Caliber Workers Union (w/ Tyler Powles & Erinn Murphy)

Caliber Public Schools, a group of charter schools in Northern California, states on its website that its mission is "to achieve educational equity by shifting the experiences, expectations and outcomes for students in historically underserved communities. Our strengths-based educational program validates, affirms, respects and supports students, families and staff members to reach their full potential." But when teachers and staff who believe in that mission did not feel validated, affirmed, respected, and supported, they took it upon themselves to organize and push Caliber to live up to its promise. Earlier this month, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) ruled that a majority of the 150 teachers and staff at Caliber: Beta Academy in Richmond and Caliber: ChangeMakers Academy in Vallejo had demonstrated sufficient support for unionizing with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and ordered management to formally recognize the union. In this episode, we talk with Tyler Powles, who was a 4th-grade teacher at Caliber: Beta Academy for five years, and Erinn Murphy, an education specialist (and school parent) at Caliber: ChangeMakers Academy, about their experience working for the charter school network and fighting for a union.

Additional links/info below...

• Caliber Workers Union website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• Industrial Workers of the World website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• Cal Colgan, Industrial Worker, "Charter School Workers' Year-long Fight for Recognition"
• IWW Press Release: "California Public Employment Relations Board Determines Union of Teachers and Support Staff at Caliber Public Schools Must Be Granted Recognition"
• Zane Sparling, The Oregonian, "Burgerville Employees Ratify Contract, Establishing First Fast-Food Union in U.S."
• Working People, "cOrE vAlUeS (w/ MacKenna Alvarez)"
• Working People, "Drew Edmonds"

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page
• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song