Chicago Charter School Teachers Demand a Union
At a press conference on Friday, Charter teachers were joined by progressive mayoral hopeful Jesus "Chuy" GarcÃa, who called Mayor Rahm Emanuel's pledged support for the teachers "hypocritical." (Arielle Zionts)
Teachers and staff at Chicago’s Urban Prep Academies and North Lawndale College Prep (NLCP) announced on Friday they are seeking to form a union, joining the growing movement to organize charter school teachers in Chicago and around the country. Friday’s announcement follows other charter school unionization efforts in Chicago including the United Neighborhood Organization network and several Chicago International Charter Schools, and came just days before the city’s mayoral race.
On Friday morning at City Hall, Urban Prep and NLCP teachers announced their desire to unionize and join the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS). Chicago ACTS is a joint program of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers. According to the Sun-Times, Chicago ACTS “already represents 800 teachers and staff at 29 of Chicago’s 130 or so charter schools.”
Later that day, several dozen people rallied outside Urban Prep’s Bronzeville campus in 10-degree weather. Speakers and supporters included teachers, staff, parents, students and union and community members, who overwhelmingly cited concern with what they say is frequent teacher turnover and a resulting instability for teachers and students.
NLCP teacher Kiel Smith said constant teacher turnover means spending time and money on new teacher training rather than on teacher development. “I have watched great teacher after great teacher leave,” Smith said. “Many of these teachers didn’t just leave NLCP, but they left teaching altogether.”
Travis Ryan, another NLCP teacher, said, “There is nothing sadder than when we see a student who has returned home from college who has lived a dream and comes to speak about it. They’re so excited to speak with their teachers—who are no longer there.” Ryan called the turnover crisis “a terrible stain on the charter school system” and believes unionizing can deliver better compensation, clearer expectations and the security of due process.
As hostility to teachers unions by some education reformers and government officials has risen in recent years, the number of charter schools—schools which are largely publicly funded but privately run—has seen a dramatic increase. As the New York Times reports, many charter school backers see teacher unions as incompatible with charters, as they say the schools “are more effective because they are free from the regulations and bureaucracies that govern traditional public schools.” Supporters of charter school unionization say collective bargaining allows teachers to secure the resources and conditions that create quality teachers and stable schools.
“I get that charter schools have great flexibility to innovate,” said union supporter Valerie Leonard of the Lawndale Alliance, a community organization. “However, this flexibility should not come at the cost of equal pay and decent work conditions.”
According to Catalyst Chicago, if Urban Prep and NLCP’s unions are recognized, “it would mean nearly one in four Chicago charter schools would be unionized, likely the highest union density of charter schools in any major school district in the country.”
Mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” GarcÃa attended Friday’s announcement to support the unionization effort. When teachers asked for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s support, Emanuel spokesperson Steve Mayberry said in a statement, “Just as he was Chicago Charter School Teachers Demand a Union - Working In These Times:
