Bringing Unions to Charter Schools: What Will It Mean?

Recently, unions have begun to not only advocate against the school reform agenda but increase their efforts to unionize charter school teachers. The Chicago Tribune looked at how that new focus is playing out in their city. Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teacher’s Union told the Tribune that the focus of organizing was “not about destroying charter schools. Charter schools are here; they’re not going anywhere. So the key is, how do you make them a bitter pill to their management companies? It’s the management companies we have the issues with, not the charter teachers, not the students, not the parents. The key is, organize people to fight for fairer conditions of work, and then that’s good for .”

Union leaders say their efforts to organize are driven by more than self-interest. Certainly, salaries are an important issue, as charter schools often pay their teaching staff less than unionized teachers get in adjacent traditional public schools. But union advocates say that economic benefits are not the only things unions bring to their schools.

Robert Bloch, an attorney who has been close to one organizing effort in Chicago, told the Tribune, “Unionized charters are creating a more hospitable environment for teachers.” The Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers described the value of a contract they negotiated as strengthening the “teacher voice in decisions that affect students, providing safe and healthy working and learning conditions, and putting in place a fair and collaborative teacher evaluation system. Class size limits are held to 28 students, and the agreement includes language that provides for more meaningful prep time for teachers.”

Today, only a small number of charter schools are unionized. In Chicago, a city with a very strong labor movement, only about 12 percent of its more than 100 charter schools have a contract in place. Nationally, unions represent less than 10 percent of charter teachers. If the efforts of the two national teachers’ unions are successful, that number will grow and the dynamic of charter education will change.