Opt Out Today


To opt out of CSEA dues:

  4. Sign and date the form.

The California School Employees Association (CSEA) is the designated union for many classified school employees in California.


The decision found,

“The First Amendment is violated when money is taken from nonconsenting employees for a public-sector union; employees must choose to support the union before anything is taken from them. Accordingly, neither an agency fee nor any other form of payment to a public-sector union may be deducted from an employee, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay.”


Frequently Asked Questions

What happens after I send my resignation to the union?

You should receive an acknowledgement of your request from the union within a few weeks.


Monitor your paychecks to make sure the dues deductions stop. Contact the union if the deductions continue more than a paycheck or two after you submit your resignation request.

Contact us for assistance if for some reason the union refuses to process your dues cancellation request.

How much are CSEA dues?

Union dues for CSEA are 1.5% of salary, up to $472.50/year for the state association. Additional local chapter dues are collected.

Will the union continue to represent me if I opt out?


In exchange for this unusual benefit, CSEA is legally obligated to represent all employees in the workplace, including those who choose not to join the union as members.

Consequently, the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union and your employer will continue to set the terms and conditions of your employment and the union will continue to represent you in all matters or proceedings governed by the collective bargaining agreement.





Why do people opt out of unions?

People have many reasons for not wanting to support a union. Some simply do not believe the services their union provides are worth the dues it charges. Others may find a union’s one-size-fits-all agenda does not serve them well because they are new to the profession, have a specialty that is not acknowledged in bargaining, or they believe their effectiveness is undercompensated. Some resent unions’ role in enabling and defending underperforming employees. Many find unions’ political activity and use of dues to advance partisan causes, candidates and ideology distasteful. Still others believe that union officials are corrupt and unaccountable to their membership.

Unions representing public employees are not governed by the usual consumer protection or anti-trust laws, so abuses are common. Unions can charge whatever they wish. They can generally spend dues money on anything they want. Often, they have no legal obligation to disclose how dues money is spent to members. They can speak for employees without consulting or informing them. They can injure some members’ interests while advancing the interests of others. Unions even have the ability to prevent employees from getting help in their workplace from other sources. They are not governed by any obligation to provide quality service, and almost never have to seek approval of the people they represent in an election to continue as the exclusive representative.

Sometimes people have a faith-based objection to unions’ expenditures. To learn more about some of the major public unions’ expenditures in light of common faith beliefs, click here.

How does CSEA spend my dues money?

Public employee unions are private organizations with minimal obligations to disclose financial information to members. The lack of accountability makes it easy for unions to take advantage of the easy income.

However, the IRS requires unions’ 990 tax returns to be publicly available, and these can be found online at sites like Guidestar.org. CSEA reports using the Employer Identification Number (EIN) 94-1301733.

CSEA’s form 990 for the 2016-17 school year shows it collected $69.7 million in dues and fees from public employees that year. CSEA’s highest-paid employee, ­­­­executive director David Low, was paid $428,308. At least 12 other CSEA executives are paid hefty six-figure salaries. The 990 form also indicates the union “owns a townhome where the CSEA president resides.”

At least $1.6 million was spent on political candidates and causes in the 2016-17 school year.