UFT Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff

http://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2016/05/17/charter-schools-raise-questions-but-no-sanctions-from-state-policymakers/ #.VzzMhuQYEns

Charter schools raise questions but draw no sanctions from state policymakers The Board of Regents renewed two charter schools despite discussions about student achievement at the schools.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/05/18/478358412/the-intolerable-fight-over-school-money =EfH7Sc

Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter school chain is under fire from all sides for its harsh discipline policies and treatment of students with special needs.

Success Academy under fire Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter school chain is under fire from all sides for its harsh discipline policies and treatment of students with special needs.The network, the city’s largest operator of charter schools, now faces an investigation by the institute that licenses charter schools in…

Filing Alleges Bias at Success Academy Network Against Students With Disabilities Parents of 13 current and former students of Success Academy filed a complaint against the charter school network with the federal Department of Education.

The SUNY Charter School Institute — which licenses charter schools — has opened an investigation into whether a Success Academy charter school in Brooklyn improperly used its disciplinary policy to force out struggling students.

SUNY opens probe into charter school over 'forced out' students SUNY will demand more information about Success Academy's disciplinary and suspension policies before signing off on new charter applications or renewals.

Members at Bronx Academy of Promise are demanding a fair contract at their school http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160113/high-bridge/teachers-at-bronx-charter-school-locked-controversial-contract-dispute

Teachers at Bronx Charter School Locked in Controversial Contract Dispute Bronx Academy of Promise teachers say the board is showing that they don't value experienced educators.

Back in November, teachers and professional staff at University Prep Charter High School approved new two-year contract by unanimous vote. http://www.uftacts.org/bronx-charter-school-ratifies-contract

Bronx charter school ratifies contract | UFT ACTS | The UFT Alliance of Charter Teachers & Staff Members from University Prep Charter HS in the South Bronx look over the terms of their contract after their ratification vote.

A case the Supreme Court will hear on Monday morning threatens to undermine a four-decade-old ruling that upheld a key source of funding for public-sector unions, the last major bastion of unionized workers in America. Help us get the truth out about this insidious case! Leaders of the “right to work” movement — which is funded largely by corporate interests and has helped 25 states ban fair-share fees — have been gunning from the start to overturn the court's longstanding precedent. Today they have a good friend on the court in Justice Samuel Alito Jr.

At the Supreme Court, a Big Threat to Unions Justice Samuel Alito actively dislikes a longstanding precedent protecting public-union funding. Now he has another chance to kill it.

Charter schools members at a chapter leader training this weekend.

Wishing everyone a restful, well-deserved vacation!

We are powerful as a union and our voices are heard as educators because we….

Educators at Bronx Academy of Promise are united for a fair contract

150 children from homeless shelters around the city were treated to games, crafts, treats, gifts and a special audience with Santa Claus at the UFT/Coalition for the Homeless holiday party at UFT headquarters on Dec. 12, 2015.

Senate passes rewrite of federal education law The U.S. Senate passed new national education legislation that bars the federal government from tying teacher evaluations to test scores.

from New York to the educators in Los Angeles who are organizing a union.

Breaking News: L.A. Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Charter Chain 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...

Congratulations to teachers at Grand Center Arts Academy in St. Louis for winning their vote to join the AFT - American Federation of Teachers!

Teachers at Grand Center Arts Academy vote to unionize : News Teachers at the charter school are one step closer to collective bargaining.

“The students with special needs would be the ones who lose the most.”

Success Academy Would Limit Special Needs at Bed-Stuy School, Critics Say Parents and teachers at P.S. 297 are opposing the proposal for a new Success Academy in the building.

Injunction Ordered by LA County Superior Court Judge Against Alliance’s Unlawful Anti-Union... On Thursday, December 3rd, the Hon. Judge James C. Chalfant issued a decision granting an injunction to stop Alliance’s illegal anti-union campaign behavior and restore our rights to organize. The injunction continues the orders of the temporary restraining order that Alliance and administrators MUS…

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Educators at University Prep, a high performing UFT-represented school in the South Bronx, unanimously ratified a new contract Friday afternoon.

Demands made for probe into Success Academy charter schools A group of school activists want an investigation into whether Success Academy is pushing out difficult students.

"We are concerned by the illegal anti-union campaign ... and the campaign to discredit parents who stand in solidarity with teachers," said Gabriela Garcia, whose daughter attends Alliance Richard Merkin Middle School.

Here's what parents have to say about union efforts at Alliance charter schools The fight to unionize the largest provider of charter schools in Los Angeles is beginning to divide parents.

Resolution calling for a moratorium on new Success Academy schools

Resolution calling for a moratorium on new Success Academy schools The UFT joins state elected officials and education and civil rights advocates in calling on the state Legislature to conduct an investigation into disciplinary conditions and the high rate of suspensions at Success Academy and calls for a moratorium on new Success Academy Charter Schools.

Alisha Mernick, a 30-year-old high-school visual arts teacher who has worked at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools for five years, said many union supporters feel that working under annual contracts prevents them from voicing complaints to administrators, and they believe union membership would provide greater job security.
“We’re constantly under the threat of not being invited back, and it’s very hard to speak out and say ‘no,’ even if they’re bad decisions,” Ms. Mernick said.

Unions Eye L.A. Charter Schools As teachers unions ramp up efforts to organize the fast-growing charter school movement, one of the biggest and most contentious fights is taking place at a chain of schools in Los Angeles.

"As this case moves forward, let it be clear to everyone what this is really about: the continued effort of a very few people to try to obtain more wealth and power for themselves at the expense of everyone else," said UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

AG Eric Schneiderman lends support to labor unions State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is lending his support to organized labor in a key case coming before the nation’s top court.

Teachers at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools in L.A. demonstrated the power of collective action this week. Their petition urging the charter chain's CEO not to use unreliable "Lexile" scores to lower teacher's salaries successfully secured the school's promise that salaries would not be lowered based on the score.

Alliance Agrees To Our Petition Request: No Reduction In Our Salaries Based on Unreliable Lexile... We are proud of the work we have done together, and proud of the overwhelming participation of teachers and counselors who signed our petition about the effect of Lexile scores on our compensation. As a result of our petition, Dan Katzir announced that no educator will suffer a reduction in salary b…

"'The state of unions in New York City is strong,' said Michael Mulgrew, President of United Federation of Teachers, citing 'the relationships of the union leaders' as essential to the survival and success of labor."

Labor Leaders Declare State of Unions Strong, At Least in New York Mayor de Blasio at a UFT conference (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office) Four of New York's top labor leaders assembled recently to give a state of their unions, and to assess the broader union climate in New York and elsewhere. Each sounding like a determined boxer in the middle rounds of a…