Comments on: With union decision imminent, KIPP is ready to start bargaining

By: First group of Chicago charter schools to unionize | The Charter Explosion

First group of Chicago charter schools to unionize | The Charter Explosion — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:10:06 +0000

[...] New York, teachers at the KIPP AMP school became a collective bargaining unit back in April. Green Dot, a well-known charter school network in Los Angeles, has unionized teachers. But there [...]

By: Unions and Charters « Old Songs From Nowhere

Unions and Charters « Old Songs From Nowhere — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:44:03 +0000

[...] April 26, 2009, 8:43 pm Filed under: Uncategorized I’m not sure where I stand on this issue and I’m not going to get into it here – I want to focus on teaching, not on politics. [...]

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:19:49 +0000

According to the American Educational Research Association, charter school teachers are 230 percent more likely to leave their jobs than their public school peers.
Perhaps unionization is not such a bad idea.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2009/04/are_teachers_jumping_the_chart.html

By: Socrates

Socrates — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:21:11 +0000

Any parent would apply for that, especially with KIPP’s track record.

By: JesseAlred

JesseAlred — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:23:35 +0000

This is a real quote from Mike Feinberg regarding Federal Express. Maybe he should do a commercial for them, the way he did for George W. Bush in 2000.

“When Federal Express started, the U.S. post office, which is a government monopoly like public school districts, was making “yes, buts.” Yes, but people don’t want overnight shipping guaranteed. Yes, but it’s too expensive . . .

When FedEx got to a 10 percent market share, that’s when the U.S. post office learned how to do next- day air shipping. So FedEx didn’t hurt the post office, it actually made them better.”

Mr. Feinberg’s metaphor fails because FedEX will take any paying customer. KIPP takes students whose families who apply to a school with longer school days, two hours of homework per night, Saturday schools twice a month and an extra month of school.

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:56:51 +0000

In fact, if just cause language is never actually utilized, it makes little difference to charter school teachers contemplating unionization. I think they have a right to know exactly what it means. It would be great if someone would tell them. As the UFT is determined not to discuss this at all, I think that’s the job of the press.

Perhaps Gotham Schools, for example.

By: norm

norm — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:22:53 +0000

Did someone mention the NY Teacher newspaper propaganda and how it will be inflicted upon those poor KIPP teachers? No one else reads it, why would they?

Now that they are union members those of us in the opposition to the UFT leadersip look forward to reaching out to them to tell them all about it and urge them to join us. See, paying all those dues IS worth something.

By: Smith

Smith — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:55:25 +0000

I don’t think we should ridicule the idea of just-cause language, even though I share your concern about the strength of it. It’s the same language that protects the rights of virtually all the other unions in the country. While it won’t provide the same protections as tenure, the consequences of losing a case won’t be the loss of a teaching license. Such a contract would be a big step forward for the KIPP teachers in their fight for dignity on the job, even if it represents a threat to those of us in the regular schools. But non-union charter schools are also a threat to our profession, so there are no easy answers here.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:38:30 +0000

Ahh KIPP, ever fighting with corporate style propaganda tactics. HR at kipp is a joke, teacher turnover will make “just cause” irrellevent anyway.

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:45:00 +0000

It’s illuminating to see charter school principals preoccupied their teachers may read things and decide not to work for them. Kind of reminds me of Nicole Byrne Lau, fired from a charter school for the egregious offense of showing her colleagues how much UFT teachers earn.

By: Ellen McHugh

Ellen McHugh — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:04:57 +0000

Why would a newspaper make it harder to attract teachers? And, since so many folks in these discussion seem to feel that the UNION is all-powerful, and that the UNION runs schools, and that the UNION get teachers higher pay for no work, why woulnd’t anyone want to be a member of that UNION.
You can’t have it both ways.
And besides, the DOE manages to have a lot of crowns and clowns in its own publications.
It’s always surprising tome that people don’t realize we are all in this together and make bug-a-boos of each other. Pointing fingers only allows the finger pointer to say…see, I told you so,

By: KitchenSink

KitchenSink — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:10:48 +0000

One thing I’d worry about: now their teachers have to pay those useless union dues, and be distracted by that union newspaper with its crowns and clowns in their mailboxes. So it’s going to be harder to attract teachers.

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:48:10 +0000

What’s to bargain? They can make a deal like the one at Green Dot, which offers neither tenure nor seniority rights. To justify the union dues, I suppose, they offer some kind of “just cause” clause, which the UFT claims is better than tenure, because there’s no waiting period. However, when I ask Edwize how many times the clause has been tested, or whether it’s ever saved a teacher position, they not only do not answer the question, they decline to publish it.

So why not a Green Dot style contract? That way KIPP can fire whomever they like “just cause” they feel like it, the UFT can collect dues dollars to support those important trips for AFT conventions, and everyone will be happy. Maybe they can even go the route of Green Dot NY and have no contract at all.

What the heck is KIPP worried about? Except for a dues deduction here and there, the whole “union-lite” thing ought not have any fundamental effect whatsoever.