Chicago Teachers Union and Charter School Teachers Have Joined Forces

On Monday, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced that its members had voted in favor of amalgamating with the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff (ChiACTS), which, since 2009, has organized about 1,000 educators at over 30 charter school campuses.

While cooperation between unionized educators at charters and district schools in the United States is common, this is the first known case in which teachers from both types of schools have merged into a single union local.

The move was approved by 70 percent of voting members, according to the CTU. In a similar vote last June, 84 percent of ChiACTS members endorsed the merger.

“These results are the outcome of a lengthy dialogue among members,” CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement. “We’ve declared that we’re stronger together in one big union. We’ve embraced our common struggle to support our workers, our students, their parents and our neighborhoods.”

“Educators in district and charter school share the same challenges and the same commitment to our students and the public good,” said ChiACTS President Chris Baehrend. “Together we can more effectively fight for more fair, more equitable funding for our students and their needs, especially for our underserved Black and Brown students and their families.”