Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1543424
month in out-of-pocket costs while districts regularly try to cut benefits," said Goldberg. "California, as the fourth-larg- est ec onomy in th e w orl d , still doesn't even have paid pregnancy leave for teachers, forcing them to pay out-of- pocket for substitute teachers during their absence. It's no secret that there is a teacher shortage, and compounding issues like the lack of paid pregnancy leave and current affordability crises directly i m p a c t p e o p l e's a b i l i ty t o stay in the profession." The sur vey also revealed that educators see working t o g e t h e r a s t h e s o l u t i o n t o t h e s e c r i t i c a l i s s u e s . W hi l e we've se en organi z- i n g a n d s t r i k e r e a d i n e s s i n t h e m a s s i v e s t a t e w i d e 80,000-m emb er -strong We C a n' t Wa i t c a m p a i g n , t h e s u r v e y s i g n a l e d a n e v e n greater share of CTA mem- b e r s a r e w i l l i n g t o t a k e a c t i o n i n th e i r u n i o n . Fo r example, 83% are willing to strike to improve educator pay and 72% are willing to strike to lower health care costs (see page 13). F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n about #WeCantWait, visit wecantwait.info. Financial Sacrifices and Troubling Trends Our 2026 member survey revealed clear willingness by educators across the state to strike over important issues. Classroom Communities Under Attack Federal immigration policies are accelerating fear and uncertainty in California's schools, where 1 million students have an undocumented parent, and nearly half (45%) of all children have at least one immigrant parent. We asked educators about the atmosphere in their schools when it comes to this issue. 15 W I N T E R 2 0 26