Teachers at BASIS Tucson North ratified a collective bargaining agreement.
The agreement makes the school near East River and North Craycroft roads the first charter school in Arizona the first in Arizona to have unionized staff and teachers.
The new union, AFT Local 6627, Arizona Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, secured the agreement with the schoolβs for-profit operator, BASIS, LLC.
The contract βsecures for the educators an end to unjust labor practices through enforceable terms of employment, a grievance process and guaranteed raises and benefits,β the union said in a news release.
The 55 teachers at the fifth- through 12-grade school βwanted a union to be able to advocate for studentsβ needs and to ensure financial transparency,β the release said.
βThis is the first contract for an Arizona charter school, laying a strong foundation for rights and a voice for educators at their school and showing others at unorganized charters the way to move forward,β Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, AZ-ACTβs parent union, said in the news release.
βThis contract will help educators in charters in Arizona and elsewhere to see how important it is to have a union,β Weingarten said.
Last month BASIS Tucson North earned the top spot in the 2025-26 U.S. News Best High Schools Rankings.
The tuition-free public charter network BASIS Charter Schools operates in four states and has 10 Arizona schools in the Top 100 schools as ranked by U.S. News, the Arizona Republic reported last month.
The 2025-26 rankings, released Aug. 19, evaluated 24,000 public schools across the country and ranked nearly 18,000.
