School Employees are the only seasonal workers prohibited by California state law from collecting unemployment.
This needs to change.
The dedicated school employee of SEIU Local 99 are part of a team of bus drivers, campus safety officers, cafeteria workers, custodians, teaching assistants, and many more who make sure our children learn in a clean, safe, and healthy environment. Nearly half of us are parents of school age children. We work in our public schools because we believe all children deserve access to a quality education.
We are proud of the role we play in student learning.
Despite our contributions, school employees in California are the only workers who are denied the opportunity to receive unemployment insurance benefits in the summer months when work is not available.
- School employees are the only seasonal workers who are excluded.
— Hollywood writers,
— Sports stadium employees,
— Farm workers,
— Retail employees, and
— Other seasonal employees
…are all eligible for unemployment benefits during their seasonal break periods. - Finding other work for the break period is virtually impossible. Hiring managers don’t want to hire and invest in employees who will only be working for two to three months.
- Being excluded from unemployment benefits creates serious financial hardship. Our families are seriously affected as we juggle rent, food, utilities, and other basic bills during the difficult summer months. Many of us earn less than $15,000 annually.
