Teachers in Detroit's largest charter school district voted last night to be represented by a union.
Cesar Chavez Academy teachers and staff voted two to one to have a unit of the American Federation of Teachers represent them.
Only a small number of Michigan’s charter schools have unionized employees.
Nate Walker is with the AFT. He expects teachers in some other Michigan charter schools will also unionize this year.
“I think in the future we can certainly expect more collective bargaining campaigns,” says Walker, “But we can also expect charter school teachers to engage in the policy discussions that impact them.”
Cesar Chavez Academy is the first of the 60 charter schools in five states run by its parent company to unionize.
