FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Teachers Prevail in Union Election at Toad Hill Montessori, Inc
New OPEIU unit sets example for other private schools in Wisconsin
Madison, WI – On the afternoon of October 2nd, teachers and staff at Toad Hill Montessori, Inc (THMI) voted 12-3 in favor of representation by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 39.
After the vote, teacher Jaime Harkrader stated, “Im feeling great! Im so excited and proud of us. I’m really hoping this will turn things around!”
Toad Hill Montessori, Inc offers individualized and nature-based education to children from infant to elementary age. There are currently around 70 children enrolled. This National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certification vote ensures that management must begin negotiating a union contract with workers at THMI’s three locations, which include Blooming Grove Montessori, Toad Hill Toddler House, and Toad Hill Children’s House.
The union’s goals include improving the quality of education for students, job protections, decent pay, and improved benefits (such as health insurance and time off). After requesting and being denied voluntary recognition by management, THMI teachers carefully prepared to win the election through outreach with parents and the community. In the meantime, workers experienced a barrage of anti-union emails and messages from the employer, who retained the union-busting law firm Jackson Lewis as representation. Now that their union is recognized by the NLRB, workers hope that management will begin to bargain in good faith. OPEIU union representative Andy Sernatinger states, “The teachers at Toad Hill went up against an employer determined to defeat their union and together they won. We hope that this is the beginning of a new chapter. Let’s bargain a good contract, and be a model in Wisconsin. Families should be proud they’re at this school with mighty teachers.”
This election is significant as very few Wisconsin private schools have organized within the past few decades. The newly-unionized teachers and staff at THMI hope that this victory inspires other child care and private school educators to organize their own workplaces. Harkrader stated that “Other teachers should fight for what they feel is right. You can only make a difference when you start with and fight for yourself and your community.”
Please contact OPEIU Local 39 Organizer Evan McKenzie to arrange Toad Hill Montessori, Inc. employee interviews or for further information. Call/Text – (262)-749-2461 or email emckenzie@opeiu39.org. Workers interested in organizing unions where they work should contact us through our organizing website: opeiu39.org.
ABOUT OPEIU LOCAL 39:
OPEIU Local 39 was founded in 1945 with our first bargaining unit at CUNA Mutual Group Life Insurance (CMG) company, now called TruStage. Our union, headquartered in Madison, WI, is primarily made up of workers in Wisconsin and Illinois. However, we also represent workers as far away as Durham, NC, Washington, D.C. and Oakland, CA! We empower working people to make the material changes they want to see in their workplaces and their communities. Our members are employed in a range of fields, including Nonprofits, IT, Business/Office Administration, Healthcare, Public Utilities and more. OPEIU Local 39 is an affiliated local of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU).
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