Above: CWC Educators chanting and picketing outside their school in Mar Vista Tuesday morning for a fair contract.

Educators at Citizens of the World Charter (CWC) schools across LA, who unionized with UTLA in 2024, have been fighting for their first contract for over a year to address class size, staffing, educator support, and more. 

CWC educators are facing an uphill battle with management’s delay tactics and top-down decision making — but educators haven’t given up. On Tuesday morning, CWC educators hit the sidewalks to picket before school with students, parents, and the school community showing out in solidarity. 

In the fall, CWC educators packed the board room and won an MOU agreement with protections around prep time and IEP deadlines. But with no significant movement on core demands like class size, salary, and healthcare, CWC Educators United declared impasse at the bargaining table yesterday. 

CWC Educators United have come to the table to work toward an agreement that meets the needs of educators and students, but management has refused to bargain in good faith. 

“CWC has failed to put their money where their mission statement is,” says CWC Hollywood math interventionist Julia Hiser. “They continue to insist on balancing their budgets on the backs of their educators and staff. While we’ve made concession after concession, they have not budged, even as the labor market shifts, leaving CWC teachers even further behind. We are fighting for a living wage, small class sizes, and working conditions that put student learning first.”