect Association Representatives, Council Representatives, and Alternates, depending on the size of the site. SDEA members recently elected officers and board members, and there is a Run-Off Election coming up for several positions (including President and Vice President.) To keep elections fair, they are run by someone not running.

See lots more resources about your rights on SDEA’s Contract Resources page, and about how our newly ratified contract has changed on the 2025-2027 Contract Resources Page.

by Sara Kennedy

Sign our petition: Release Prop 98 Funds!

Governor Newsom’s proposed budget withholds $5.6 billion in school funding guaranteed by Proposition 98.

(That’s a loss of about $80 million for San Diego Unified!)

The timing of SDEA’s raises is tied to Prop 98 funding. In our new contract, we won a 5% raise over two years. The question isn’t if we get those raises, but when. With Prop 98 funds being held hostage by Governor Newsom, SDEA members’ raises might be delayed until Summer 2027.

This is even bigger than just our raises: California schools need the funds voters promised when they passed Prop 98! As the richest state in the country, we can and should invest in our future by investing in our public schools.

Take action!

 

by Sara Kennedy

May Day 2026

Will you march with our union siblings this May Day? Labor and community are taking over the streets on May 1st after school! RSVP here!

Want to ride the trolley together and avoid trying to find parking downtown? Meet at SDEA at 3:30 PM to take the trolley together!

by Sara Kennedy

2026-2027 SDEA Budget Input Sessions

The SDEA Bylaws give members the opportunity to provide feedback (input) on the SDEA Budget. There are two budget input sessions scheduled, one via Zoom and the other in person. Please RSVP for the session of your choice:

💻 Budget Input Session 1: Zoom
Monday, April 13, 2026 @ 4 PM
Link provided upon RSVP
RSVP here: bit.ly/sdeazoom41326

🏢 Budget Input Session 2: In Person
Monday, April 20 @ 4 PM
SDEA Auditorium: 10393 San Diego Mission Rd, Suite 100
RSVP here: bit.ly/sdearsvp42026

 

by Sara Kennedy

Summer Organizing Institute: Students' Civil Liberties Union

The Students' Civil Liberties Union has a Summer Organizing Institute focused on leadership, advocacy, and community impact! Interested in being an advisor or learning more to recommend your students? Join a Zoom Orientation on Monday, April 27, at 4:30 PM! Register here for the link.

by Sara Kennedy

The votes are in... we ratified our contract!

The votes are in: Our 2025-2027 contract has been ratified!

An overwhelming 93% of SDEA members voted to ratify our tentative agreement, with 4957 ballots turned in! The contract will go into effect as soon as the District signs off at next month’s board meeting (a minor step!) It’s our votes and our voices that built this contract and voted to implement it!

Ratification Vote Tally

The Election Committee has been the lead on both the votes members recently completed. Please reach out with questions or concerns directly to the committee via email at sdeaelections@sdea.net. 

Our improved contract:

This contract includes improvements to staffing, pay, and stability… including:

See more details of what has changed and answers to frequently asked questions in our 2025-2027 Contract Resources!

This is a contract built for members and by members!

Your union is a democracy, which means YOU have a voice in the decisions that shape your working conditions. SDEA members participated in every step of this contract process, and the improvements that we won are because members showed up to fight for them!

  • In Fall of 2024, members identified priorities at Bargaining Input Sessions across the District and ratified a bargaining platform.
  • In Spring of 2025, members kicked off bargaining by holding rallies and walk-ins across the District, and won our first significant tentative agreement after a week of rolling pickets.
  • Members kept showing up throughout Fall 2025 as negotiations continued.
  • As bargaining progressed and the Special Education staffing crisis worsened, SDEA union educators proved we’re willing to do whatever it takes to fight for what our students need… even to go on strike, if needed.
  • Once members on the bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with the District, site reps led meetings at each school to discuss the agreement, answer questions, and vote whether or not to ratify it.

Every step of the way, member voices are the foundation of our democratic union: Brainstorming priorities, negotiating contract language at the bargaining table, explaining our fight to families, chanting on picket lines, talking to colleagues to make sure everyone has a chance to participate, asking questions, and having the hard conversations about what our schools need and how to make it happen.

Members rallying with their community in May 2025!

We’ve ratified a contract… but remember that there’s more to come.

This coming Fall, we’ll already be beginning the brainstorming process again about what we might include in our next contract. As you review what’s changed in our contract and see how the changes impact you and your students, remember to keep the conversation going about how we can all fight to keep improving our teaching and learning conditions next time.

We had to threaten a strike just to settle the Special Education Unfair Labor Practice. We know we’re going to have to keep fighting to get what our students need! 

Keep showing up. Keep participating. Keep our union strong.

SDEA members just voted on union leadership as well as on our union contract, and the results mean that there will be a runoff election for multiple seats. Stay tuned for another electronic ballot to vote in the runoff election between April 13 - 17. Our democracy is stronger every time we use our voices. Stay involved. Stay active. Continue the conversations.

Site leaders showing their solidarity at our February 2026 Strike Summit!

by Sara Kennedy

Rally this Tuesday with our classified colleagues!

The District has voted to move forward with layoffs for hundreds of our classified colleagues, and we need to fight back! SDEA educators are standing with our CSEA colleagues to oppose classified layoffs that harm our students and school communities. In our “We Can’t Wait” campaign we’ve been fighting for Fully Staffed Schools… and that means both educators AND classified staff. These layoffs move us further from the support our students deserve and reflect a larger issue: California’s inequitable school funding. In one of the wealthiest states in the country, we can and must do better.

Join our classified colleagues at a rally next Tuesday:

🗓️ Tuesday, March 24
🕟 4:00 PM – Rally | 5:00 PM – Board Meeting (Make a public comment and speak up for classified workers if you can)
📍 Morse High School Performing Arts Center (PAC) Auditorium
6905 Skyline Drive, San Diego, CA 92114
💙 WEAR BLUE to stand with your CSEA classified workers!

 

by Sara Kennedy