ANDERSONVILLE — Passages Charter School teachers were in the classroom, not in picket lines, Thursday after a tentative agreement was reached with management Wednesday.
On Friday, union teachers at the school at 1643 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. school set Thursday as a strike date after failing for more than a year to negotiate a contract with Asian Human Services, which runs the school.
“Had we not unionized, we could never have gotten to this tentative agreement tonight — and taken such strong steps to begin to improve classroom conditions and win fair pay for our members,” said Gina Mengarelli, a third-grade teacher at the school and member of the bargaining team. "There is nothing more important to us than our students, and we’re glad that we have been able to make progress on improving our school in ways that will produce tangible benefits for our students."
Teachers have come to an agreement on several issues, including employee discipline, health and safety and after-school events.
At the beginning of the month, teachers voted 43-0 to give the bargaining committee the power to set a strike date. It was the third time this year a charter school in Chicago has threatened to strike, according to the Tribune.
Passages serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade with a mission "to serve immigrant and refugee students as well as students throughout the city," according to the Chicago Public Schools website.
Of the school's 468 students, 41 percent are "limited English learners," according to CPS.
In the next few days, the bargaining team will present the tentative agreement to its members, who will vote on its ratification in the coming weeks, according to a news release from the group.
