Gulen Charter School, Chicago Math and Science Academy (CMSA) teachers fight back for UNION!!!! NY Times..

March 12, 2011 CMSA (Chicago Math and Science Academy) board meeting
standing room only. 

It seems our friends over at Gulen's Chicago Math and Science Academy are still fighting back on the unionization

of their school.  Now their story makes the NY Times!  As previously reported on this blog, this group of teachers and many many parent and community supporters voted in a union over 10 months ago.  Shortly afterwards, the lead American teacher who had been rewarded for her performance with glowing reports and a bonus was fired (she was also 8 months pregnant at the time)   http://peoplesworld.org/stop-breaking-the-law-protest-tells-chicago-charter-school#PageComment_11124

The teachers, parents and community have asked the schools administrators for some of that Gulen "dialog" but have been pacified, ignored and even sent letters by the schools attorney, (see story on protest in front of his law offices- BTW he is also on the CMSA school board)  http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3871/Gulen-Cult-Legislators-to-welcome-ldquoUgly-Unionbustingrdquo-to-Hawaii-schools.aspx

 This group has also "attended" the Niagara Foundation - led by our identity confused Hakan (Willam, Jonathon, Gitano, etc.,) sponsored Gulen Movement dinner in Chicago.      This group was told by Hakan, they would have dialog....after all this is what Gulen is about.  http://pureparents.org/?p=15414

Many months later and the school, has not kept their word and is failing their Turkish Character.  Come to the bargaining table boys, the USA is watching you.  This is not Turkey.  Hakan, maybe you should make them some Noah's Pudding.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=a-global-community-2010-12-07

Unions Move in at Chicago Charter Schools, and Resistance Is Swift

By http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/us/08cncharter.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

REBECCA VEVEA

In a trend that worries charter school operators, teachers at 12 of Chicago’s charters have formed unions over the past two years, and the Chicago Teachers Union is seeking to organize all 85 of the schools.

Union leaders say the growing charter movement is changing the landscape of public education and, with its disdain for unions, could leave teachers without a strong voice on issues like working conditions, teacher evaluations and curriculum.

Administrators and operators are battling back, arguing that unionization could undermine the basic premise of the charter school model: that they are more effective because they are free from the regulations and bureaucracies that govern traditional public schools.

Unionization of charter schools is a major step for the Chicago Teachers Union. Though charter teachers in other cities have formed unions, Chicago is one of the first where the public school system’s major union has directed the effort, according to the American Federation of Teachers.

The unions at the 12 charter schools are affiliated with the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, which is a joint program of the C.T.U., the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers. At eight of the schools, teachers have contracts, at two they are in negotiation and at two they are fighting to be recognized by their school administrations.

“At some point, we would like all the charter schools to be part of C.T.U.,” said Jackson Potter, the union’s staff coordinator.

There were no charter school unions in 2008, when the Chicago Teachers Union formed its Charter Outreach Committee to knock on doors and help charter teachers organize.

Nationally, 604 charter schools, roughly 12 percent, have collective-bargaining agreements. But 388 of those schools are in states where the law dictates that charters be included in existing collective-bargaining agreements with local districts, according to data collected by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Illinois law does not require charter schools to be part of local collective-bargaining units.

Chicago could play a key role in shaping the relationship between teachers and charter school operators in a struggle likely to grow weightier and more complex as the number of unionized charter schools continues to grow.

The most recent fight between charter teachers and administrators is under way at Chicago Math and Science Academy on the North Side. Teachers at the widely acclaimed school have formed a union under Illinois law, but the administration has refused to begin negotiating a contract.

Academy administrators agree that teachers have a right to organize and bargain collectively but say they are not obligated to negotiate with the union because Chicago Math and Science Academy is private and falls under federal — not state — labor laws, according to a statement read at a recent meeting of the academy’s board.

Union leaders contend that because the school receives more than 80 percent of its financial support from public sources, the administration is obligated to recognize the union.

“The employers are gaining nothing by dragging it out,” said Shaun Richman, deputy director of organizing for the American Federation of Teachers, because there are only slight differences between state and federal law.

Many charter school teachers say they are concerned about how a union might change their working conditions.

“My fear is that it’s going to create a mountain of red tape,” said Timothy Stevens, an English teacher at the math and science academy, who started teaching there in 2006.

Some unionized teachers say unions have had little impact on the culture of their schools.

Brian Harris, a special-education teacher at the Chicago International Charter School Northtown Academy, where teachers and administrators signed their first contract in October 2009, said decisions were reached after discussions between the administration and a small group of teachers at the school, not an outside organization.

“As I’ve understood it,” Mr. Harris said, “the importance of the autonomy of charter schools is in the school’s ability to create and innovate around educational programs, things the union has no control over.”

Teachers in traditional public schools are covered by a single labor contract negotiated by the Chicago Teachers Union. But those affiliated with the Chicago Alliance of Charter School Teachers have individual councils that bargain with their administrators to reach contracts specific to the needs of each school.

“When most folks think of collective bargaining, it’s this 300-page monstrosity,” said Todd Ziebarth, vice president of state advocacy for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “I think they’re hesitant because they just think they will get sucked in to this one-size-fits-all thing.”

Union leaders say the new charter-school contracts tend to be no longer than 50 pages.

“A charter ultimately could be judged based on how thin they can keep those contracts by running schools that respect the profession of teaching, support student learning and ensure they continue to attract and retain top-quality teachers,” said Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union.

Leaders of the charter school movement in Chicago say they hope they can avoid widespread unionization by letting teachers have a voice in running their schools.

“I’d like to think that if we have really strong schools where they feel empowered and respected, there shouldn’t be a need, or teachers shouldn’t feel pressure, to unionize,” said Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

Some charter school administrators welcome the idea of a teachers union. In the Green Dot Public Schools network in Los Angeles, teachers and administrators “deconstructed the big old union contract” and created one that aligned with their vision, said Marco Petruzzi, president and chief executive of Green Dot.

Green Dot teachers are paid more than public school teachers and are granted more flexibility in how they teach and organize their schedules.

“Generalizing what teachers want is tough,” Mr. Petruzzi said. “We strive to keep decision making at the school sites.”

Too often, contracts for large urban school districts seem to take their cues from the manufacturing industry, dictating long lists of tasks and strict schedules to follow, Mr. Petruzzi said.

So far, no data has been gathered showing a correlation between student achievement and whether a charter school is unionized or not.

But for students and parents at Chicago Math and Science Academy, perhaps the most important concern is not whether teachers unionize, but rather what the conflict is doing to the school.

Carlos Tyler said the school had helped her two sons tremendously.

“I can’t say I’m for or against the union,” Ms. Tyler said. “I just want you to be here because of the kids. I’m begging the administration and the teachers, just make it work.”

rvevea@chicagonewscoop.org

UPDATE ON SETTLEMENT WITH PREGNANT TEACHER 4/10/2011

http://aftacts.org/charter-news/151-charter-school-agrees-to-settlement-for-pregnant-teacher-who-was-fired-for-organizing-union

Charter School Agrees to Settlement For Pregnant Teacher Who Was Fired for Organizing Union

CHICAGO—The Chicago Math and Science Academy, a public charter school, has agreed to a $40,000 back-pay settlement to a highly regarded teacher who was fired in June after she helped organize a union at the school.

Rhonda Hartwell, who was eight months pregnant at the time she was fired, had been actively involved in organizing a union at the school. Hartwell was fired just after she received a $1,500 performance bonus and a contract renewal. She had to move up her scheduled delivery to ensure it occurred before her health insurance was cut off. The case was settled in mediation.

“CMSA is adamantly opposed to the union organizing effort and used this teacher as a scapegoat. Its scheme to use an illegal scare tactic backfired—CMSA teachers want a union more than ever to have a voice in working and learning conditions without fear of reprisal,” said Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “This case illustrates clearly just why having a union is so critical.”

Since the teachers filed for representation, CMSA has spent over $113,000 of taxpayers’ money in legal fees to fight the union.

“There is no accountability here for the way taxpayer dollars are being spent. The school claims it is a private employer, but make no mistake, these are public dollars that could be better spent helping children succeed,” Montgomery said.

School officials continue to challenge the teachers’ right to form a union, even though the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board certified the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS) as their exclusive bargaining representative in November. Two-thirds of the teaching staff—well over the majority required by law—signed union authorization cards to be represented by Chicago ACTS.

The school continues to claim its teachers are private employees subject to the National Labor Relations Act. The National Labor Relations Board is expected to rule on the matter soon. Chicago ACTS, which represents teachers at a dozen Chicago-area charter schools, is an affiliate of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers.