Having failed to stop decertification vote requested by majority of teachers, Sacramento City Teachers Association union bosses concede defeat and leave

Sacramento, CA (March 5, 2026) – Following an effort in which a majority of teachers demanded a vote to remove the union, charter school educators at St. HOPE Public Schools have successfully ousted Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) union officials from the school system.

Rather than face a union decertification vote that a federal labor board had scheduled to take place on March 11, SCTA union bosses instead disclaimed interest in maintaining their exclusive representation powers over the St. HOPE educators. Now, over 50 teachers from PS7 Elementary School, PS7 Middle School, and Sacramento Charter High School are free of the unwanted union’s control.

St. HOPE teacher Beth Simonton led the removal effort, submitting a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January requesting a vote to remove the union. The NLRB is the agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Private organizations like St. HOPE, even if they operate public charter schools, are often subject to federal labor law as opposed to state labor laws.

Simonton’s petition, which she submitted in January with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, contained signatures from the majority of her colleagues – well over the threshold needed under federal law to trigger a union decertification vote. On February 25, NLRB Region 20 rejected arguments by the union and ordered a union decertification election to take place among the St. HOPE educators.

Then, only days before the scheduled election, SCTA union officials sent correspondence announcing that they were ending their monopoly bargaining control over the facility, likely in an attempt to avoid an embarrassing lopsided loss at the ballot box. St. HOPE teachers are now free of SCTA union bosses’ power to dictate their contract terms and work rules.

“I’m truly grateful that my colleagues and I were able to band together and send SCTA union officials on their way,” commented Simonton. “So much of their activity at St. HOPE involved pitting teachers against each other and finding ways to bend the rules so they could maintain their control. They did not represent the interest of the educators at St. HOPE, and we look forward to being independent from the union. We are FAMILY!”

NLRB Order: CA Charter Schools Aren’t Exempt From Federal Labor Law

As litigation over the scheduled vote went on, NLRB Region 20 notably rejected arguments from SCTA union lawyers that the St. HOPE system is a “political subdivision” subject to the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and not the NLRB. Union officials prefer operating under the PERB, where rules are rigged against workers seeking decertification, effectively letting union legal tactics trap employees in union ranks for years even when a majority is on record as wanting the union removed.

In rejecting the union’s argument, NLRB officials turned to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Natural Gas Utility District of Hawkins County v. NLRB, under which an employer is a “political subdivision” only if it was directly created by the state, or if it is administered by individuals who are accountable to the public or public officials.

Applying this standard, NLRB Region 20 found that a private individual founded St. HOPE, and that public officials have little, if any, control over St. HOPE’s board of directors. For those reasons, the Regional Director ruled that “[St. HOPE] is an employer within the meaning of Section 2(2) of the [National Labor Relations Act] and is not exempt under the test set forth in Hawkins County.”

While SCTA union officials fled St. HOPE Public Schools before the NLRB-ordered vote could take place, NLRB Region 20’s ruling could be significant going forward for employees of other California charter schools who wish to decertify unions in their workplaces. Foundation attorneys have helped charter school employees in a number of other states in efforts at the NLRB to remove unwanted unions, including in Missouri and New York.

CA Charter School Teachers Have More Options to Escape Unions

“Ms. Simonton and her fellow St. HOPE educators should be commended for their success in breaking free from SCTA union officials,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But their effort – which also included attempts years ago to vote SCTA out – exposes how focused California labor law is on solidifying union boss power, even in the face of clear evidence that workers want a union gone.

“Bureaucrats on the California PERB blocked the St. HOPE teachers from ousting the union for years on end, simply because SCTA union bosses filed unsubstantiated charges of employer misconduct,” Mix added. “These charades forced Simonton and her coworkers to resort to an entirely different agency in the hopes of finally making their voices heard.

“No workers should have to face challenges like this simply to vote a union out,” Mix continued. “But, following St. HOPE educators’ success, charter school educators across the Golden State should know they have more options for seeking a union decertification election, and should not hesitate in contacting Foundation attorneys if they want to exercise this important right.”