Joshua Pechthalt, President of the California Federation of Teachers, received the inaugural United in Courage Award on April 22, 2014, during a festive evening event at The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento. Progressive leaders from every part of the state attended along with a number of California legislators.
In presenting the award, California Senate President pro Tem, Darrell Steinberg lauded Pechthalt for his courage in standing up for his beliefs and fighting to the finish to accomplish important advances for all Californians.
The United in Courage Award is given each year to a progressive leader who exemplifies courage and collaboration in the pursuit of a more fair and just society. This year, Pechthalt was feted for his influential work in bringing together a strong coalition of partners to ensure increased and progressively-raised, state revenue for funding vital human services, including but not limited to public education in California. His current work includes fighting for school-based health care services and expanded library hours so that children in California are healthy, safe and able to achieve their goals.