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COPE Newsletter: September, 2025
Oct 03, 2025

The Power of Solidarity

When we ask you to wear your button, come to a board meeting, or show up for a solidarity event, it may feel like nothing will really change… and you have other obligations, we all do. But these demonstrations of solidarity work, and some of the more recent events in our nation can really highlight how they do.

Just in the last few weeks, Donald Trump pressured Disney and ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel for comments about Trump after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. It was a frightening attack on free speech, but it led to a powerful response from the people: hundreds of thousands of people stood up, spoke out, boycotted, and refused to be silenced. Disney backed down, and now Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air, because people acted together.

That’s exactly why our solidarity matters on campus, too. Each button, each public comment, each show of unity adds up. Disney can’t survive without customers, and Palomar College can’t survive without Classified staff. 

Individually, we’re easy to ignore. In unity, we’re impossible to silence.

Our union is not just about wages and contracts, but about building power and fighting for fairness, justice, and a stronger college for all of us. Or, in the words of Jerry Cohen (Ben & Jerry’s): “It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice, and a better world.” 

State Initiatives: Prop 50

The COPE Committee and CFT support Prop 50: The Election Rigging Response Act

Prop 50 comes on the heels of Donald Trump and other partisan officials attempting to manipulate congressional maps for their political advantage, including the recent extreme gerrymandering in Texas. 

Ballots Drop on October 6th - Vote YES on November 4th to pass a proposition that:

  • Protects workers from anti-union maps.
    If politicians in other states draw extreme, unfair maps, it increases the number of anti-union voices in Congress. Prop 50 helps level the field by letting California adjust our maps if needed, so we don’t lose ground on labor laws, wages, and job protections.
  • Keeps funding fair.
    Fair maps = fair representation. That means our communities have a stronger claim to federal disaster aid, wildfire recovery money, housing, and infrastructure dollars. Those dollars often fund projects that create and protect union jobs. It’s a backup plan, not a free-for-all.

    The “emergency maps” power only kicks in if states like Texas redraw their maps mid-decade to tip the balance unfairly. Otherwise, nothing changes.
  • Keeps elections fair in 2026.
    Ensures the next mid-term elections are run on a level playing field, without giving either side an unfair advantage.
  • Stands up for independent redistricting.
    California already has one of the most respected independent redistricting commissions in the country. Prop 50 reaffirms that commitment and urges other states to adopt fair, impartial map-drawing too.
  • Temporary and limited.
    Prop 50 expires in 2030. After the 2030 Census, California’s independent commission will continue to draw the lines as usual. Our existing award-winning redistricting process stays intact for the long haul.

Learn more at stopelectionrigging.com or the CFT Prop. 50 web page. Join a CFT statewide phone bank to help pass Prop 50 on October 7, and/or October 15. Can’t make it on those dates? CA Working Families Party (WFP) is phone banking Tuesday-Thursday each week until the election; sign up for their phone banks here.

Events and Opportunities

In Solidarity,
Palomar CCE/AFT Local 4522 Communications Team

instagram.com/local4522      palomarcceaft.org/

Anel Gonzalez, President | Jena Kruhmin, VP Membership
Krista L. Lough, PhD: Communications Officer
Ben Arboleda, Communications Rep | Omar Mendoza, Communications Rep

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CCE AFT Local 4522
1140 W Mission Rd
San Marcos, CA 92069
 


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