Chicago, IL – Chicago teachers Union (CTU) teachers and paraprofessionals in the Acero/UNO charter network have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract that will dramatically improve teaching and learning conditions in the charter network’s 15 campuses across Chicago. The wins were achieved after a historic five-day strike that saw hundreds of union educators and paraprofessionals take to the streets to demand a fair contract, joined by parents, students and allies calling for change at schools run by Acero. Growing numbers of elected officials joined in the call for a decent contract and accountability from charter executives.

CTU members employed by Acero approved the agreement Friday, December 14, with 98% voting in favor. Of 485 votes cast, 474 union members voted yes. Voting took place by secret ballot in Acero's 15 schools. The new contract mandates equal pay for equal work by matching Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teacher salaries, class size reductions, new special education safeguards and sanctuary school protections for the charter’s majority Latinx student population.

As the first strike of a charter operator in the nation, the walkout is a warning call to other charter companies in Chicago and across the country: teachers will take to the streets to stop the shortchanging of their students and ensure that public dollars are directed to classrooms, not boardrooms.

“We said from day one that this strike was about educational justice for our students and their families, and the contract our members overwhelmingly approved advances that cause,” said CTU President Jesse Sharkey. “But we've also shown Chicago and the nation that the collective power of teachers, paraprofessionals, students and communities can transform not just our classrooms but an entire industry.”

The contract ratified by Acero/CTU educators and paraprofessionals includes enforceable class size reductions and management penalties for class size violations. It also features management commitments to comply with special ed laws and staffing levels, which have been a chronic problem in both CPS charter and district schools, protecting resources for the schools' most vulnerable students. It provides for equal pay for equal work with CPS educators, who teach the same students but whose compensation has been significantly higher than those working for private charter operators. Sanctuary school protections, including language enshrined in the contract that bars schools from asking students about their family's immigration status, and that bans ICE from school property or access to student records without a legal mandate are also a part of the contract.

“I'm so proud of our teachers and paraprofessionals and all the parents and students who walked the picket lines with us in the cold each morning,” said Martha Baumgarten, a fifth-grade teacher and member of the bargaining team.

The strike drew national attention from educators and labor leaders who recognized the historic significance of challenging the influential business interests and corporate elites that promote charters as a cornerstone of their school privatization agenda. It also comes as Chicago's charter industry is losing one of its biggest backers, outgoing Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“This is a victory for every educator who sees children getting short-changed by privatization and charter operators putting their business models over the needs of our students,” said Chris Baehrend, chair of the CTU Charter Division. “With this strike, CTU members have demonstrated their resolve to do what it takes to hold the charter industry accountable and put public dollars where they belong – into the classrooms and educations of our students.”

Acero's board of directors is expected to ratify the contract in the coming days. CTU members are currently bargaining for new contracts with ten other charter operators, and educators at four CICS charter schools have voted to authorize a strike. CTU members at CPS district schools expect to begin bargaining a new contract in January.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes #TeachersUnions #CTU #UNOACEROCharterSchoolNetwork

The strike is the first of a charter operator in the nation. It began almost five years to the day after the charter operator's previous CEO was forced to resign for doling out insider contracts and living large on public dollars that should have bankrolled schoolbooks and student supports.

On Friday, December 7, UNO/Acero management filed unfair labor practice charges – a ULP – against the CTU, based on bogus allegations that even the charter operator's lawyers described as 'hearsay' and the union described as a desperate press stunt. On Saturday, Latinx elected officials publicly blasted Rodriguez, telling him to either reach a fair agreement with strikers or resign.

A rally of strikers, parents, neighborhood residents and labor allies will take place on Sunday, December 9, at 1 p.m. at the CTU union hall at 1901 W. Carroll Avenue.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #ChicagoTeachersUnion #Strikes #TeachersUnions #charterSchools #UNOACEROCharterSchoolNetwork

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) teachers, paraprofessionals and support staff at 15 charter schools run by the Acero charter network (formerly known as UNO) are in the second day of their historic strike.

Management and the CTU bargaining team remain far apart on critical issues that include UNO/Acero's treatment of paraprofessionals and educators' demand for lower class sizes, which are currently set at 32 students per class – four more than what Chicago Public Schools seeks to meet at district-run schools. CTU members have called those class sizes both outrageous and unsafe for students, particularly children in kindergarten through second grade, where one adult simply does not have the capacity to safely supervise, let alone educate, 32 young children.

Management also continues to refuse to include language in the contract that would provide assurances that Acero would follow federal law in providing special education services to students and refuses to include a commitment in the contract to ensure that its schools operate as sanctuary schools, a virtually no-cost commitment that would provide protection for its overwhelmingly Latino student population.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #ChicagoTeachersUnion #Strikes #TeachersUnions #UNOACEROCharterSchoolNetwork

Chicago, IL – “We see students. They see dollars!” chanted the 30 strikers, parents and students in front of the Paz school in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, December 4. More than 500 teachers and other professionals, members of the Chicago Teachers Union–Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, are on strike this morning in the UNO/ACERO charter school network. CTU is again leading the way in the first strike in the country against a charter operator.

The strike by these educators is over resources for the students, such as classroom size, and hiring enough special education positions. ACERO teachers are also demanding better wages, as they make $13,000 a year less than teachers in the public schools, and work more than 100 hours a year longer. At the same time, the charter school network received over $10 million more from tax payers this year, but spent $1 million less on the students.

ACERO has continued the reputation of corporate greed and corruption of its predecessor, UNO. According to Dina Fennerty, a striking teacher at the Paz school in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, “The name changed, but not the way they treat teachers or students.”

The union is vowing to continue the strike until their demands are met.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Strikes #TeachersUnions #ChicagosLittleVillageNeighborhood #UNOACEROCharterSchoolNetwork #ChicagoTeachersUnionAllianceOfCharterTeachersAndStaff