The State of Illinois passed Illinois Public Act 103-0416, a law mandating that charter schools must, to renew their charters, enter into a union organizing agreement in which the school must: [1] recognize the union to be its employees’ exclusive representative via a “card check” and without a secret-ballot election; [2] grant the union access to its employees; and [3] censor its speech about unionization. With many charters up for renewal this summer, several charter school organizations have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law.
If you are employed by an Illinois charter school and oppose being unionized without a secret-ballot election, please read this special notice or contact the National Right to Work Foundation for free information about your legal rights and options. Click here to request free Foundation legal aid.
Illinois’ new charter-school unionization law will not only impact you, but may violate your legal rights.
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First, Illinois’ law requires that charter schools must agree to unionize their teachers without allowing them to vote in a secret-ballot election over whether they want to be unionized. Instead, charter schools must agree to a “card check” process under which union organizers personally collect cards from teachers that will effectively count as “votes” for union. This process is vastly inferior to a secret-ballot election, prone to abuse, and does not protect teachers’ rights to make a free choice. More information about card check campaigns can be found here. [National Right to Work Foundation What are my rights if the union is conducting a “Card Check” organizing drive at my workplace? – National Right to Work Foundation (nrtw.org)]
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Second, Illinois seeks to require charter schools to provide union agents with access to their teachers and other employees, including those who never expressed any interest in the union. This requirement could lead to unwanted and unnecessary interactions in the workplace with union organizers who seek to cajole teachers to sign union cards.
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Third, Illinois seeks to censor charter schools from informing teachers about the downsides of unionization, or from even expressing any position on unionization whatsoever. This censorship regime will mean that teachers will hear only one side of the story during union organizing campaigns—that spun by the union. Charter schools will likely be prohibited from countering even false or misleading statements made by union officials made during the campaign.
By rigging the organizing process in favor of union officials in this manner, Illinois’ law makes it extremely likely that teachers and others employees of Illinois charters who are targeted by union officials will swiftly fall under the union’s control.
Illinois’ top-down organizing law is likely unlawful because, among other reasons, it is preempted by the federal National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA.”). The NLRA favors secret-ballot elections, does not grant union organizers a right to access school property, and protects free speech about unionization. As discussed above, some charter schools have already filed suit in federal court challenging the law. However, the legality of Illinois’ law has yet to be decided by the courts.
If you are a teacher or other individual employed by an Illinois charter school and are interested in more information about this law, or your rights under a union card check campaign, you can contact the Foundation to request free legal aid at www.nrtw.org/free-legal-aid.
