Teachers in New York City, the country's biggest school district, are threatening to strike if the city doesn't put a long list of safeguards in place within three weeks, when the city plans to reopen schools with a model that includes face-to-face instruction.þþIn a press conference Wednesday, leaders of the city's teachers' union, the 75,000-member United Federation of Teachers, said they were prepared to strike if adequate safety precautions aren't in place for students and staff members. New York state law prohibits strikes by public-sector unions, but UFT President Mike Mulgrew said the union is prepared to take its battle to court if necessary.þþÿThe union is prepared to go to court and/or go on strike if we need to,ÿ he said, according to an NPR report. Other news reports quoted Mulgrew as saying that if schools do open without the right health protections, it ÿmight be one of the biggest debacles in the history of the city.ÿþþThe union's rhetoric, combined with what Mulgrew himself acknowledged is the near-impossibility of the district addressing all of the items on its three-page list of safety concerns by Sept. 10, raises the specter of a strike in the country's biggest school system, where 1 million students and 100,000 staff members are scheduled to begin instruction. Union pushback is cropping up in other cities, too, including Detroit, where union members on Wednesday authorized their leaders to declare a ÿsafety strike.ÿ If they take such a step, it would mean that teachers would not report to work in person, but they'd continue to teach virtually. þþWith COVID-19 cases surging in many places, the issue of school safety isn't one that's about to go away. According to Education Week's database of districts' reopening plans dozens of districts across the country still plan to include at least some level of in-person instruction when they reopen. New York City is one of the few large districts that's still including face-to-face instruction in its plans. As of Aug. 18, the EdWeek database showed that 20 of the 25 largest districts are teaching remote-only. þþThe country's second-largest teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers, refused in late July to rule out strikes in its member districts if health and safety conditions aren't met. þþNew York City was once a coronavirus epicenter, but now virus rates have dropped to low levels: Mayor Bill DiBlasio said yesterday that the latest health department figures show a test-positivity rate of less than one-quarter of 1 percent. City officials used that data point—and a list of safety protocols it's planning—to defend its decision to reopen schools in a few weeks. þþTalking with reporters during a visit to a city school yesterday, Bill DiBlasio noted that parents can choose whether to send their children to school in person or keep them home for remote instruction. A department survey found that two-thirds would choose remote instruction. He said his administration would keep talking with the UFT, but he threw this barb in, too, according to the Washington Post: ÿWe care more about kids and parents than these games.ÿþþThe city education department didn't mince words either when responding to the UFT's announcement. ÿThis is fear-mongering,ÿ press secretary Mirando Barbot said in a statement posted on Twitter by ABC's local affiliate.þþRandi Weingarten, the president of the AFT, said in an interview Thursday that the UFT is doing nothing more than pushing for ÿcommon-senseÿ precautions. DiBlasio, she said, has ÿa hell of a nerveÿ saying the union is playing games ÿwhen the mayor himself has had his head in the sand since March.ÿþþÿThe problem here is that the mayor has not managed the reopening effectively,ÿ Weingarten said.þþAmong other things, the UFT wants the district to permit union inspectors to examine every school building to ensure that there's adequate ventilation, sufficient space to keep six feet between desks, and sufficient personal protective equipment. It also wants a guarantee that a nurse will staff each building.þþThe city's principals union has raised concerns about school safety, too. In an August 12 letter, union president Mark Cannizzaro said he's concerned that the district plans to reopen on Sept. 10 in ÿdisregard of the well-being of our school communities.ÿ Principals don't have enough time to implement complex safety protocols, he said.
Source: blogs.edweek.org
