Charter school teachers move to form union
Teachers at the Cambridge Lakes Charter School could soon decide whether they'll be represented by a union.
More than 30 percent of the roughly 45 employees have signed union cards -- the threshold to force a union election, according to Diane Petersen, UniServ director for Region 25.
This means the Northern Kane Educational Corp., the nonprofit organization that runs the charter school, could soon be sitting down with teachers to hammer out a teacher contract.
"If they get enough votes to have a union, then you sit down … to bargain out a contract," said Petersen, who oversees the local arm of the Illinois Education Association.
The Illinois Education Association is the state's largest teachers' union and represents teachers in Community Unit District 300, of which the school is a part.
Teachers at the charter school in Pingree Grove have been meeting with representatives of the Illinois Education Association since the beginning of the year.
The teachers have said they want greater input in their employment contracts and classroom instruction, Petersen said.
The Illinois Education Association likely will file a petition for representation with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, which in most cases would then conduct a union election.
The state agency has not yet received such a request, a labor relations board spokeswoman said Monday.
If an election is held, employees will be able to choose the Illinois Education Association to represent them or no union at all.
Northern Kane Executive Director Larry Fuhrer did not return calls seeking comment.
The news comes less than two weeks after Tom Wermers, a charter school teacher who helped lead the push for a union, resigned his teaching post.
Charter school officials delayed the start of school on Feb. 25 to hold a staff meeting at which they asked employees to withdraw their interest in a union.
District 300's bus drivers and food service workers, both employed by private contractors, are also involved in efforts to unionize.