Dear SEIU Local 99 Sisters and Brothers,

Mario Martinez Campus Aide Magnolia Elementary

If you’re like me, summer is the time to worry about bills. Well…the rest of the year I still worry because I never seem to catch up.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my job. I love working with kids and I make a difference in their lives in my work as a Campus Aide. I’ve been doing this for 16 years. And being a dad all those years—my oldest is about to turn 17—has made me even better at my job.

But the years of budget cuts, furloughs, wage freezes, end of year-round school, cuts to summer school and cuts to hours meant that it got harder and harder for me to support my family. At the same time, rent, gas, food…everything went up. And I see my co-workers struggling, too, wearing the same clothes every day and skipping breakfast and lunch.

These past few years, we’ve started to turn a corner with our schools. I don’t stress out as much that I’m going to get a “RIF” notice. More schools are offering summer school. Some schools offer supper programs. The minimum wage in the District is now $15 an hour as of July 1, 2016. We expanded affordable health care coverage to more SEIU Local 99 members.

We still have a long way to go, but we’re starting to make some progress.

I have some bad news…

Prop. 30’s temporary income tax rate on the richest Californians is due to expire in 2018. This additional education funding, which made it possible to stop the bleeding at our schools, will go away and the cuts will return.

That’s why I’m going to join with other SEIU Local 99 members to urge voters to support Proposition 55 this November. Prop. 55 will continue to bring more funding to education. Without it, we risk going back to overcrowded classrooms and lunch lines so long that kids don’t have time to eat. We won’t see any progress on things like P.E. and summer school. And instead of negotiating improvements in our next contract with the District, we’ll be negotiating furloughs and cuts to student services.

Join me Saturday, September 10th for our Union’s “YES ON 55!” Kick-Off event to learn how you can be a part of stopping more massive cuts to our schools. We’ll share some lunch, plan together how to pass Prop. 55 and then we will get a quick training on how to talk to voters. After that, we will have an opportunity to call voters in our community.

This will be my first time talking to voters about an important ballot measure. I look forward to getting involved alongside all of you. And I look forward to being an example for my children as I model the importance of making sure the people have a voice.

Hope to see you on September 10^th!

In unity and strength,

Mario Martinez
Campus Aide
Magnolia Elementary School