FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Teachers at Carmen Schools of Science and Technology Announce Organizing Campaign to Join the IAMAW

Milwaukee, Jan. 5, 2022 – Today the teachers at Carmen Schools of Science and Technology are announcing their intent to unionize with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District 10.The nearly 200 teachers and other Carmen staff are in the process of signing union authorization cards, taking an initial step towards unionizing and negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with Carmen Schools.

The Carmen Workers Collective are dedicated teachers, social workers, and specialists who believe that their working conditions are their students’ learning conditions. They are committed to providing the highest educational standards that will allow their students to grow and thrive both before and after graduation from Carmen schools. They seek to bargain collectively in a spirit of mutual benefit and trust in order to address serious workplace issues that can impede teachers’ ability to meet the high educational standards that Carmen students deserve.

“I see so many passionate, dedicated, and excellent Carmen staff come and go,” said Leland Pan, a teacher at the Carmen Southeast High school campus. “Our students deserve experienced and highly qualified workers from a range of backgrounds and identities. When our pay, benefits, and work hours are compared to both Milwaukee Public Schools and other charter schools in the region, it’s clear our school network is contributing to a race to the bottom for employee conditions, rather than the reverse.”

Northwest High School teacher Angela Bewick added, “We are organizing for the sake of our students. We are asking for fairness, equity, transparency and stability so we have a safe and stable work environment. When we have what we need to do our jobs, our students will have what they need to learn.”

Parents, students and other community members who wish to learn more about the Carmen Workers Collective and their organizing campaign can visit their website at www.carmenworkerscollective.org. Supporters can sign a petition calling on Carmen administration to remain neutral during the union drive here: https://actionnetwork.org/groups/iamcarmenworkerscollective.

About the IAM – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America and represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in aerospace, transportation, manufacturing, shipbuilding, woodworking, and other industries. To learn more, visit www.iamawd10.org or contact Alex Hoekstra, IAMAW District 10 Directing Business Representative at hoekalex@yahoo.com or (920) 210-7754.