Long Beach teachers at Edison Elementary [Photo: TALB]The Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB) in California has announced the formation of a new bargaining team to resume negotiations with school district officials after educators took the unprecedented step of rejecting a union-backed deal on September 25. The decisive rejection of the union-backed deal in Long Beach underscores the urgent necessity for teachers to take matters into their own hands. Long Beach teachers must take this as a serious warning: the union apparatus is working not to defend teachers but to contain and suffocate their struggle. The California Teachers Association (CTA), TALB’s parent union, has postured with its “We Can’t Wait” campaign, supposedly uniting more than 80,000 teachers across expired districts. The 61 percent rejection of the wage-cutting deal demonstrates Long Beach teachers are ready to fight.