Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1518807
" I gave birth to three children (1986, 1988 and 1991). I was shocked to discover we had no maternity leave, so I used up all my accumulated sick leave, and after that had to have my paycheck docked to pay for a sub! And I returned to work way too soon after each birth because we needed my paycheck to survive. This has to change!" — Janice Wong, teacher, CTA/NEA-Retired " I had a high-risk pregnancy. I didn't realize that teachers do not get social security disability. I was out of the classroom for an entire semester. Thankfully my local members donated hours, but I still could not afford diapers and formula when my daughter was born." — Melanie Bean, training specialist, Sacramento City Teachers Association " As a currently pregnant teacher, I am very worried about the impacts of my upcoming need for Pregnancy Disability Leave and [how] it will possibly completely wipe out all my accumulated sick days before I even get to my maternity child bonding leave. My partner is also a teacher and we've been in the profession less than 10 years each. We want to stay in the profession AND raise a family." — Chris Clauss, special education teacher, United Educators of San Francisco " I am currently 36 weeks pregnant, unable to go on maternity leave until my due date because I am new to this district, and I have used up all my sick leave when I caught COVID and other illnesses from my students this school year. It is taking a toll on my body and my students and I deserve better." — Talia Wadhwa, SDC inclusion teacher, Fremont Unified District Teachers Association " As a first-time parent in January, choosing between less pay or spending time with my newborn was the worst decision. Ultimately, I returned to the classroom five weeks after my child was born, leaving my wife and first-time mom alone with our child with no support from me. In a profession where we put children first, why do we continue to put educators' newborn children last?" — Gary Cao, teacher, Hayward Education Association " I lost out on a year of service and retirement benefits due to the current policies in place for maternity leave. This is not an equitable practice as my male counterparts are not required to take at least the six weeks of postpartum time away from the classroom and can flex how they use their paternity time in a way that will not impact their placement on the salary schedule, sick days available to them or retirement options." — Brittani Alfaro, teacher, Temecula Valley Education Association " I had to deplete my accumulated sick leave during both of my six-week pregnancy leaves. Considering that unused sick time is factored into our retirement benefit, this is a glaring example of sexism that can be rectified with this bill." — Catrina Choudhry, teacher, Association of Colton Educators N E A R Y 1, 0 0 0 E D U C A T O R S S H A R E D their pregnancy experiences in support of AB 2901 and the need for #PregnancyLeaveNOW. Add your story and sign the petition in support of the bill by visiting cta.org/ab2901: Educators Share Pregnancy Leave Stories 26 cta.org Feature