AI

We’ve been so inspired by Bernie. Year after year, he’s shown us all his commitment to social transformation. He gives us hope for deep structural change and he’s really raised our expectations.

As a woman of color and a union leader, I know this is what we need if we are ever going to have the schools our students deserve and a nation that changes course for a sustainable future. Other candidates offer something to educators, but they are not building a progressive working-class movement.

We wanted to shape history this time, rather than have it shape us. We learned from the process in 2016 about what happens when our national affiliates — NEA [National Education Association] and AFT [American Federation of Teachers] — do an early endorsement of a candidate — Hillary Clinton — without having a sense of the pulse of the membership. Fortunately, this year the affiliates have learned from that experience, and they are surveying members and providing candidate forums for input.

We chose to be proactive in UTLA, and for the first time in our history, we have endorsed a presidential candidate in the primary. As UTLA, we felt that we had an opportunity and responsibility to leverage the political power we have collectively built up through our strike.

It’s a very urgent time, an urgent moment. Our schools continue to be in crisis from a neoliberal corporate agenda that defunds and privatizes public education — we need to turn the tide. And we saw that Bernie Sanders was aligned with our values, our policies, and our commitment to dramatically transform this nation. So it was critical that our union stick its neck out, that we take a bold stand.

We decided to put ourselves out there so our members and the community would realize that we’re not just about bread-and-butter issues, not just about wages, and even not just about what happens inside the classroom. We’re about changing the existing political framework, we’re fighting to challenge and reverse our government’s priorities — to the advantage of educators, students, and working-class people.

When we explained this, the overwhelming majority of our members understood. Of course, there were some members who didn’t agree; there’s always some costs to taking this type of bold stance. But we felt it was worth it — it’s a step forward for us and, hopefully, for this whole nation.