Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1518807
none available when newborns get sick or have medical appointments, meaning that new mothers must take unpaid days off for the rest of the school year. is discov- ery is shocking for many new educators. "I am about to go on maternity leave and realize how few supports there are for women educators wanting to start a family," says school counselor Aubrey Buchanan, a member of Visalia Unified Teachers Association. "Running out your sick time as 'maternity leave' is ridiculous, and returning to work with a new baby and no sick time is even more ridiculous!" e financial impacts of this inequity are long-lasting — because women are forced to use all sick time with each pregnancy, they have substantially less sick days at retire- ment, meaning that they need to work longer or earn less in retirement. On average, women receive almost $100,000 less in retirement than their male colleagues. "After 35 years of teaching, the lack of pregnancy leave is still affecting me in retirement," says Susan Heflin, a mem- ber of CTA/NEA-Retired. "I lost about six months on my years of service credit in retirement from my pregnancy leaves, but I also lost the years of service credit for the lost sick days. It's not right!" This effort to fix a broken system is just the latest example of educators working together in their union to improve working conditions for educators. In 1975, educators in two local chapters in Mt. Pleas- ant and Berryessa school districts organized and filed discrimination lawsuits in the fight for maternity rights. e local school boards had been enforcing policies that would "relieve a woman of their duties without pay when the woman began to show in their seventh month of pregnancy and not allow them back until their child was at least six months old." Through collective action, the CTA Board Members Chris Bushee and Eva Ruiz, Asm. Dawn Addis, CTA members Renata Sanchez, Marina Santos and Sherrie Starkie. "Nine months ago, I became a mom. Unfortunately, because I only received half-pay, I felt I had no choice but to return to work after 12 weeks. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make." —Cristal De La Rosa, teacher, Alhambra Teachers Association Jovanna Leon, Golden Plains Teachers Association, and her husband are veteran educators of 10 years in the Central Valley. In March, their daughter was born three months premature and had to be placed in the neonatal ICU. "We have been worried about our sick leave running out and not being able to be there for our daughter in this critical time of her development." 22 cta.org Feature