The Fight Over a Fired Charter School Teacher
Posted on December 3, 2010
The San Diego teachers union plans to fight the firing of a teacher who spearheaded union efforts at Tubman Village Charter School, where teachers became unionized nearly a year ago.
The battle is an unusual one because while Tubman is unionized, its teachers have yet to hammer out a contract. That leaves them in labor limbo.
Jonathon Mello, an organizer for the San Diego Education Association, said the union plans to file charges with a state board, arguing the teacher is being discriminated against as a labor leader and that her work terms were changed unilaterally.
Principal Lidia Scinski wrote in an email to us that "Tubman doesn't conduct business in public," but added, "I am confident that the school's actions are in compliance with the law."
The firing goes to the heart of why Tubman is unionizing and why unions argue their protections are needed. When Tubman teachers joined up with the union in January,