The staff and teachers at City High and Paulo Freire Schools are allowed to unionize, according to a federal ruling on Friday — paving the way for more charter schools in Arizona to form unions.
The ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, says the group — about 40 teachers and staff that serve about 285 students at three schools — can hold an election and vote on whether to unionize even though the Board of Directors stalled their efforts earlier this year. The election is set for May 19, which is graduation day at City High School.
“In unionizing, we’re hoping to build a stronger and more resilient community among staff. We are saving our concrete asks for the bargaining table, but forming our union gives us more safety to be able to continue doing our jobs in the immediate future,” said Haley Odom-Mackey, a City High algebra teacher…