Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1530930
Y O U ' V E H A D A B A B Y — congratulations! Now, as an edu- cator, do you rush back to work before fully bonding with your child or fully recovering from childbirth? Or do you burn through accrued sick time and then pay for a substitute teacher — a financial loss that impacts you and your family now and your retirement later? The lack of paid pregnancy leave forces many educators to make this choice. In California, 73% of the teaching work- force is female. Women who give birth tend to be younger and teachers having children are generally early in their careers, so most will not have enough sick leave to cover their preg- nancy. Once out of sick leave, mothers must pay their salary minus the cost of a sub to cover pregnancy-related disabilities, resulting in a 50% pay cut. "This is a double dose of gender discrimination," says CTA Secretary-Treasurer and new mother Erika Jones. "Women edu- cators are not only forced to exhaust sick leave early in their careers due to pregnancy, but are also later penalized in retire- ment, earning an average $100,000 less than male colleagues." It doesn't have to be this way. Our union is sponsoring the Pregnancy Leave for Educators Act, AB 65 (Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters), which would provide all public school employees with up to 14 weeks of fully paid leave for pregnancy and preg- nancy-related health conditions. Read our story on p. 28 — and help pass AB 65. Our members are always ready to take action when faced with urgent issues. Parents and the community tried to get hazard- ous conditions at a Richmond elementary school addressed for years when United Teachers of Richmond members organized around the issue last year. UTR recorded mold in classrooms, broken ceiling tiles, inadequate climate control, lack of access to clean drinking water and windows in classrooms that don't open (leading to excessive heat) and filed complaints at the state level. Read "Organizing for Safe Schools" (page 16) for other examples of members and locals defending students and win- ning healthy facilities. In addition, our locals have scored huge victories in recent rulings by the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). After an extremist-controlled school board adopted an illegal forced-outing policy in 2023, the Rocklin Teachers Profes- sional Assn. organized against it, ultimately filing a complaint with PERB. In June the agency, which oversees collective bar- gaining and labor relations for public employees, ordered the forced-outing policy to be reversed. PERB also issued rulings favorable to students and educators in Temecula, Sacramento and Clovis; read "Protecting Our Rights, Defending Our Stu- dents" on page 23. Our union knows that finding the time to plan, organize and talk with each other about critical issues is challenging. CTA can help local leaders meet this challenge with planning, site visit and local president release time grants; see page 35. e new year brings new opportunity for us to come together and get things done. And yes, the time really is now — we can't afford to wait for change. As CTA Secretary-Treasurer Erika Jones says of AB 65, "We're going to continue the momentum, continue to build and look forward to winning this!" Katharine Fong E D I T O R I N C H I E F editor@cta.org If Not Now, When? 6 cta.org E D I T O R ' S N O T E