Teachers at the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School in
King of Prussia have unionized.
After a long wait that included a controversial decision
by the National Labor Relations Board, ballots showed that teachers at the
school voted, 57-15, in favor of being represented by the PA Virtual Education
Association, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
Teachers voted in 2015, but the ballots were immediately
impounded when the school challenged the NLRB's jurisdiction.
Late last month, the NLRB voted, 3-1, to uphold its
jurisdiction. The ballots were opened and counted Wednesday.
The NLRB said it had oversight of the election because
charter-school teachers are employed by private corporations, not public school
districts. The board said that while charter schools are paid for with tax
dollars, they operate like government contractors.
The board made a similar ruling at the time in a case
involving a charter school in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Pennsylvania Virtual enrolls 2,320 K-12 students across
the state who receive online instruction in their homes. It is the third cyber
charter in Pennsylvania where teachers have unionized.
On Thursday, the school issued a statement noting that
the NLRB had ruled it was a private corporation. "We respectfully disagree
with this decision," the school said.
Officials said the cyber charter had been authorized by
the Pennsylvania Department of Education, enrolled students from across the
state, and was held to the same standards as public schools.
In addition, the school said its board members and
administrators were considered public employees under state law.
"We respect the right for our staff, who are public
employees, to organize under a collective bargaining agreement," the
statement said. "However, concerns remain regarding our public school
being categorized as a private employer."
Kevin M. McKenna, an attorney who represents Pennsylvania
Virtual, said its board would review the NLRB ruling this month.
Pennsylvania Virtual was not the first charter in the
state to have an election overseen by the NLRB.
In 2013, the now-defunct New Media Technology Charter
School in Northwest Philadelphia and an affiliate of AFT Pennsylvania held a
union election under the auspices of the NLRB rather than the state labor
board.
New Media sought the NLRB's involvement as a result of a
2012 board decision that a charter school in Chicago was not a public school
because it was founded by a nonprofit, was overseen by its own board, and was
not part of state or local government.
Source: Philly.com
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