Education

You will be assimilated: DC teachers union wants to make charter teachers join

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The head of the union that represents teachers in DC Public Schools wants to change city laws to force teachers at the District’s public charter schools to become union members.

Nathan Saunders, president of the Washington Teachers’ Union, or WTU, said Wednesday that his members are concerned they will lose their union-negotiated contracts when DCPS closes some of its campuses next fall and teachers look to charter schools for jobs. The school system recommended Tuesday that 20 schools close at least temporarily and consolidate with other traditional neighborhood schools.

But the city’s charter school chief says requiring these teachers to pay union dues and negotiate contracts outlining their hours and salaries would undermine the point of charter schools: flexibility to innovate in areas where the traditional schools have failed.

Full story: D.C. schools union wants charter teachers to be required to join

The Washington Examiner