This narrative study examines a failed attempt to unionise an urban charter school. To investigate why this effort failed, I construct two competing 'stories of the school' -- the discursive narratives each side told about how the school operates, who it serves, and how it fits into a larger battle for educational, racial, and economic justice. I then read these narratives through the critical lens of 'neoliberal urbanism' (Lipman, P. 2011. "The New Political Economy of Urban Education: Neoliberalism, Race, and the Right to the City." Routledge) to highlight how the school's official narrative pulled on neoliberal structures and hegemonic discourses to ultimately help administrators quell the unionising effort despite initial widespread staff enthusiasm.