Teachers need the full story before unionizing

The Oct. 12 article “Staffers Seek to Unionize at Propel Charter Schools” should raise alarm bells for all charter school teachers. No charter school educator is better off joining the teachers union. The Pennsylvania State Education Asosciation will take their dues while working against their interests in Harrisburg.

PSEA’s western region advocacy coordinator said in the article that he was “close to submitting a [union certification] petition to the National Labor Relations Board.” Why unionize public school Propel under private-sector labor law? It’s a red flag.

The PSEA intends to sidestep a recent Supreme Court precedent protecting public employees like teachers from forced union fees. By going the private-sector route, the PSEA might try forcing every Propel employee to pay dues or fees.

PSEA and its parent union, the National Education Assocation, have been officially anti-charter since at least 2000. Leaked internal documents revealed the “PSEA would prefer that public funds be used for the regular public schools,” not charter schools. In 2017, the NEA reaffirmed that charter schools should only exist if “necessary” and “authorized or expanded only after a district has assessed the impact ... on local public school resources, programs and services.”

Propel teachers will be stuck if the PSEA unionizes them. Even those who voted against unionization will be bound by PSEA rules — most immediately the extreme COVID- 19 measures that frustrate teachers just trying to do their jobs. And based on my experience as an attorney, I can tell you it’s ludicrously difficult for workers to remove a union once it’s been installed.

Propel employees can’t allow the PSEA to mess with their workplace. Right now, most charter schools — and teachers — are free from dues and fees and have freedom in the classroom. After unionization, it’s unlikely they would ever get that freedom back.

DAVID OSBORNE

CEO Americans for Fair Treatment

Harrisburg