Kamala Harris calls for federal investment to increase teachers' salaries

"I tell you that at the end of my first term, we will have improved teachers' salaries to reduce the pay gap," the California Democrat in Houston told a group of supporters. "Because at the present time, teachers earn more than 10% less than other college graduates and that gap is around $ 13,000 a year, and I promise you that thanks to the federal resources available, we will reduce it. "

Harris's proposal would be the largest federal investment ever made in teacher compensation, she said. As candidates roam the main battlefield states by testing their economic messages with potential voters, Harris is the first to announce a fund-allocation plan for teachers – a highly unionized and democratically reliable demographic. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unions represent more than 37% of employees in education occupations – more than in any other occupation.

Although Harris did not give more details on where the funds came from, the campaign announced that they would unveil all the details of the comprehensive political plan next week.

"And people will say, you will hear them say after today:" Well, how is she going to pay for that? "Well, here's the thing," Harris said. "You understand that your analysis does not say how much it costs, the question is what will be the return on investment, and on that, the investment will be our future."

Nearly all Democrats – nearly 90% – said that teachers are underpaid in a survey conducted in April 2018 by the Associated Press / NORC Center, compared with 78% of independents and a still strong majority of 66 % of Republicans.

Harris' proposal also comes in during a wave of teacher strikes across the country. Teachers picketed everywhere, from blue California – Harris's home state – to red North Carolina.

The salaries of teachers in the country are down compared to the last decades. After adjustment for inflation, they decreased by 1.6% nationally between 2000 and 2017, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, which compared the average annual salaries of teachers since 1969. United States wages have generally increased during this period, according to a Pew review of BLS statistics.

In some states that have experienced recent strikes, such as Arizona and North Carolina, wages have dropped by more than 10% before teachers compete for increases.

Jotina Buck, an audience member in Houston who teaches math and science at a nearby elementary school, said Harris's plan "means a lot."

"As a teacher, it matters a lot because I invest in my students and I do not know if we are always heroes, we are every day," she said. "So being honored in salary would be a great opportunity for us as teachers."

CNN's Annie Grayer and Zachary B. Wolf contributed to this report.