Big win for charter teachers. UNO teachers vote for AFT ACTS. Chicago union doubles in size.
Late this afternoon great news arrived that the over 400 teachers at 13 United Neighborhood charter schools voted to affiliate with AFT Association of Charter Teachers and Staff (ACTS).UNO is one of the largest charter operators in the state.
State law forbids charter teachers from operating under the CPS CTU contract, even though Chicago charter schools fall under the ultimate authority of the CPS.
UNO is presently the subject of investigations regarding the mishandling of state funding.
The Sun Times reports that 20% of Chicago charter teachers are unionized, double what it was before the UNO vote.
Sun Times:
The financial impact on UNO of the teachers’ vote won’t be clear until the new union members reach a contract agreement with the charter operator.
The decision to unionize comes as UNO is facing a funding squeeze from the state. Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration suspended payments from a $98 million state school-construction grant to UNO after the Chicago Sun-Times reported the politically influential group had hired two companies with ties to a former UNO leader for work on