Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1546952
put in the work required to fill that need and improve the lives of working people." The power of our stories As AB 2901 worked its way through legislative committees in Spring 2024, our union started collecting stories from members about how the lack of paid pregnancy leave had impacted their lives. ousands of members shared their experiences navigat- ing their pregnancy (and after) as a teacher — many of them very raw and very personal. "Everything they put into those stories is a big part of how we won this. ese members should know their stories made a huge impact on people and our fight," Harvey says. "It was so important to keep sharing these stories with legislators to make them aware that we didn't have paid pregnancy leave. It was surprising how many of them assumed we did and were unaware we had to pay our own substitutes." More than 20,000 educators signed our online petition and thousands told their stories, which were then shared with elected officials and the media to help build the movement. Jones says these experiences were key to convincing lawmakers that paid pregnancy leave for educators was not only good policy but the right thing to do. e Los Angeles kindergarten teacher told her own story as the campaign unfolded, giving birth to her first child and now currently pregnant with her second. "I felt a camaraderie and also a commitment to our members to bring this home," Jones says. But after passing the Assembly in mid-2024, AB 2901 was in trouble. Amid concerns of how to fund the bill, state senators got cold feet and the bill stalled. Democratic leaders in the state Senate never brought AB 2901 to the f loor for a vote and it died there. is proved to be a crucial moment in the fight for pregnancy leave. One of a small group of leaders on our union's Paid Preg- nancy Leave Task Force, Ruiz says the disappointment in the bill's failure quickly turned into determination, with Jones ral- lying the team and reminding the group that members statewide were ready to keep up the fight. Timeline: The Fight for Paid Pregnancy Leave OCTOBER 2023: CTA State Council of Education members vote to approve sponsoring legislation to win Paid Pregnancy Leave for all California public school employees. FEBRUARY 2024: Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) introduces AB 2901, which would provide up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave to all public school employees. Steering committee formed to lead campaign. AUGUST 2024: State Assembly votes to approve AB 2901 and the bill moves on to the State Senate. AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2024: AB 2901 breezes through committees before state senators let it stall out in their chamber. Our union vows to continue the effort in the next legislative session. In February 2024, CTA held a press event on the Capitol steps in support of AB 2901, which would provide paid pregnancy disability leave to all public school employees. While the bill stalled out, our union's efforts to achieve PPL intensified. Continued on Page 38 36 cta.org Feature