The Merit Preparatory Charter School in Newark has been ordered to close down at the end of June due to low test scores. The school’s teachers are paid on a 12-month schedule for ten months of work. That means they are owed salary for July and August. At present, the school does not plan to pay what it owes the teachers. The teachers have turned to the Newark Teachers Union for help, even though they are not members of the union.
“Teachers at Merit Preparatory Charter School in Newark are not unionized and have individual employment contracts stipulating they work during the 10-month school year and have their paychecks spread out over the 12-month calendar year, according to the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey chapter.
“Some of those teachers’ contracts began in September 2016 and run through August 2017, with as much as $12,000 per teacher scheduled to be paid over July and August, the union said.
“The school, however, has informed teachers they will not receive their scheduled paychecks in July and August after it closes on June 30, a breach of teacher’s contracts, said John Abeigon, president of the Newark Teachers Union.”
“The bottom line is these people are employees in the state of New Jersey, they worked and they are owed and entitled to this money,” said Abeigon, who along with the AFT-NJ is helping the teachers try to secure their full pay though they are not union members.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Another good reason why all teachers should consider union membership and more–active participation in getting the leadership needed to take on unethical and illegal conduct by profiteers and teacher-haters.
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The two main teachers’ unions usually will not even consider charter teacher’s applications to join the union.
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So they expect the union to represent them even though they haven’t been paying union dues or otherwise contributing to the union? Wow, good gig if you can get it. Most of us in that situation would have to file a lawsuit or a complaint with the Department of Labor and we’d be on our own.
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Working at a non-union charter does not mean at least some of these teachers would not like to be union members. As important as I see unions to fair treatment of workers, I am for eating first. I have the “luxury” of not working at a charter although if it was a matter of being able to feed myself, there would be no contest.
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Almost there but the two are not exclusive. That is why the AFT/NEA must have a massive organizing campaign at charter schools.
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Agree.
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Dienne
The Union is not representing them out of the goodness of their heart .
When you launch a lawsuit against unscrupulous employers it accomplishes two things.
1)
It puts employers (plural ,not employer) on notice that even though their workers may not have Union representation . Those employers could be liable in court for violations of fair labor standards . Most employees do not have the time or resources to pursue lawsuits . Lawyers do not take these cases Pro bono .
This has been used very effectively in prevailing wage cases by construction unions ….
2)
Other employees see the real benefits of Union membership and are more willing to risk confronting employers in organizing campaigns.
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Then there should also be a stipulation for these “teachers” (many are TFAer’s) that they need to pursue a real teaching degree at a real teacher’s college. I’m all for unionizing and defending those that follow or want to follow the rules. It is unfortunate that this has happened, but people have consciously put themselves into situations to be abused and now they want to be bailed out? Now is the time for AFT/NEA to step up and make their presence known at the table.
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Lisa M
I agree on certification.
“but people have consciously put themselves into situations to be abused and now they want to be bailed out?”
I doubt there are many non union workers in skilled professions where unions are strong that would not jump at the chance to be Unionized. .
Sounds a lot like the immigration argument my grand parents came here legally , why cant you. A little secrete my Grand parents came into Ellis island and had their teeth inspected (LOL) there were no immigration laws till 1923 unless you were Oriental.
A union teacher with benefits in NJ makes how much more than a non union teacher (bennifits count) ?
Organizing is difficult not because of the workers but because of employers and their political control . As it stands now a worker who shows a tendency to want a Union is more likely to get laid off before he has that opportunity.
When new unions have been certified employers are more likely to prolong contract negotiations . Forever !!!!!!!!!!!!
The reason for the decline of Union density has more to do with banning the secondary boycott than even Right To Work laws . Or disappearing factory jobs.
A factory worker in Detroit had no more skill than a Walmart worker . Walmart would sign contracts awful fast if their goods rotted on boats in the harbor. In 2 right wing laws in 47 and 59 that right disappeared
Its been down hill from there. .
The American union movement has been dysfunctional from the start all to frequently willing to settle for advantage to their own workers while Rome burned around them.. The least we can do is realize that “there but for fortune go you or I “
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NICELY and necessarily said: unions do amazing things when they function by conviction.
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Sometimes a helpful gesture is a membership building tool. I applaud the Union coming to the aid of these charter school teachers. At least with good advice. No the Union does not have to go to extra lengths to help, but showing a generous heart is terrific.
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It sounds like this “institution” may lack, uh, merit.
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This seems to be the norm lately. Just what betsy Devos wants, screw the kids over with NO education, Screw the parents over by stealing their money, and the 1% ers getting rich off it.
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If the teachers’ unions will not pay for legal help to go to court, then those non-union teachers will have to do it all on their own, and even then they will probably lose because the corporate charter school can file bankruptcy if it already hasn’t done it.
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Unless the state agrees, (fat chance of that happening considering who the governor is) the final decision will be by a judge and if in the teachers’ favor, the corporate clones will probably file appeals that could take years ending in a settlement a decade or so from now that will be a fraction of what was owed.
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This is powerful evidence why the working class needs labor unions to stand up for them against autocratic corporate greed.
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Oh, the irony, with the evil teachers union now being called upon to help scabs.
And they’ll do it, as they should, since, scabs or not, these charter school teachers are workers who need help.
The question then becomes, what do these people do next? Do they evolve in their thinking and actions, or just cash their checks (assuming they are successful in getting the money they’ve earned)?
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Diane This just in FYI. Below is the link and abstract from a paper, 110 pages, published in Teachers College Record on charter schools.
Brilliant, Bored or Badly-Behaved?: Media Coverage of the Charter School Debate in the United States by Daisy Rooks & Carolina Bank Muñoz — 2015
ABSTRACT
Background: In recent years, charter schools have received a great deal of media attention, appearing in documentary films, newspaper articles, magazine profiles, television news programs, and even sitcoms and feature films. The media is not alone in its interest in charter schools; researchers in the public and for-profit arenas have also focused their attention on charter schools in recent years.
Questions: This paper employs qualitative content analysis to answer the following questions: What information have journalists contributed to the charter school debate in the United States? And how might this information have shaped or influenced the debate?
Research Design: To answer these questions, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of print media coverage of the early years of the charter school debate. We analyzed 145 articles about public charter schools and public alternative schools that appeared in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times between 1994 and 2006. We developed two types of coding categories: descriptive and interpretive. The descriptive coding categories captured the following information about each article in our dataset: the publisher, the type of school described and the student population. The interpretive coding categories captured reporters’ descriptions of the students, teachers, resources, and institutional cultures of charter and alternative schools.
Findings: Our analysis uncovered several interesting themes. First, we found that print media depictions of charter and alternative school teachers tended to be more positive than media depictions of teachers in traditional public schools. This was especially true of print media coverage of charter schools that serve low-income students and/or students of color. Our analysis also cast doubt on a core assumption of the charter school debate; that charter schools’ approach to educating their students differs significantly from that of traditional public schools and public alternative schools. In their articles about charter schools that serve middle-income students, reporters described institutional cultures and pedagogical strategies identical to those found in alternative schools with similar student populations. When reporting on alternative schools that serve low-income students and/or students of color, reporters described pedagogical strategies that mirrored those found in charter schools with similar student populations.
Recommendations: Further research is needed to determine whether charter and alternative schools are educating their low- and middle-income students differently. If future research confirms this, we warn that charter and alternative schools could be preparing their low-income students and/or students of color inadequately for higher education and work in professional environments.
http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=18016
TCRecord: Article
http://www.tcrecord.org
Brilliant, Bored or Badly-Behaved?: Media Coverage of the Charter School Debate in the United States by Daisy Rooks & Carolina Bank Muñoz — 2015
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SICKENING! Wonder where the $$$$$$ went?
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With all their “disruptive innovation” and “creative destruction” the hucksters of corporate education reform can’t seem to wrap their minds around a simple idea:
As the old saying goes, “a promise made is a debt unpaid.”
Of course, if they actually followed through on their own promises and claims—
Where’s the $tudent $ucce$$ in that?
😎
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These teachers got EXACTLY what they deserved: working for a non-unionized entity. Well, they don’t actually deserve to not be paid, but they deserve harsh consequences for not thinking like collectivists.
But if the money gets paid out with union support, does this mean that the union condones charters? That charters can value unionization? Both? That those teachers will or should flock to the public schools for employment? That nearly all charters just plain suck?
What did the private management company do with the operational budget money set aside to pay these teachers? Abscond with it? Huh?
See how this video explains how unions were one of the largest most critical factors in wealth creation and distribution:
https://me.me/i/attn-reich-on-income-inequality-and-donald-trump-well-worth-10202832
I will always unfailingly think that Americans have a lot to learn but can actually learn and grow and evolve. I will never give up that notion.
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The teachers’ unions will NOT allow charter teachers to join the union. What are they supposed to do? In many situations, new teachers don’t really have a choice but to work for a charter school for a year or two until a district school will even look at them.
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TOW,
Not true. The unions are actively trying to organize charter teachers.
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