On election day on Nov. 4, I saw people lined up at their local polling places to vote yes on Proposition 50 — an unusual sight given past turnout in off-year elections. They were energized and excited to help protect public schools, defend students and communities and fight back for our democracy and our country.

Soon after the election, at an Arizona gathering of education leaders from across the country, I realized Prop. 50’s huge impact nationwide. The mood was electric. Person after person came up to me to express how the California victory — how we successfully stood up to authoritarianism — gave them hope that our national fight was winnable.

What we do in our state resonates around the world. We sent a message to politicians more beholden to billionaire donors than kids in their own communities: “Rigging elections to allow for more cuts to health care and public education is unacceptable. We will organize and we will vote you out!” Our success has emboldened more states to take action.

Winning Prop. 50 is part of our broader fight to protect public education and fund our schools, including our campaign to permanently extend Prop. 55 in 2026. We all know that a permanent extension is necessary to stop billions of dollars of cuts to school funding when Prop. 55 expires in 2030 — a devastating 15% in funding cuts would happen overnight to every school district budget in the state without our collective effort.

We’ve set an important goal for our union — 85% of our own members signing the petition to get this permanent extension on the ballot for 2026. This is going to take a lot of one-on-one conversations, and in those, we must connect the actual cuts to our classrooms and our students. From there, we will work together to get it passed. No one is going to come in and do this for us. We are the ones that we’re waiting for. We’re going to have to organize like never before to fight back against the ongoing attacks on public education and fight forward for the future we want for all our students and families. We’re facing a Republican-controlled Congress that is okay with using hungry children as bargaining chips in their fight to make health care unaffordable for millions and build a government that exists only to benefit billionaires and the super wealthy.

It seems like everywhere you look, our people and our institutions are under attack — and as educators who have dedicated our lives to our students and communities, it can be a lot to deal with.

This is when we need to lean into our union — building together so we can fight back for each other and everyone depending on us. When we build our power and structures to win at local bargaining tables, we are building the same power we need to stop layoffs. When we mobilize against ICE raids, we are not only keeping our students safe but also building real solidarity and trust with our own members, students and families.

These fights and attacks are all connected, but they can also feel chaotic. Our union is how we stand steady in this storm and stick to a plan to win and continue to be a force for good. Our greatest form of resistance is to be constantly building a stronger CTA, chapter by chapter, site by site, and member by member.

This is how we become a fighting union. This is how we win.

And whatever challenges come our way, we will face them together — with power, with solidarity, and with a fierce commitment that a better world is possible and worth fighting for.

David B. Goldberg
CTA PRESIDENT