In Chicago Mathematics & Science Academy Charter School, Inc., 359 NLRB No. 41 (Dec. 14, 2012), the National Labor Relations Board ("the Board" or "NLRB") rejected the position of a teachers' union and found that it had jurisdiction over an Illinois nonprofit corporation that operates a public charter school in Chicago. The Board majority concluded that the nonprofit was not the sort of government entity exempt from the National Labor Relations Act, and there was no reason for the Board to decline jurisdiction. This recent ruling falls in line with other decisions from the Obama Board favoring expansive NLRB jurisdiction, but it runs counter to the position of labor unions, which often favor card check organizing in charter schools rather than NLRB-run secret ballot elections.
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