Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1527898
Let's Build Power and Get Out the Vote W H A T ' S M O R E B E A U T I F U L than our union build- ing collective power and using that power to create a better world? Up and down the state, union educators are doing the good work of building power to improve the conditions of our work and the learning conditions of our students. It's not just better wages and health care benefits, and better staffing and supports for students. We fight for basics such as clean, lead-free drinking water at our schools, as our Oakland members are doing. And locals are making huge gains in Community Schools, where students, families and educators have a say in decisions about the resources coming into our schools. We all know that you can't just pass a school board resolution or a bill and hope for the best - we have to organize and fight for public education, and we do. In the past year alone, many of our locals were prepared to strike and ultimately won their demands. Community college chapters have fought and won health care bene- fits for part-time faculty. It is on us and our union to fight back with our students and families to demand better. e public trusts and respects public school educa- tors, which is why we remain popular among voters. Now there is a big shift happening around the public's understanding not just of what we do every day in our schools but also that we are union strong and proud, and that we use our power to fight and win for our schools and communities. A recent landmark study showed that strikes are effective at improving the working conditions of edu- cators — and for the first time, we have evidence that our victories won on the strike lines benefit students. ese victories include smaller class sizes and improved funding for facilities and non-instructional staff such as counselors and nurses. (See study details on page 12.) The 2,000 school board elections this year provide an opportunity for us to be courageous with our power at the ballot box. We must elect decision-makers who suppor t our school s and students, and to pre vent union busters, extremists and the friends of privat- izers from causing chaos and disruption in our school communities. Together we have immense power to determine the outcomes of our elections. We can be the difference maker : We win 100% of races when we knock 100% of doors! We must keep building our power because even though these school board races will have a huge impact on working and learning conditions in our districts, so much of what impacts us at the local level starts with and is deeply impacted by the state. We have statewide challenges coming up that require all of us taking action together in coordinated campaigns to win. We know that we will see districts attempt more lay- offs and cuts, especially as federal pandemic resources come to an end. We cannot solve the root causes of our funding crisis on our own. But there is not a single issue we can't win if we do it together. We win together. I am proud of our power, proud of th e union we are building together, proud to be in this fight with all of you. You are what makes our union strong, alive, and vibrant. David B. Goldberg C T A P R E S I D E N T 5 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 24 P R E S I D E N T ' S M E S S A G E