Kaplan Teachers Union is a collective bargaining unit of English as a second language teachers at Kaplan International Colleges in New York City.[1] It was voted into effect on June 7, 2012 and certified by the National Labor Relations Board. The members are represented by The Newspaper Guild of New York, Local 31003 CWA.[2]

Unionization was unprecedented in the for-profit ESL industry, making the Kaplan Teachers Union the first recognized bargaining unit for teachers in the for-profit language industry in the United States. In the US for-profit education industry, it is just one of three such units, the other two being Art Institute schools in New York and Philadelphia.[3] The first Kaplan school to organize internationally was the Auckland, New Zealand campus, in May 2008.[4] Other Kaplan ESL schools to have organized include Chicago, Vancouver, Toronto, and Liverpool.

Kaplan International Colleges is a branch of Kaplan, Inc., which is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company.[5] Kaplan, Inc. was founded in New York by the teacher and tutor Stanley Kaplan and provides higher education, test preparation, professional training courses and language instruction.[6] Kaplan International Colleges teaches English in forty language schools in seven countries around the world.[7] Kaplan, Inc. earned a revenue of US$2.9 billion in 2010[8] and has since acquired language schools in Singapore, Japan, Australia and Spain.[9]

The Kaplan Teachers Union's grievances include low pay, no sick days nor affordable health care.[10] Pay is as low as $16 per hour for teaching, and minimum wage for preparation work and grading.[2][11]

References

  1. ↑ Jaschik, Scott. "Rare Union Win in For Profit Sector." Inside Higher Ed. 15 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Kaplan Teachers Vote Guild Despite Intense Campaign." Newspaper Guild of New York, Local 31003 CWA. 7 June 2012.
  3. ↑ Schmidt, Peter. "Kaplan Instructors Vote to Unionize at Three New York Centers" The Chronicle of Higher Education. 15 June 2012.
  4. ↑ unite.org. "Kaplan Language school reaches settlement" Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine" "Unite.org". May, 2008.
  5. ↑ "The Washington Post Company 2012 form 10-K." The Washington Post Company.
  6. ↑ Sullivan, Patricia. "Test Prep Pioneer Stanley Kaplan Dies at 90." The Washington Post Company. 25 August 2009.
  7. ↑ ''Kaplan International Colleges'
  8. ↑ "Washington Post Company Reports 2010 and Quarterly Earnings." The Washington Post Company. 23 February 2011.
  9. ↑ "The Washington Post Company Reports Third Quarter Earnings." The Washington Post Company. 2 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "Why a Union?" Teachers For a Better Kaplan. 1 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "Kaplan Teacher Hourly Pay." Glassdoor.com Updated 29 January 2013.
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