On February 15, CWA 1037 members at La Casa De Don Pedro, with support from our community organizing partner NJ Communities United, demanded full staffing by wearing stickers that read “Fair Workload Now” on their red shirts. La Casa lacks proper staffing, leaving teachers at certain sites to endure long hours without breaks. Management still has not addressed or alleviated this issue.

“We are supposed to have two staff members in classrooms; a teacher and an assistant, but many teachers are leading classrooms of 15 students without an assistant,” says Azucena S. Delgado, a Preschool Teacher at 75 Park Ave in Newark. “Teachers are unable to take their 15-minute breaks because there is nobody to relieve them.”

Silvia Aguirre, a Teacher’s Assistant at La Casa’s 39 Broadway location is also experiencing the same lack of staffing issues. “The amount of work is too heavy for us to carry. They are demanding more of us every time.”

The Workers in Early Childhood Action Network (WECAN) is a partnership between CWA Local 1037 and our community organizing partner NJ Communities United to organize childcare workers and advocate for expanded access to high-quality, affordable childcare across the state.