Firing of Pregnant Chicago Teacher Becomes Battle Over Charter School Unionization

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6301/firing_of_pregnant_chicago_teacher_becomes_battle_over_charter_school_/

Monday August 9 4:06 pm

By Kari Lydersen


Charter school teacher Rhonda Hartwell says she was fired for union organizing—just weeks before giving birth. (Photo courtesy Rhonda Hartwell)


June 23 was a big day for Rhonda Hartwell, until recently a teacher at the Chicago Math and Science Academy, a charter school in the city’s diverse Rogers Park neighborhood. CMSA is run by the national organization Concept Schools, as Kim Bobo described in this Working In These Times piece.

At 3 p.m. that day, Hartwell—eight and a half months pregnant—had a meeting with principal Ali Yilnaz to review her performance evaluations, which were stellar. She specializes in adapting curriculum for students with low level learning disabilities. She also planned to discuss her ideas as advisor to the school’s Junior National Honor Society chapter and her scheduled presentation to the school board that evening.

At 3:30 p.m., Hartwell, 32, planned to join other teachers marching into the office to present the results of their card check union election, wherein 67 percent of 55 eligible staff had signed affirming their desire to join the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (Chicago ACTS), an affiliate of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers that represents eight other Chicago charter schools.

Hartwell said the meeting with Yilnaz began well, as he praised her performance evaluation – with a top rating of five in every category, she said – and called her a model for other teachers. But then he had some bad news: the school was terminating the contract she had already signed to teach this coming year. Though teachers must pay penalties in the thousands of dollars if they decide to switch schools after signing a contract, employers are able to break the contracts.

Yilnaz told her it was because of state budget cuts, Hartwell said. But she is sure the move was retaliation for her leadership role in the union campaign. Hartwell said she was the only person to have an already-signed contract terminated, and that state budget cuts affecting schools are actually lower now than had been projected when she negotiated and signed her contract.

“I was the one who initially contacted (the union), I met with them on a regular basis,” she said. “One other teacher and I contacted the entire organizing committee. I had union meetings at my house.”

FULL story at link.