Harbor Area Candidates

Monica Caballero has been an LAUSD special education teacher and proud UTLA member since 2017. As an educator and union leader, Monica believes in the power of service, student and educator advocacy, member organizing, and membership development. Monica is currently a Special Education Inclusion Teacher at Dodson Middle School. She previously taught at Wilmington Middle School, where she served as a special education teacher in the Special Day Program and the Alternate Curriculum Program. She has also served as the Harbor Area Immigrant Justice Team Lead since 2024.

Union Work 

• UTLA Harbor Area Board of Directors (2023-present) - Successfully organized with chapter leaders to enforce contractual rights and address site-specific issues. Organized with chapter leaders at Wilmington MS to push administrators to reopen non-academic electives. Organized with chapter leaders, staff, and parents at Peary MS to push administrators to honor LSLC decisions.    

• UTLA Harbor Area Immigrant Justice Team Lead (2024-present) - Connect impacted members and families with immigration resources. Facilitated city-wide UTLA Know Your Rights, Family Preparedness, and Building Your Sanctuary Teams trainings. Built coalition with rapid response organizations in response to immigration enforcement in the Harbor Area. Hosted Unión del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators to provide an Educator Patrol training for Harbor Area leaders and community members. Developed the Dodson Educator Patrol and support sites to develop their own. Served as a panelist regarding the impacts of immigration on education for the UCLA Labor Center, California Immigrant Policy Center, and California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

• Chapter Chair/Co-Chair at Wilmington MS (2019-2022) - Successfully enforced the contract to protect member rights, challenged BSEs, and represented members during conferences. 

• Delegate to the CTA State Council since 2023. 

• UTLA House of Representatives since 2023.

• Delegate to the CFT Convention in 2024.

• Delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly since 2025.

Crystal Murray has been an LAUSD teacher and UTLA member since 2015. As an educator and union leader, her passions include supporting all students through providing quality, equitable educational experiences and empowering members to understand their rights. Crystal is currently working at Barton Hill ES in the CSPP/PCC inclusion program, supporting students ages 3-5 years old. She has been a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT ENS-ECYA) since 2022.

Union Work 

• UTLA Harbor Area Board of Directors (2023-present) - Successfully organized with chapter leaders to enforce contractual rights and address site-specific issues. Organized with chapter leaders at Wilmington MS to push administrators to reopen non-academic electives. Organized with chapter leaders, staff, and parents at Peary MS to push administrators to honor LSLC decisions.    

• UTLA Harbor Area Immigrant Justice Team Lead (2024-present) - Connect impacted members and families with immigration resources. Facilitated city-wide UTLA Know Your Rights, Family Preparedness, and Building Your Sanctuary Teams trainings. Built coalition with rapid response organizations in response to immigration enforcement in the Harbor Area. Hosted Unión del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators to provide an Educator Patrol training for Harbor Area leaders and community members. Developed the Dodson Educator Patrol and support sites to develop their own. Served as a panelist regarding the impacts of immigration on education for the UCLA Labor Center, California Immigrant Policy Center, and California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis.

• Chapter Chair/Co-Chair at Wilmington MS (2019-2022) - Successfully enforced the contract to protect member rights, challenged BSEs, and represented members during conferences. 

• Delegate to the CTA State Council since 2023. 

• UTLA House of Representatives since 2023.

• Delegate to the CFT Convention in 2024.

• Delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly since 2025. 

Phylis Hoffman has been an LAUSD teacher and UTLA member since 1997. She is extremely proud to be a second-generation NEA and AFL-CIO union member. As an educator and union leader, her passions include student literacy and advocating for teachers to have a voice in all educational decisions. Phylis is currently the Teacher Librarian at Harry Bridges Span School, where she was also a second-grade and Reading Intervention Teacher. She previously taught at 92nd Street ES and Fries Avenue ES, where she served as a classroom teacher to students in grades 1-5, Categorical Program Advisor, Literacy Coach, and Reading Intervention teacher. Phylis has been a National Board Certified Teacher since 2011. 

Union Work 

• UTLA Harbor Area Chair (2023-present) - Successfully passed a motion to increase member allotment to sites from $6 to $8 per member. Pushing for $10 per member.

• UTLA Harbor Area Board of Directors (2020-present) - Consistently fought, debated, and helped to build a more democratic and transparent union. Organized with other BOD members to get UTLA to hire more Area Representatives to help with co-location battles.

• PACE E-Board Vice Chair of School Board (2020-present) - Organized UTLA members to door-knock to get union-friendly candidates elected to the LAUSD Board of Education.

• Chapter Chair at Harry Bridges Span School (2017-2023) - Successfully organized one of the biggest strike lines in the Harbor Area in 2019.

• Charter School Fights - Organized the educators at Baxter Alliance High School in San Pedro to join UTLA before it closed in 2022. One of many who successfully helped to defeat the Ganas Charter School Co-location effort at Catskill Elementary School. 

• UTLA House of Representatives (2015-present) - Successfully wrote and passed motions regarding restorative justice training and a member allotment increase to sites for the 2019 strike from $6 per member to $7 per member.

• Delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly since 2020.

• Delegate to the CTA State Council since 2022. 

• Delegate to the LA Labor Federation since 2022.