Posted on Jan 15, 2010
After almost a year of fighting, teachers at Harriet Tubman Village Charter School, located in the San Diego College Area, won union recognition on Jan. 13. Tubman teachers began a union organizing drive with SDEA because they want a union contract that protects them from reprisal when they speak out for students, their school and themselves. Without a union, teachers had little recourse against the threat of being unfairly fired. A union contract that secures their pay, health benefits and retirement is also important to the teachers at Tubman.
“We put in a lot of hard work for our school and in return we expect security and fairness,” says Tubman teacher Wendy Wells. The next step for the 11 teachers at Tubman Charter will be to bargain a fair union contract.
The charter school movement is growing, but most charter school employees still don’t have a union. A lower rate of union membership in public education is a threat to all teachers, even those of us who are already union members. SDEA members are helping charter school teachers organize because in the fight for better jobs and better schools, we’ll be stronger if District and charter teachers stand together!
Congratulations to the Tubman Charter School Organizing Committee: Wendy Wells, Vicki Niday, Rachel Varga, Rachel McCoy, Shivani Burows-Goodwill, Michelle Mead, Spencer Kim, Jeff Collings, and Lynda Motsenbocker.