SEIU California
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 30, 2016
DESPITE VETO, SCHOOL WORKERS VOW TO ADDRESS SUMMERTIME POVERTY
Sacramento, CA – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California released the following statement from Max Arias, Executive Director of SEIU Local 99, on Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto of AB 2197 (Garcia), a bill which would have eliminated the unfair exclusion of classified school employees from unemployment benefits during the summer months when school is out.
“School bus drivers, special education assistants and the people who provide healthy meals for children during the school year face a ‘cruel summer’ because of their exclusion from unemployment insurance benefits. Summertime poverty often forces school workers to take desperate measures to feed our families: collecting cans, using food banks, or selling flowers or food on the streets. While school workers are disappointed that our effort to change that met with a veto this year, we are committed to addressing this problem, and we intend to work with the legislature and the administration to do so. The exclusion of classified school staff from the unemployment insurance system is an unfair policy that exacerbates income inequality and takes its biggest toll on a dedicated and vital workforce.”
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