St. HOPE Charter School Teachers Seeking to Oust SCTA Teachers Union

St. HOPE Public Schools in Sacramento are requesting a vote to end the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) labor union officials’ bargaining power over their schools.

St. Hope Public Schools include:

• Sacramento Charter High School  (Grades 9-12)
• PS7 Middle School (Grades 6-8)
• PS7 Elementary School  (Grades TK-5)

Should charter school employees be considered public employees or private employees? That is the question.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the school’s attorneys don’t want the federal National Labor Relations Board involved, confusing the issue. They contend that, under California law, the Legislature has conclusively determined that charter schools such as St. Hope are public schools and are properly considered as political subdivisions of the state, and are subject to control by state officials and “extensive oversight” by the school district, Sacramento City Unified, the county office of education and the state department of education.

It’s curious why the school’s attorneys don’t want this labor issue adjudicated by the NLRB. Could it be a Trump administration issue? Do they really want resolution?

SCTA labor union is an affiliate of both the California Teachers Association (CTA) and National Education Association (NEA).

However, according to the National Right to Work Foundation, in response to the petition from the majority of St. HOPE Public Schools educators requesting such a vote, a federal labor board has ordered an election to remove Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) union officials from the school system to take place on Wednesday, March 11. The vote will take place among over 50 teachers from PS7 Elementary School, PS7 Middle School, and Sacramento Charter High School.

In January, St. HOPE teacher Beth Simonton submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), asking the federal agency to administer a vote to end SCTA union bosses’ exclusive representation powers over her and her colleagues. The NLRB is the agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Private organizations like St. HOPE that operate public charter schools are generally subject to federal labor law.

Simonton’s petition contained signatures from the majority of her colleagues – well over the threshold needed under federal law to trigger a union decertification vote. Following a hearing conducted January 26-28, NLRB Region 20 issued an order on February 25 ordering an election to be held.

“SCTA union officials have been extremely divisive and have not had a positive impact on teachers, students, or the St. HOPE community as a whole,” said Simonton. “They’ve spent much more time trying to demonize school leadership than simply standing up for our interests. I’m proud to represent the majority of educators at St. HOPE who are standing up and saying ‘enough is enough.’”

NLRB Rejects Union Argument That St. HOPE is Exempt From Federal Labor Law

NLRB Region 20’s election order notably rejected arguments from SCTA union lawyers that the St. HOPE system is actually a “political subdivision” under the jurisdiction of California’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and not subject to the NLRB. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Natural Gas Utility District of Hawkins County v. NLRB that an employer qualifies as such a “political subdivision” only if it was directly created by the state, or if it is administered by individuals who are accountable to the public or public officials.

The election order points out that a private individual founded St. HOPE and that public officials have little, if any, control over St. HOPE’s board of directors. “I find that [St. HOPE] is an employer within the meaning of Section 2(2) of the [National Labor Relations Act] and is not exempt under the test set forth in Hawkins County,” the NLRB Regional Director’s decision reads. “Accordingly, I am directing an election among the employees in the agreed upon appropriate unit.”

The Foundation has aided numerous charter school employees over the years in opposing unwanted union hierarchies. Elsewhere in California, charter school teachers at Gompers Preparatory Academy in San Diego sought Foundation aid in obtaining a vote to remove San Diego Education Association (SDEA) union officials from the school. After two such efforts to remove the union (one in 2019 and another in 2023) and much litigation over SDEA union bosses’ delay tactics, the educators finally voted the SDEA out in 2023.

“We at the Foundation are proud to assist St. HOPE educators in finally getting a chance to exercise their right to vote SCTA union officials out of power at their schools,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But it’s ridiculous that it took a herculean effort and several years for St. HOPE teachers just to get to this point. Biased bureaucrats at the California PERB blocked them from having a union removal vote for several years based on dubious allegations of employer misconduct – and St. HOPE educators are hardly the only workers in California that PERB has subjected to such stonewalling.

“We hope that Ms. Simonton’s effort is not only the first step in St. HOPE educators freeing themselves from SCTA union chiefs, but also the first step toward freeing California educators from the oppressive California labor bureaucracy,” Mix added.

The Globe has watched with admiration as St. HOPE was founded by former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, and has operated St. HOPE Public Schools since 2003 “with the mission of graduating self-motivated, industrious and critical thinking leaders who are committed to serving others, passionate about lifelong learning and prepared to earn a degree from a four-year college.”

The National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys are providing free legal aid to St. HOPE teacher Beth Simonton and her colleagues.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year. Its web address is www.nrtw.org.