School teachers union voted to join public school colleagues

CHICAGO (AP) - Members of the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, the union representing teachers at city's charter schools, have voted to join the Chicago Teachers Union.

ChiACTS officials announced Friday that 671 of its members voted to consolidate with the CTU, while 130 members opposed the merger.

Members of the CTU are expected to vote in the fall whether to go through with consolidation of the unions.

If the unions consolidate, teachers at each unionized charter school network would still operate under separate contracts negotiated with each charter school operator. They would be separated from the contract governing relations between the CTU and the Chicago Board of Education.

Unionized charter teachers would have the right to vote for CTU officers and win seats on the larger union's executive board and House of Delegates.