Before winning the Summer Bridge Fund in 2018—officially known as the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program (CSESAP), SEIU Local 99 members fought hard for a solution to the unjust and cruel summer classified employees endure every summer recess.

The CSESAP gives eligible classified school workers the opportunity to save money from their paychecks during the school year and receive up to a dollar-for-dollar match from the state during the summer break when work is not available. 

While the program has put a stop to the financial bleeding so many of our families faced, it isn’t enough. Each year, we have to negotiate with the State of California to keep the program funded. Last year, we won a $60 million investment that will fund this program through 2024, but what happens after that? Also, tens of thousands of community college classified employees are currently not eligible for the program, yet experience the same cruel summer.

AB 1691 (Medina) aims to fix that by creating a permanent funding mechanism that includes a dollar-to-dollar match and opens up the program to community college employees as well. A separate budget request totalling $90 million per year will move in tandem.

That’s why SEIU Local 99 members are supporting AB 1691 and will be fighting to move the bill in the state legislature this year. The voices of SEIU Local 99 members will be crucial in the success of this upcoming campaign to pass AB 1691. 

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