Back in 2023, staff and teachers at BASIS Tucson North formed a union. Recently they agreed on a contract with the school’s management.
“It was really a question of having our voices heard,” fifth grade geography teacher Brean Marinaccio said.
Marinaccio is also a part of the AFT Local 6627, Arizona Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff. She worked on the bargaining agreement the union has with the school’s management.
Recently U.S. News and World Report named their North location the best public high school in the U.S.
“We just realized it could be a lot better since we all wanted similar outcomes,” Marinaccio said.
Before unionizing she said they didn’t have any paid time off and were incentivized to not take days off.
“It just becomes this ripple effect of everyone is tired and burnt out and exhausted, so we really need to find a way to put an end to that,” she said.
However, the union recently bargained for that and now she said they get ten days off that rolls over into the next year if they don’t use them.
“It just takes again a lot of stress off of our backs knowing that if I am sick, I can actually stay home and not get the other kids sick,” sixth grade English teacher Christopher Martinez said.
The union, Martinez said, helped to get rid of a mandatory over 40 hour work week. BASIS Ed said they have strived to prioritize balanced schedules.
“I struggle a lot with anxiety and not having enough time to feel like I have created a good enough lesson plan or anything, it really takes a toll on me,” Martinez said.
The over 40 hour work week, Marinaccio said, made flexible scheduling and off-campus planning tough.
“Part of the BASIS model that I’ve always really loved is that they did put a lot of trust in their teachers,” she said.
The teachers said they’re still fighting for a substantial year to year raise.
“I’m just paying for the bare minimum kind of things. It’s a little bit frustrating,” Martinez mentioned.
BASIS Ed said they consistently review and enhance benefits. They also said their finances are transparent through the Arizona Department of Education.
However, teachers said contacting administrators based in Scottsdale is hard.
“I just want to make sure that myself and other people feel like they can continue to be here,” Martinez said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
