TEACHERS: Would Unions Ruin Charter Schools -- Or Vice Versa?

 Couple of weeks ago, there was news that a KIPP school in NYC had voted to organize, and we all wondered whether KIPP might end up being organized like Green Dot already is.

Now there's a mini-flurry union-charter news to consider:

Late last week, the LA Times reported that UTLA had successfully organized the widely admired Accelerated School in Los Angeles. 

In Chicago, Medill Reports wrote up news of an effort to organize one or more of the Chicago International Charter Schools, a network of schools in the city. The effort there is just beginning.

There's also an SEIU-affiliated school being started up for next year, which I'm told will use the thin contract model. 

Back in NYC, Jenny Medina has the story in Friday's Times that the process isn't going smoothly for the teachers or their principal at KIPP AMP:  Teachers Say Union Faces Resistance.

Remember that this isn't just a challenge for KIPP.  Union leaders have to move very carefully here lest they appear to be "ruining" effective charters, or undermining the contracts they've already negotiated for regular district schools, or going off in a reformy direction when members want them to focus on wages and working conditions.  Going after charter schools is just as much risk as opportunity.