(h/t @kiwi)
Teachers aren't just fighting for better wages and better at universities and public schools: they're also doing that at an increasing number of charter schools, too. Look no further than BASIS, a charter school in Tucson which just became Arizona's first to unionize. By a 34-17 vote on Wednesday (April 12), the Arizona Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff won its union here. They will be affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (and thus the AFL-CIO, to which AFT is a member).
According to local newspaper Tucson Sentinel, a primary union concern was with hiring and retaining the necessary staff to keep the school functioning:
"The union was needed because we were losing teachers and the essence of the school’s culture at an unbelievable rate," said Connolly. "We want to protect the aspirations we've always had for our school. Under current circumstances, we can’t retain enough teachers to educate our students, let alone provide them with the depth of intellectual experience and support they deserve."
BASIS Educational Ventures, which owns the school, is of course a for-profit venture with strong incentives to limit its expenditures. Although they now claim they will bargain with the union in good faith, they strongly opposed the unionization effort and pushed for in-person balloting, so make of that what you will.
Hopefully this noteworthy milestone will encourage further unionization efforts in the charter school space–as the Sentinel notes, only about 12% of charter school workers are unionized, compared to perhaps 40 or 45% for public school workers.
I spent 7 years watching my teachers in these schools struggle to make a living while the school touted its test scores and teaching acumen. I am overjoyed to hear they will be organizing to make their working conditions better.