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Chicago charter school network could face first-ever teachers strike

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Teachers from the UNO Charter School Network, one of Chicago’s largest charter school systems, voted overwhelmingly Thursday in favor of a strike if workers and management don’t reach an agreement before Oct. 19.

The vote was nearly unanimous, with 531 of 532 members of UNO’s unionized workforce voting, and 96 percent of those ballots cast in favor of striking if workers can’t come to a fair agreement with management by Oct. 19, the day set for a walkout by UEU, the United Educators of UNO, according to spokeswoman Erica Stewart, a fifth-grade teacher at the Sandra Cisneros UCSN campus in Brighton Park and a member of the bargaining team.

The strike would be the first in U.S. history of a charter school or charter network. […]

The union is looking for a slightly longer summer than the current five weeks off. It wants six weeks and two days.

It also is asking management to cap class sizes at 32 students.

* WBEZ…

A representative for the UNO Charter School Network could not immediately be reached for comment. But Richard Rodriguez, the CEO of UCSN, has been posting weekly updates in English and Spanish for parents and the public.

“It is UCSN’s position that there is no need for a strike, as teachers received their salary raises for this current school year in August 2016, and UCSN continues to negotiate in good faith on these and any/all pending matters,” Rodriguez wrote in the two most recent letters.

The vote this week does not mean a strike at UNO schools will definitely happen. If it does, it won’t happen at the same time as the Chicago Teachers Union, which is threatening to go on strike Oct. 11. UNO schools already have a fall break scheduled next week.

* Related…

* The Disproportionate Stress Plaguing American Teachers

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 7, 16 @ 12:20 pm

Comments

This strike is obviously in the best interest of the students. Teachers can’t be effective unless they have at least six weeks and two days off in the summer.

Comment by Phenomynous Friday, Oct 7, 16 @ 12:34 pm
=This strike is obviously in the best interest of the students. Teachers can’t be effective unless they have at least six weeks and two days off in the summer.=

Spoken like someone who has never done the job

Comment by Carhartt Representative Friday, Oct 7, 16 @ 12:39 pm
From The Atlantic article, Mike Anderson, veteran educator on the system used in American education towards teachers, “It’s almost like a recipe for making people feel incompetent.”

The article goes on to talk about the “flavor of the month” type of education. Many of those proscribing this “Baskin Robbins” style of education evolution are not seasoned educators. They are administrations who are educating from the podium not the trenches. One size does not fit all programs, and retrofitting the garment just to be part of the latest fashion trend does not clothe the entire community. If students cannot read, write, or do arithmetic at their grade levels from K-8th grade, is it any wonder once they get into high school they fail. If teachers are not given the time to plan for ALL their students, adequate class size to be able to deliver well to ALL their students, and support from the school district and parents to be able to become even better teachers for ALL their students through meaningful (not check the box I did it workshops) professional development, then schools will fail in their primary mission.
http://www.missionstatements.com/school_mission_statements.html

Comment by Anon221 Friday, Oct 7, 16 @ 12:56 pm
=This strike is obviously in the best interest of the students. Teachers can’t be effective unless they have at least six weeks and two days off in the summer.=

It also is asking management to cap class sizes at 32 students. Explain to me why that’s a problem.

Comment by Name/Nickname/Anon Friday, Oct 7, 16 @ 1:27 pm
Not surprising. Just like CTU, UEU is an affiliate of AFT.

Comment by City Zen Friday, Oct 7, 16 @ 2:45 pm
Most if not all union locals have a mother or national union that they are affiliated with.

Comment by HRC2016 Saturday, Oct 8, 16 @ 11:24 am