Skip to content
  • Chicago Reporter
  • Chicago Reporter
  • Topics
    • Child and Family
    • Coronavirus
    • Criminal Justice
    • Education
    • Employment and Labor
    • Government and Politics
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Immigration
    • Race and Culture
    • Transportation
  • Perspectives
    • Curtis Black: The Powers That Be
  • About
    • Our History
    • Our Staff
    • Our Supporters
    • Awards
  • Archive
    • Search the Archive, 1972-present
    • Catalyst Issues
    • Reporter Issues
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

Chicago Reporter - Investigating race and poverty since 1972

Support NonProfit News

Donate Now

Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/urban-prep-north-lawndale-charters-to-form-union/)

  • Topics
    • Child and Family
    • Coronavirus
    • Criminal Justice
    • Education
    • Employment and Labor
    • Government and Politics
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Immigration
    • Race and Culture
    • Transportation
  • Perspectives
    • Curtis Black: The Powers That Be
  • About
    • Our History
    • Our Staff
    • Our Supporters
    • Awards
  • Archive
    • Search the Archive, 1972-present
    • Catalyst Issues
    • Reporter Issues
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • We Recommend:
  • See all of our COVID-19 coverage
  • ¿Cómo afecta COVID-19 a su barrio en Illinois?
  • Coronavirus en Illinois: mapa actualizado diariamente
teacher unions

Urban Prep, North Lawndale charters push to form union

By Melissa Sanchez Melissa Sanchez | February 20, 2015
More
  • More on teacher unions
  • Subscribe to teacher unions

Photo by Melissa Sanchez

Brian Harris of Chicago ACTS speaks at a press conference about union organizing at charter schools.

Citing excessive teacher turnover and a desire to share in how decisions are made at their schools, educators at Urban Prep Academies and North Lawndale College Prep announced today their intent to unionize.

If they’re successful, 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.

At a press conference Friday morning, teachers from the two charter networks – which are among the oldest and most well-regarded in the city – said they hoped that management at the schools immediately recognize their interest in joining the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS) without calling for secret-ballot elections, a sometimes protracted process.

“Please stand with us and set an example for this city by showing that effective charter school management does not fear the accountability of the union,” said David Woo, an English teacher at Urban Prep’s Englewood campus. “We believe in the vision you created and we believe you will stand up for charter school teachers.”

But while administrators at the two charter school networks said they strongly support their employees’ right to organize, they expressed their preference for secret ballot elections, a process outlined in federal labor law.

“We believe this is a fair and democratic process that allows all teachers to have their voice heard, and we do not feel it would be appropriate to rely on any other process that would deprive our teachers of this fundamental right,” said Evan Lewis, Urban Prep’s chief operating officer, in a statement.

Christopher Kelly, his counterpart at North Lawndale, agreed: “If our employees choose to have such an election, then they will have the opportunity to vote, in private, whether they want to be represented by a union or not.”

Teachers from both networks said their major complaints aren’t about pay – though they wouldn’t mind more competitive salaries. (A union organizer described the salaries at both networks as “middle of the pack” when compared to those of other charter schools.) Instead, teachers said the workloads are overbearing and that they’d like a greater voice in how policies and budgets are created.

Susan Keiffer-Barone, an English teacher at North Lawndale, said she wants to see teachers included in program and policy planning, and to push the school toward instituting practices such as peer mentorship and team teaching.

Woo said organizing efforts at his school began in earnest last summer, and were inspired by both the Chicago Teachers Union strike in 2012 and the successful unionization of teachers and staff at some Chicago International Charter School (CICS) campuses and the UNO network.

Even though there are two networks involved — meaning that there would eventually be separate contracts if they’re successful — educators decided to notify management that the majority of staff was interested in forming a union at the same time in a show of solidarity.

Union organizers say there are about 240 teachers and staff at the two North Lawndale and three Urban Prep campuses. If these employees are brought into the ranks of Chicago ACTS, that would push the union’s total to more than 1,000 members at 34 schools.

As school closures in Chicago have led to the layoffs of thousands of teachers in recent years, the growth of charter schools in the city has provided fresh terrain for labor organizing. Last spring, the charter union landscape shifted as UNO educators were preparing to vote on their first contract.  Since then, teachers at a fourth CICS also unionized.

Today’s announcement comes just days before the city’s municipal elections and teacher union activists took advantage of the political opportunity. Cook County Commissioner and mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia spoke at the press conference in support of the union efforts, while activists asked Mayor Rahm Emanuel to do the same.

But apparently Emanuel had already done so when asked by reporters earlier in the day. “Just as he was supportive when the teachers at UNO and other charter schools decided to organize with a union, Mayor Emanuel fully believes in the fundamental right of workers to bargain collectively,” said his campaign spokesman, Steve Mayberry, in an emailed statement.

Want more stories like this?

Get the latest from the Reporter delivered straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to our free email newsletter.

SIGN UP
More
  • More on teacher unions
  • Subscribe to teacher unions

About Melissa Sanchez

Melissa Sanchez

Melissa Sanchez is a reporter for The Chicago Reporter. Email her at msanchez@chicagoreporter.com and follow her on Twitter at @msanchezMIA.

  • More by Melissa

Related Stories

  • The Chicago teachers’ strike isn’t just about kids – it’s about union power too

    Teachers’ unions often say they go on strike to improve conditions for students. A closer look at recent walkouts suggests they are also fighting for something else: membership.

  • Urban Prep "college signing day"

    Union accuses Urban Prep of retaliatory firings

    Urban Prep Academies fired more than a dozen teachers last week, a move activists charge was tied to their union activities.

  • Latino Youth Alternative School teachers to vote on union contract

    Nearly five years after they started organizing to form a union, teachers at the alternative Latino Youth High School in Pilsen say they’re preparing to vote on their first labor contract.

Illinois coronavirus tracker

Illinois coronavirus tracker

About The Chicago Reporter

Founded on the heels of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, The Chicago Reporter confronts racial and economic inequality, using the power of investigative journalism. Our mission is national but grounded in Chicago, one of the most segregated cities in the nation and a bellwether for urban policies.

Email Newsletter

Keep up with The Chicago Reporter. Sign up for our eNewsletter.

Contact us

Got a news tip or a story you want us to cover? Email us at tcr@chicagoreporter.com.
Tweets by @ChicagoReporter
Chicago Reporter

logo-1-reverse-1

logo-1-reverse-1

About Chicago Reporter

Founded on the heels of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, The Chicago Reporter confronts racial and economic inequality, using the power of investigative journalism. Our mission is national but grounded in Chicago, one of the most segregated cities in the nation and a bellwether for urban policies.

  • About
  • Our Staff
  • Archive
  • Multimedia
  • Settling for Misconduct
  • Subscribe
  • Donate

The Chicago Reporter 111 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 820 | Chicago, IL 60604 | (312) 427-4830 | tcr@chicagoreporter.com

The Chicago Reporter is a publication of the Community Renewal Society, a faith-based organization founded in 1882.

Copyright ©2021 Community Renewal Society | Terms of Use

Chicago Reporter is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑