A historic first: country's first charter school strike may be over, with a victory for teachers
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Acero charter school teachers walked off the job in Chicago on Dec. 4, beginning the first charter teachers strike. By that Friday, Acero Schools officials were saying that the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was “violating” the Illinois Educational LaboA historic first: country's first charter school strike may be over, with a victory for teachers
Acero charter school teachers walked off the job in Chicago on Dec. 4, beginning the first charter teachers strike. By that Friday, Acero Schools officials were saying that the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was “violating” the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. The CTU for their part, tried not to laugh out loud at the clearly desperate attempt (by what amounts to “management” in a charter school scenario) to paint teachers’ actions as anything other than righteous. Here’s how CTU president Jesse Sharkey responded to Acero’s allegations in a statement to New York magazine: “Acero’s management is desperate, and our pressure is working. There is nothing illegal about our strike over wages, benefits, class size and other conditions that are mandatory subjects of bargaining under the federal labor law that governs this contract. Acero CEO Richard Rodriguez is a political hack trying to build his personal empire and the size of his wallet at the expense of our students. A growing groundswell of parents, neighborhood residents and elected officials are rejecting his spectacular greed, just as the courts will reject this desperate move to hoard power and public dollars at the expense the children in these schools and the educators upon whom they rely. This is a pathetic and predictable ploy. Our bargaining team is at the table now and intends to work through the weekend to win a fair agreement.” Damn. As LaborNotes.org points out, Acero charter schools CEO Richard Rodriguez is paid more for supervising roughly 8,000 students than than the Chicago Public Schools superintendent is for overseeing more than 350,000 students. The Chicago Tribune reports that Acero’s rhetoric was all bark and no bite. More than 500 teachers and support staff will return to 15 Acero campuses across the city Monday after walking off the job and missing four days of school last week. The workers will vote in the coming weeks to approve the contract, which promises better pay and hours for teachers as well as smaller class sizes and sanctuary school protections for the majority Latino student body. Read more