AFT accuses Chavez Schools of violating federal law

The American Federation of Teachers has charged the leadership of Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy with violating federal labor law by retaliating against its own workers for unionizing and then closing its doors without consulting them. The union filed a complaint yesterday with the NLRB. Chavez workers voted 31-2 to join the AFT in June 2017 and have been attempting to negotiate a first contract ever since. In January, management abruptly announced it was closing Chavez Prep. “When we unionized, we did so because we wanted to be teammates whose voices were heard and valued in decisions regarding our school,” said Mateo Samper, eighth-grade English and language arts teacher. “Yet they made this decision without any communication or effort to engage any of us.” "Chavez Schools has become Exhibit A in how unregulated charters routinely ignore the transparency and accountability that public schools are bound to uphold,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten.