Frustrated with management’s top-down decision making and unfulfilled promises, educators at Citizens of the World Charter (CWC) schools in LA organized a campaign with UTLA to unionize over 160 educators, and in June 2024 successfully unionized with a 90% YES vote.

Then last December, the newly unionized CWC educators voted unanimously to endorse a bargaining platform to address class size, staffing, student safety and stability, educator support, and more.

Bargaining started in February for CWC Educators United’s first contract, and last month, they held their first open bargaining session with 60 members packing the room. CWC educators Alissa Merz and Martin Mumm said having so many members present shifted the dynamic in the bargaining room. “The energy in the room was electric with so many passionate teachers united in the fight for a fair contract,” said Merz.

“You could see the impact on the opposing lawyer,” Mumm said. “His tone totally changed, and he agreed to meet more frequently in order to ‘lower the temperature.’”

With the show of CWC educator force in the bargaining room, they won an MOU agreement with protections around prep time, IEP deadlines, and more. Contract bargaining continues and CWC educators are united and ready to turn up the pressure to win their demands.