Sacramento, CA — Yesterday the California State Assembly approved AB 938 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) with a bipartisan vote of 77-0. AB 938 would commit the state of California to raising funding for educator and school worker pay in all public schools by 50% over the next 7 years.

“We have an education staffing crisis in the state and must take bold action to address it. By overwhelmingly passing AB 938, the California Assembly has made it clear to educators and classified professionals that they deserve a wage that lifts up their work, enabling them to focus on the success of their students without having to worry about how to pay their bills. Our students succeed when their school employees are on solid ground financially and we cannot invest in our students’ futures without investing in our educators and classified professionals as well,” said Jeff Freitas, CFT President.

“We need to pay our teachers and essential school staff what they deserve,” said Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi. “Schools across the state are facing a workforce shortage, with many teachers and school employees unable to afford to live in the communities they work in. AB 938 sets the goal of giving teachers and staff a 50 percent pay raise by 2030 to address the growing wage gap between teachers and comparable college graduates in other fields and to also get more young people to aspire to become educators.”

AB 938 now heads to the State Senate.

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CFT – A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals represents 120,000 teachers, faculty, and school employees in public and private schools and colleges, from early childhood through higher education. It is the statewide affiliate of the AFT.