How can we sign the petition in support of the teachers?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just what the school and parents and teachers want... all this aired on DCUM.

The organizing drive is hardly a secret at this point! This isn't dirty laundry; it's public employees exercising their rights.

Charter school employees are not public employees - they're employees of independently run nonprofit organizations. That doesn't change their right to organize under the NLRB rules. That said, they will find out, as I did, that union representation mars the relationship between employee and employer and dilutes employee voice. Caveat emptor, I guess. I'd never work as a teacher in a unionized environment again unless it was a bargaining unit of >500 members.

Different opinion - the nonprofit where I work has just 25 employees, 19 are in the bargaining unit. It can and very often does work, even when there are fewer than 500 members.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just what the school and parents and teachers want... all this aired on DCUM.

The organizing drive is hardly a secret at this point! This isn't dirty laundry; it's public employees exercising their rights.

Charter school employees are not public employees - they're employees of independently run nonprofit organizations. That doesn't change their right to organize under the NLRB rules. That said, they will find out, as I did, that union representation mars the relationship between employee and employer and dilutes employee voice. Caveat emptor, I guess. I'd never work as a teacher in a unionized environment again unless it was a bargaining unit of >500 members.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just what the school and parents and teachers want... all this aired on DCUM.

The organizing drive is hardly a secret at this point! This isn't dirty laundry; it's public employees exercising their rights.

+1. And there is a public petition for people in the community to support the driver's organizing effort. Everyone on that list got these via email.

It isn't a secret and shouldn't be. This isn't dirty laundry, but the Administration's response is disappointing. Expect an active disinformation campaign in the coming months, and MV money will flow to outside consultants to pay for it. There are communications and legal firms that specialize in union busting, and they aren't cheap.

Anonymous wrote:Just what the school and parents and teachers want... all this aired on DCUM.

The organizing drive is hardly a secret at this point! This isn't dirty laundry; it's public employees exercising their rights.

Come join the conversation on the LivingTree platform. In general, it'd be great to have more voices there. If you have trouble logging in, the front desk should be able to tell you who to contact for help (I can't remember).

Just what the school and parents and teachers want... all this aired on DCUM.

This is the letter the teachers who support the union sent on 4/12.


Dear Kristin and Alicia,

Thank you for replying to our email. While we appreciate leadership reaching out to better understand our position, we are disappointed that the request came after numerous staff and families reached out to set up meetings to do just that.

We came to our administration on Friday morning, April 12 in a spirit of cooperation; we do not seek disruption to our students or community. As you know well, this is a heavy time of year for staff between expo prep, standardized testing, assessments and end of year business. While we are open to having a meeting we want to be clear that we have little to discuss beyond our request: to have the school recognize our union in order to empower staff voice and give us a seat at the table.

We are concerned about delaying this process as we are eager to begin the collaboration process working as equals between staff and leadership. If you’d like to learn more about our reasoning then you can refer to the documents we shared on the 12th that include quotes and signatures from over 80% of staff. Our hope is that this process will be swift and productive so that staff can focus our time and energy on the crucial work we do daily.

We ask for recognition as teachers, as non-instructional staff, as parents, as spouses - as real people with real needs dedicated to Mundo Verde’s mission. If you ‘welcome the spirit of collaboration and cooperation’ then please- listen to our voice. Recognize our union.

We are ready to move forward. Over ninety members of our staff of approximately 115 have publicly signed on to our petition to unionize. Many Mundo Verde parents are also expressing active support, with over 170 having signed our petition urging the board to voluntarily recognize our union. We expect and are preparing for positive and collaborative negotiations that will address long standing issues and improve our working conditions, the education of our students, the experiences of our families, and our dignity as staff and community members.

As you have requested, we will meet with the board on Thursday, April 25th at 7:00 p.m. with the intent of signing a voluntary recognition agreement which:
· Acknowledges the rights of staff to unionize and bargain collectively, and
· Lays out a speedy timeline for the commencement of collective bargaining negotiations.

We expect the board to have a direct answer to our request for recognition - either yes or no. We trust the board will be decisive and answer the one and only question before we meet on Thursday. Our sincere hope is that, rather than wasting time and money having a public disagreement over basic rights, our board and administration will make space for all staff to speak their truth and truly collaborate as crew.

We appreciate your thoughtful advocacy as you consider our request.
The Mundo Verde Union

The school administration did not recognize the union, so the staff intends to proceed to the NLRB process.

This letter was sent to interested parties by the teachers group yesterday.

Dear Beloved Families, April 25, 2019

Thank you so much today for your generous support and the beautiful breakfast. Special shout out to the generosity of Big Bear for donating the food! We appreciate you beyond words. In tonight’s meeting, administration still did not recognize our union.

On April 12th we, the Mundo Verde Union, announced our formation to school leadership. We invited them to voluntarily recognize our union within one week. On April 19th, after numerous staff requested phone calls and meetings, leadership responded with an email asking for a meeting on April 25th and we responded with the letter attached here: Response to leadership 4/21. This most recent letter did not receive a response until today, April 25, at 8 am, and stated that the meeting is confirmed for this April 25th, and that the format of the meeting had changed. Initially the meeting was set up for the board to better understand the perspective of teachers and staff who had joined the union effort, the 8 am revised meeting invitation set a different agenda:

“Others have expressed interest in this issue and therefore, in the spirit of transparency and inclusion, I am extending the invitation to any and all interested staff. We are sensitive to the late notice of this invitation. While I am hopeful that many of you will join us, I also want you to know there will be additional opportunities for staff to learn more as this process moves forward. Tonight's meeting is for staff only and will take place at school at 30 P Street at 7 pm.”

Instead of seeking understanding, the re-imagined meeting was designed to provide an opportunity for the small minority of staff who had not asked for a union to confront the 96 colleagues who had. Administration and the board made it clear that they were not there to engage on the only question before them; whether to voluntarily recognize our union.

The response to our April 12th letter is one example of a pattern exhibited by Mundo Verde leadership including last-minute communication, gatekeeping the decision making process, and changing the rules under which we function. This pattern was seen in the way we learned about the expansion, changes to staff healthcare, and the roll out of bonuses, to name a few specific examples. These examples are why we need a union now more than ever. After refusing to admit families and community stakeholders at the door, we, the staff members present, agreed to enter the meeting and restate to our administration and board the one and only question before them: will Mundo Verde leadership voluntarily recognize our union? Leadership refused to make a decision tonight.

It is with a heavy heart that we must move this process forward and petition the Federal Government for an election. There is no question that with the support of 96 staff members and the support of over 350 parents and community members we will sit down at the bargaining table as equals with our administration. We are saddened however that our administration and board have chosen to delay and fight our right to do so. It is our hope that leadership will respect our right to a fair election so we may speak our truth and collaborate through a democratic process. We remain open to working collaboratively outside of the NLRB if the board decides to recognize us, but with only 7 weeks of school remaining, we must move the process forward. This work is urgent and our students deserve teachers who are able to fully engage in the decision making processes at their school.

We hope that you will continue to support us as we advocate for our seat at the decision making table. We value your insights and feedback as we move through this process. Please stand with us by joining the hundreds of parents and community members who have already signed our petition. We are in awe and profoundly grateful for all that you have done for us; your empathy, support, and encouragement have kept us focused on building a better Mundo Verde together.

With deep respect and appreciation,

The teachers and staff members of the Mundo Verde Union

Anonymous wrote:And let's be clear - the teacher's unions don't give a care for charter teachers - they want charters to close or come back into the traditional school system.

Weird and ahistorical claim. Charters were Al Shanker's idea!

Si se puede!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question- if teachers want a union why not join dcps? Our union doesn’t make things all butterflies & unicorns but it gives us due process for firing, collective bargaining, and a pension. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

All of those things sound good but having a pension seems unreasonable. Very few employers offer a pension most of us are lucky to have a matching 401k or the Non-Profit equivalent.

More should offer pensions. The move to 401k’s has been a dismal failure for workers.

AMEN!

Pensions can be a net even for employers as employees will often accept lower salaries or forgo some salary increases in change for a defined benefit pension. They also help an organization retain its employees.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious question- if teachers want a union why not join dcps? Our union doesn’t make things all butterflies & unicorns but it gives us due process for firing, collective bargaining, and a pension. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

All of those things sound good but having a pension seems unreasonable. Very few employers offer a pension most of us are lucky to have a matching 401k or the Non-Profit equivalent.

More should offer pensions. The move to 401k’s has been a dismal failure for workers.

AMEN!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with high numbers (for K) at MV and another HRCS, does this effort indicate anything I should be concerned about?

You should keep in mind the teachers are engaging in an effort that will help with stability and long term viability of the school. Charter school teachers are paid less than DCPS and without a seat at the decision-making table, they don't have a lot of power. So this may seem scary or unsettling to potential parents but its something that needs to happen if MV wants to start keeping teachers longer.

The problem is as mentioned on another post, charters are funded at a fraction of DCPS. But yes teachers need a voice. I hope this works out for the best.

Charters are paid less but also have choice and wide latitude in how they pay teachers, administrators, how many admins they have, and amount paid for related thing like lunch service, outsourcing or managing aftercare, consultants, running shuttle buses etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent with high numbers (for K) at MV and another HRCS, does this effort indicate anything I should be concerned about?

You should keep in mind the teachers are engaging in an effort that will help with stability and long term viability of the school. Charter school teachers are paid less than DCPS and without a seat at the decision-making table, they don't have a lot of power. So this may seem scary or unsettling to potential parents but its something that needs to happen if MV wants to start keeping teachers longer.

looking at the SBOE report on turnover, MV does not seem especially high. Am I missing something?