ON FEB. 4, more than 80,000 educators across California launched “We Can’t Wait,” a campaign involving CTA locals’ shared demands and coordinated contract negotiations with 32 school districts. Educators from Anaheim, Los Angeles, Oakland, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and two dozen other school districts — who teach and serve 1 million students — participated.

Campaign demands include:
• Fully staffed schools, with smaller class sizes and caseloads;
• Safe and stable schools, with no layoffs, budget cuts or school closures;
• Competitive wages and benefits for educators;
• Districts should prioritize existing funds to support students and educators instead of overspending for administration, consultants, outside contractors and exorbitant reserves.

The goal: to give students, educators and communities what they need and deserve to thrive — long-term.

San Diego Education Assn. members

The status quo — where billionaires benefit from California’s robust economy while students and working people suffer — is unacceptable, said CTA President David Goldberg at the “We Can’t Wait” launch. “We demand that districts prioritize resources for our students and ensure California leads the country in providing a quality public education for every student.”

• California is the fourth-largest economy in the world —yet it is in the bottom half of states for per pupil funding.
• Education funding at the state and federal levels is unstable and unreliable, leading to cycles of budget cuts, educator layoffs, school closures and an ongoing lack of resources and staffing.
• Educator wages are far below those of other college-educated workers, making it challenging for educators to live in the communities we serve.

This has all resulted in a growing educator recruitment and retention crisis — and schools that are not adequately serving students. Learn more at wecantwait.info.

Top photo caption: Members and allies of Oakland Education Assn., United Teachers of Richmond, United Educators of San Francisco and Berkeley Federation of Teachers at Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza at the We Can’t Wait launch in February.