Chicago Teachers Union commends lawmakers for passage of Charter Neutrality Bill

CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Thursday commended the Illinois General Assembly for passing a bill that protects Illinois educators from intimidation, retaliation and interference when they organize to join a union in privately operated charter schools, a move that will help educators improve the teaching and learning conditions in their schools. The legislation, HB 1120, requires charter school operators taking public school funding to include a labor neutrality clause as part of its school authorization. Under such a clause, an employer agrees to refrain from opposing or taking a position on union organizing by their employees.

Charter school headlines for the week of April 14

CTU members at Instituto del Progreso held a week of action protesting the charter’s attempts to diminish contract protections. ChiArts members, parents and students rallied outside the charter’s regularly scheduled board meeting, which the organization canceled instead of facing public scrutiny. Hope educators voted unanimously to join the CTU and school officials immediately announced it would rather close the school, which mostly serves Black students, instead of bargaining collectively with its workers. In other news, YCLA announced it will be staying put at its Pilsen location.

8:30 am 2/22: Lightfoot, CPS and Charter Leaders Ignoring the Need of Migrant Students Placed in Chicago’s Public and Charter Schools

8:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 22: Press conference to demand great attention be paid by CPS, City Hall, and Charter operators to the classroom resources and wraparound services necessary to meet the needs of newly placed migrants in Chicago.

Next steps in the Charter Division Contract Campaign

First of all, congratulations on a successful October 19 Rally for Supportive, Safe and Sustainable schools (video from the picket line | video from the rally). We had folks from across the city from both charter and district schools show up to fight for more staff,...

Charter members want the best for their students — and are willing to fight for it

The CTU launched the first charter strike in the nation in 2018 and a few months later, embarked on the first ever multi-charter strike. Now, CTU’s Charter division is embarking on another groundbreaking strategy, a coordinated campaign, negotiating contracts at 35 schools in 13 different charter networks simultaneously.

Notice of Nominating Meetings for Charter and Citywide Delegate Vacancies

Notice of Nominating Meetings for Charter and Citywide Delegate Vacancies

On October 18 and 19, 2022 remote nominations meetings will be held for citywide functional groups that have delegate vacancies. If there are more candidates nominated on October 18 than vacant positions, an electronic election will be held on October 24 and 25, 2022. If there are more candidates nominated on October 19 than vacant positions, an electronic election will be held on October 26 and 27, 2022.

Charter Contract Campaign Fights for Supportive, Safe, Sustainable Schools

Charter Contract Campaign Fights for Supportive, Safe, Sustainable Schools

This summer and fall all of our charter contracts expire – and we have an opportunity to change the landscape of education after the trauma of the pandemic. We are fighting for supportive, safe, and sustainable schools in unionized charters, as phase one of a CTU-wide contract campaign. What we win in the charter space will directly affect district negotiations. Click here to read more.