Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1545867
from our school communities putting pressure on the state for more funding is making a real difference!" Springtime Solidarity as Educators Fight for Health Care In the beginning of March, three Sacramento-area locals stepped up their fight for health care, with TRUE and NTA going on strike and WSTA members voting to authorize one. Some Natomas educators had been paying half of their monthly paycheck — $1,800 — for health care for their families with a lot of educators just opting not to take the district's plan at all, according to NTA President Vaccaro. Their seven-day strike moved the district from 50% to a more than 90% contri- bution for a Kaiser family plan. "Winning that shift to almost fully covered health care really sets us up to continue this fight for fully paid health care," Vac- caro says. "I don't think people realize how much health care impacts our educators until you see it in real time. Am I going to pay for health care or am I going to pay for groceries? It's tough." Vaccaro says NTA's fight was powered by strong member engagement and constant, clear communication with all mem- bers to ensure everyone understood what they were fighting for and why. He says it was very inspiring to be a part of We Can't Wait and the statewide movement for the safe, stable and fully staffed schools our students deserve. "While you see the victories up and down the state, the fight is far from over," Vaccaro says. "You see the fight to defend Prop. 98, extend Prop 55, and improve public schools for everybody. It's going to take all of us fighting together to make real change for all of us." In neighboring Twin Rivers, a hard-cap on district health care contributions meant some TRUE members were paying as much as $1,600 a month for health care for their families — TRUE Pres- ident Ward says that going into their 12-day strike, they were prepared to hold the line on fully paid health care to stop the ongoing educator retention crisis in Twin Rivers. e Our union's 2026 report, " The State of California Public Schools," surveyed 2,000 of our TK–12 educator members and found that they consider health care to be a major issue — and that they are willing to strike to lower health care costs. See the full report at cta.org/document/the-state-of-ca-public-schools. 21 S U M M E R 2 0 26