The election of Mayor de Blasio affords our union the opportunity to accomplish many of the changes to our school system and our working conditions that we have long wanted. We believe that we now have the possibility to negotiate a fair contract that will help us do our work in the classroom. We expect a fact-finding report in the near future that will provide the framework for a settlement. We also now have the chance to implement universal, full-day prekindergarten, one of our long-standing goals as a union. We have always believed in the importance of quality early childhood education for all our children, but achieving it has not been politically feasible in the past. With our new mayor making pre-K his signature education initiative, the stars are aligning to get it done. With your support, we will make full-day pre-K for all 4-year-olds a reality in our city.

As any elementary school teacher can tell you, it makes a world of difference whether or not a child has attended pre-K. Prekindergarten and programs such as those offered by our family child care providers are where children first develop a relationship with learning. In pre-K, children learn not only their letters, shapes and simple math, but also self-esteem, self-control and how to get along with others. One of those special moments that pre-K teachers get to savor is watching a child write his or her name for the very first time.

Our union has always understood how critical quality early childhood education is. That’s why in 2008 we organized our city’s family child care providers. And it is why I was so proud to join with my fellow labor leaders representing 1.3 million of our city’s workers on Jan. 6 as we announced labor’s support for Mayor de Blasio’s plan to provide universal, full-day prekindergarten for all New York City 4-year-olds and to pay for it with a modest income tax increase on the wealthiest New Yorkers.

Right now, far too few of our city’s children have the chance to attend a high-quality, full-day pre-K program. Full-day pre-K should not remain a privilege only for children whose parents can afford to pay for it, when studies show how important early childhood learning is to every child’s intellectual and emotional development.

Research shows that twice as many children who attend full-day pre-K enter kindergarten at the proper academic level, compared with peers without preschool experience. Those who attended pre-K also learn more during kindergarten than children who have not.

The “achievement gap” between low-income and more affluent children begins early — and it grows quickly. A recent study found that at 18 months, children from wealthier families can identify pictures of simple words much faster than children from low-income families. Between 18 months and two years, more affluent children learn 30 percent more words than children from low-income families. And by age three, children from wealthier families have heard 30 million more words than children from low-income households.

Unequal access to pre-K only increases this tremendous gap. Providing universal access to pre-K can help to close it.

Four-year-olds are sponges for learning. Children of that age are also picking up the social and emotional skills they need to be lifelong learners. We are making a terrible mistake by failing to take advantage of this critical time in their development.

Quality prekindergarten is one of the first building blocks in our children’s education, and so it makes sense for the mayor to make expanding access to it the first building block in his strategy to strengthen our public schools. This union has long supported universal pre-K. Now, standing together with Mayor de Blasio, we have a chance to achieve it.

But it won’t be easy. We have a big political battle ahead of us over how to fund it.

Mayor de Blasio wants this new program to be paid for by raising the income tax on New Yorkers earning more than $500,000 from 3.9 percent to 4.4 percent for five years. Any city income tax increase must be approved by Albany. Governor Cuomo says he supports statewide universal full-day pre-K, but has not yet said how he would pay for it.

A dedicated funding stream like the mayor proposes would shield pre-K from the year-to-year ups and downs of the state budget. Universal pre-K shouldn’t be an “extra” that we fund when we have a surplus and cut when we don’t.

Make no doubt about it. Conservative opponents of our union and our mayor will decry the cost to taxpayers to provide what they will try to convince people is little more than baby-sitting. But we know the importance of early schooling. And it will only cost around $900 per year for families affected by the tax. These are families who have made money hand over fist while middle- and low-income families have lost ground. It’s time for the wealthy to do their part.

With your support in this fight, universal prekindergarten may finally become a reality in our city.