Chicago International Charter School Stalls Teacher's Union

By Kevin Robinson in News on May 19, 2009 3:20PM

Frustrated by an increased workload, a lack of say in how their schools were run and a desire to have a bigger say in the quality of education available to students, a group of charter school teachers took the steps that would have made the schools the first unionized charter schools in the state early last month. 91 of the school's teachers signed union cards and turned them into the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board, (IELRB) which certified the teachers' union. Under state law, an "educational employer shall voluntarily recognize a labor organization for purposes of collective bargaining if the organization appears to represent a majority of employees in the unit." Which means that if a majority of educational employees (such as teachers) sign union cards, the school must recognize their union.

Chicago International Charter Schools, which are managed by Civitas, however, now claims that the issue should be decided by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The difference? IELRB governs public schools, the NLRB governs private sector employees. The central question then becomes, are charter schools public schools, (and therefore governed by the IELRA) or private schools, (governed by the NLRA)? The catch? Charter schools, which receive taxpayer funding, are part of the public school system under state law. The legislation authorizing charter schools is rife with references to charter schools being part of the public school system. Specifically, the Charter Schools Law, (105 ILCS 5/27A‑5) states in section 27A‑5 that "A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non‑home based, and non‑profit school. A charter school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois." Until the NLRB rules on the matter, though, Civitas is refusing to recognize the union.