Alex Caputo-Pearl was a teacher in South Los Angeles for 22 years, helping to found Coalition for Educational Justice and the Union Power rank-and-file caucus. He served as United Teachers Los Angeles President (2014–2020) and UTLA NEA VP (2020–2023). 

He then returned to the rank-and-file to build member structures and work with the Los Angeles Unified School District Community Schools Initiative. He is currently an elected member of the UTLA Bargaining Team and has previously served as a UC Berkeley Labor Center Practitioner in Residence and UCLA Labor Studies Fellow.