Judge James C. Chalfant issued a preliminary injunction against the largest charter chain in Los Angeles, preventing the charter corporation from interfering with teachers’ rights to unionize. This is significant, because nationally, more than 90% of charter schools are non-union and attract support from anti-union, ultra-conservative foundations like the Walton Family Foundation to break the teachers’ unions.
The injunction, which was sought by California’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), follows a temporary restraining order the judge issued in late October when he ordered Alliance to cease activities that PERB and UTLA claimed were blocking the unionization effort.
The injunction is another legal blow to Alliance, which is LA Unified’s largest charter organization with 27 schools and around 700 teachers who are currently not represented by any union. After PERB sided with UTLA, the union won the restraining order, and PERB took the rare legal step of going to court itself against Alliance, filing a formal complaint in August.
Alliance officials have made no secret of their opposition to its teachers’ unionizing and have maintained that their actions are legal. Alliance spokesperson Catherine Suitor asserted that PERB and the court based their rulings on inaccurate information provided by UTLA and that UTLA is using delay tactics in court because it has not garnered the support of a majority of Alliance teachers….
In his ruling, Judge James C. Chalfant said Alliance administrators should be enjoined from:
Maintaining or sponsoring petitions on its website soliciting employee signatures that affirm opposition to unionization.
Polling certified employees about their positions on unionization.
Denying UTLA representatives access to school sites after-hours.
Blocking UTLA emails to Alliance employees.
The judge also ruled that Alliance officials must refrain from approaching any UTLA official within 100 feet outdoors or within 40 feet indoors (unless student safety is involved) and that Alliance officials must meet with UTLA officials to discuss implementing the preliminary injunction.
Chalfant’s earlier order invited the parties to argue in court on Nov. 17 why a preliminary injunction of 90 days should not be issued. But he ruled yesterday that his injunction would remain in effect until Alliance complied with the PERB administrative proceedings on all complaints.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
And this is why teachers should hang in with their union…UTLA.
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Gee Ellen, maybe public school teachers would stick with UTLA if they defended them as aggressively as they do charter teachers. Hey wait, UTLA didn’t defend union members at all when they were in teacher jail. Currently what are they doing, denying legal representation for members and failing to disclose use of dues revenue to members. Maybe charter teachers should reconsider another Union to represent them. With UTLA, they’ll get nothing after you become a member. Sad but true.
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To Paula: can they start their own union? This brings to mind Brian Cranston’s comments in his Variety.com interview with Jason Segal, regarding his new film, Trumbo. Cranston says he was shocked how the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild did nothing to protect the artists during the black list era. Nothing surprises me anymore.
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Diane, off-topic, Ohio charters are making a radio-ad appeal to rush approval of a Similar Students Measure like CA’s — presumably in time to avoid embarrassment when state report cards are issued & to get their hands on state & fed $ available to higher-rated charters. “The schools want the state to quickly adopt a school rating system used in California known as the “Similar-Students Measure (SSM)” that adjusts grades for schools and districts based on the socioeconomic challenges facing students. Those include student disabilities, poverty, limited English-speaking ability and mobility, or how long kids stay at a school before moving.” http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/12/tart_last-minute_radio_campaign_to_avoid_bad_grades_for_report_cards_and_sponsor_evaluations.html#comments
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The Cleveland paper should print the names of the people who are lobbying for this instead of just the charter organization.
Many of the lobbyists are former lawmakers or people who worked for lawmakers. Also, this is the first time I’ve ever seen ECOT directors named, although they’re paid 100% by the public.
Public school superintendents are always named in media accounts. The same standard should be applied to charter school directors.
How much are these former lawmakers paid to lobby their colleagues for special treatment for charter schools?
http://www.ocqe.org/#!ocqe-team/c1y5o
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This other story on the charter push for test score “adjustment” points up the hypocracy of this move:
“This latest push is a major change in rhetoric from charter school supporters who have slammed urban schools as failures for years. And most charter schools exist in cities only because of the grades Adler now calls “inequitable.'”
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/07/charter_schools_want_their_inequitable_bad_grades_in_urban_areas_changed.html
Incedentally, according to the latest charter industry report, Cleveland now ranks in the top ten districts nationwide in percentage of students already in charters:
Click to access enrollmentshare_web.pdf
Now that their ‘failing school’ assault against public schools in cities like Cleveland, they want a “little help” for their ‘no excuses’ charters.
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Re: Clevland: at least this right wing think tank shows its consistency;
A step back in accountability | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
[…]
“If existing measures show that charter schools are underperforming, it seems that some charter operators have decided that it would be easier to change the yardstick used to assess them than to improve student achievement.
As the Columbus Dispatch reported recently, at least one charter school operator is pushing Ohio lawmakers to replace the state’s current “value-added” accountability framework with a “Similar Students Measure” (SSM), similar to metrics used in California. Doing so would be a gigantic step back in accountability andIf existing measures show that charter schools are underperforming, it seems that some charter operators have decided that it would be easier to change the yardstick used to assess them than to improve student achievement.
As the Columbus Dispatch reported recently, at least one charter school operator is pushing Ohio lawmakers to replace the state’s current “value-added” accountability framework with a “Similar Students Measure” (SSM), similar to metrics used in California. Doing so would be a gigantic step back in accountability and… blah,blah”
http://edexcellence.net/articles/a-step-back-in-accountability
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Sorry the cut and paste above came out wrong.
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Yes, charter teachers can form their own union. Why not? They have in other places, Chicago for one. I’m not advocating a division of Union power but if an organization is not working for you, what good is giving your dues for nothing.
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