ASPIRA Charter School teachers demand neutrality in union organizing drive

PHILADELPHIA – Teachers and staff at ASPIRA Charter Schools today delivered petitions to 

ASPIRA’s chief executive officer demanding that the charter-school operator pledge neutrality during their employees’ union organizing campaign.

The employees from four ASPIRA Philadelphia campuses said at a news conference outside the nonprofit’s North Philadelphia headquarters that the majority of teachers want a union, but after intimidation by ASPIRA’s administrators and board when the organizing campaign began, many employees are still too scared to publicly voice their support for a union.

“On Monday at the Dr. Martin Luther King DARE March we rallied for education but we also marched for the right for workers to form unions and bargain with their employers,” said Jerry T. Jordan, president of the 15,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. “Employees have every right to have a union and to have a voice in their schools and at the bargaining table.”

Teachers and staff have tried for three years to form a union, and originally faced significant intimidation and harassment from ASPIRA administrators. However, on Thursday for the first time, ASPIRA’s Chief Executive Officer Alfredo Calderon met with teachers on the sidewalk and agreed to meet with them about the demand for neutrality.

“I’m going to send Mr. Calderon an email to arrange a meeting,” said Olney Charter High School teacher Hanako Franz. “This is the first time he has even spoken with us in about two years.”

“The teachers filed several unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board over the tactics the schools were using to keep employees from unionizing,” said Antoinette Davis, president of the Alliance of Charter School Employees, Local 6056 of AFT Pennsylvania, the union employees hope to join. “ASPIRA settled the NLRB charges by agreeing to stop intimidating employees, but in the minds of teachers, the climate of fear management created still persists.”

Teachers delivered petitions with 145 teachers’ signatures from two ASPIRA charter schools, Stetson Middle and Olney High, to Calderon, who has refused past requests from the ASCE and from AFT Pennsylvania President Ted Kirsch to assure teachers neutrality during their organizing drive. Neutrality would allay teachers’ fears about retribution by administrators.

“We want to be part of a dialogue with ASPIRA. We've made repeated attempts to do so, but it does not seem like they are interested in listening to the voices of their staff,” said Franz. “I believe our administration and the ASPIRA board cares deeply about Olney Charter High School. We want to work with them to provide the best possible education for our students. Teachers and staff have valuable experience and input and are seeking a union so that we can advocate for our students.”

Ron Whitehorne, from the Coalition Advocating for Public Schools, said, “ASPIRA should not stand in the way of workers exercising their right to organize a union.  That public dollars have been spent in an effort to deny workers this basic right should concern all taxpayers and all those who value public education.”

“As a charter school teacher, I feel that we have amazing potential to be innovative in our pedagogy and approach to education, said Elizabeth Kim, a literacy and social studies teacher at Stetson Middle School. “Having a union will help make us attractive to students, parents and the community by making it clear that we value the needs and concerns of everyone who works directly with our students.”

ASPIRA operates Hostos, Pantoja, Stetson and Olney charter schools in Philadelphia and a cyber-charter school.

“Forming a union means that teachers will have both the responsibilities and rights of professionals,” said Katrina Clark, an Olney English teacher. “As teachers, we make thousands of decisions affecting the development of young people. Who better to be a part of the critical decision making than the very folks who will carry out the decisions?”

The goal of ASPIRAVOCES, the employee organization, was to secure a neutrality agreement from Calderon as quickly as possible, but ASPIRAVOCES also plans to launch a community neutrality petition on moveon.org to increase pressure on the board and administration to agree to neutrality.

“When you’re sick, you see a doctor. If you get sued, you talk to a lawyer. But if you want to educate children in this country, it seems the last people boards consult are the highly trained, professional educators who are in direct contact with students and families every day,” said AFT Pennsylvania spokeswoman Barbara Goodman. “For children to succeed academically, teachers must be able to advocate on behalf of their students without fear of retribution, and it’s impossible to do that effectively when teachers are denied their voice and a seat at the table where education decisions are made.”

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