Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1545867
You can organize even if you're small — the organizing never stops and you build connections with your community and other unions. is is a big key to our success." In Santa Fe Springs and Norwalk, the 200 members of Little Lake Education Association (LLEA) found themselves facing massive out-of-pocket cost increases after a new superintendent refused to honor past memorandums of under- standings, reverting back to old contract language and imposing a mid-year and m a ssiv e in crea se for out -of-p o cket health care costs for employees. Many educators were facing monthly costs of $1,400 and some even potentially p ay in g a sh o ckin g $2,600 a m onth , causing LLE A members to escalate their organizing and fight back. District administration agreed to offer more toward health care, but at the cost of increasing class sizes — a trade educators were unwilling to make. "Every offer they gave us included throwing the kids under the bus, and we weren't not going to do that. We were not going to treat our students as pawns," says LLEA President Maria Pilios. "Our school board dug in and told LLEA that the community would stand with the district, so we said 'ok, let's find out.'" After an historic and inspiring 10 days on picket lines, LLEA educators had organized their community, captivated the hearts of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and inspired hundreds of thousands of members across CTA — and the super- intendent and a school board member had resigned. LLEA won improvements to their health care benefits and imme- diate relief for educators — all without sacrificing class sizes to maintain stu- dent learning conditions. " We're at a good foothold and we're looking forward to making even bet- ter strides in the next contract," Pilios says. "The biggest things we got out of this is we learned how to stand up for ourselves, how to say no when we are being treated unfairly and finding out our parents love us as much as we love their children. We found our voice as a union." "The biggest things we got out of this is we learned how to stand up for ourselves, how to say no when we are being treated unfairly and finding out our parents love us as much as we love their children." —Little Lake Education Assn. President Maria Pilios This page and facing page: LLEA members, as well as parents and community, called for improved health care benefits. 25 S U M M E R 2 0 26