Here is the most important question and answer from the Town Hall:
Question: ...DOE says schools will be ready. If they aren't, what happens?
Answer: We are preparing to do whatever we have to do if the schools are not safe and the city disagrees with us.
Why is Mulgrew so afraid to say we will tell people schools are unsafe so they will be putting their lives on the line unnecessarily if they enter school buildings?
Is Mulgrew scared it will be called a strike if we refuse to enter dangerous buildings during a pandemic? Is his main concern the UFT might lose their precious automatic dues checkoff?
It isn't a strike to protect your health or the safety of the students. In March, we quoted from the UFT's Handbook for Chapter Leaders in telling members they do not have to work in unsafe schools.
Self-help is when an employee is insubordinate by defying an order from a supervisor. Normally, a teacher should obey an order that violates the Contract and then grieve. However, the Handbook provides three justifications for an employee to be insubordinate. Two of them apply to our current situation:
First, the employee has a reasonable belief that carrying out the order will endanger the employee's health.
Second, carrying out the order will threaten the safety of others.
Nobody would be refusing to work as all would be willing to teach remotely. UFTers would just be saying no to work in dangerous buildings. Trying to turn a school into an antiseptic hospital type setting seems rather unrealistic and quite expensive. Why take that risk when there is a safe, remote learning alternative?
Even if refusing to work in school buildings is called a strike:
To hell with the Taylor Law prohibition against strikes!
Teacher and student lives are much more important than the Taylor Law.
Yes, I know UFTers would lose two days pay for each day on strike if any action was ruled a strike but I will repeat:
It isn't a strike to refuse to go into an unsafe work environment!
Over 75 NYC school employees passed away in the spring from Covid-19 and even Mulgrew admitted it is logical to conclude some were infected at work. There is plenty of evidence that asymptomatic spread is real. Therefore, this blog declares:
Not one more needless UFT death in the fall.
Teachers are not soldiers and don't get combat pay. Nobody got a teaching license to risk their life or the lives of the students and all of our respective families to go into school buildings in the midst of a pandemic.
James, why do you think teachers will draw a line in the sand over opening? History shows us NYC teachers will follow orders and do as told even when we start dying and the uft helps the doe cover it up. Teachers haven't taken a stand in decades. I don't see change coming. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for your advocacy.
ReplyDeleteI thought a job action is if the union was the one that told us to not go in. If each teacher calls in sick, how is that a job action? We have sick days.
ReplyDeleteIf people won't fight for the lives of our students, ourselves and all of our families, then yes we are in trouble.
ReplyDeleteI am willing to fight and strike. I do not care for the two day pay per one day of strike. My safety and health and those of the families' are more important than money. UFT needs to understand that. Taking sick days independently is not going to send a clear message. They need to take a stand and tell members to! It makes me angry that after all this, they continue to hide behind themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhy let the teachers take the fall for not returning to class. Parents will refuse to send their kids in large numbers. Let them be the heavy. For the number of parents who will send their kids, there will be enough teachers who volunteer to do so.
ReplyDeleteAnon 3:32- wait until the parents find out how little F2F time their kids are actually going to get, AND they may possibly be instructed by teachers they don't know. This is the angle we need to work- getting parents on our side and letting them know that remote TRULY has the best interests of their children in mind. I know it's not a perfect solution, but it will go a long way in keeping people safe.
ReplyDeleteI am a black teachers. I would never trust de blasio about safety issues, in school or out of school. What he does to the black community is murder. He is a deranged nut! The left-wing Marxist anti-American ideology he's spewing is insanity. I guess Portland and its communist mayor should just allow the protesters to burn down the rest of the city, like you are doing here.
ReplyDeleteMayor Bill de Blasio
@NYCMayor
· 3h
Make no mistake — what @RealDoanldTrump has done in Portland is unconstitutional, divisive and dangerous. It threatens the core values of our country.
ny post...
ReplyDeletehttps://nypost.com/2020/07/22/teachers-union-prepared-to-fight-if-nyc-forces-schools-to-reopen/
Also,
ReplyDeleteThere is not a hiring freeze either.
One of my friends excessed from Long Island who teaches social studies(an area not of high need) was hired by a school in queens.
This school was not advertising a position on open market and when I asked my friend how she was hired, she said ‘my AP used to work in this school and has a friend who works in this school who knows the principal and the principal pushed me through’.
She has the paper work and everything. Hired with no issue.
I asked if she knew there was a hiring freeze in place for the city and she asked this question and the principal said ‘the hiring freeze is just talk. If you know how to finesse the system, you can hire anyone’.
Being that this person is a family friend, I will not disclose the school etc, but the doe is a complete joke.
James, why do you say no more unnecessary UFT
ReplyDeletedeath. Are you implying that loss of life might be ok
If the governor or our union president deems such sacrifice necessary?
Las Vegas...CCSD to start school year via distance education August 24.
ReplyDeleteThank you James for letting us know about the handbook guidelines and how they relate to this current situation. With this information, I think that a lot more teachers will not be going into buildings. You made an excellent point: We are not refusing to work; we just want to work remotely until the buildings are confirmed to be safe for everyone to work and learn in-person. This is the best thing I read today, thank you. Take care and be blessed.
ReplyDeleteDaily News: "De Blasio warns NYC parents: Opening schools will be last-minute decision" By DAVE GOLDINER
ReplyDeleteNEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
JUL 22, 2020 AT 4:50 PM
Let's continue to take a stand as a collective group. This is literally the fight for our lives, the lives of our family and students.
Also check out on CNBC: Dr. Anthony Fauci: Coronavirus will never be eradicated. Can find it on Youtube if you missed it.
There’s a few big assumptions happening here. NYC Public School Warehouses can be safe to teach in - at least as safe as they were before the virus, but there has to be concerted effort and planning from both the UFT and DOE. There are so many tiny details that can go wrong ( if you still assume there’s a bigger risk of catching Covid than catching a bullet) it boggles the mind. Take for instance using the restroom. A perennial problem for ATRs, that I was once well acquainted with, ( no key for you, sub! ). I was in Barnes & Noble’s in Eastchester last week and needed to use the restroom. I was refused - déjà vu! I ran to each retail establishment on the strip. They were all closed due to the virus. Flushing the toilet can leave droplets in the air that can spread the virus. How does a school warehouse coordinate hundreds or thousands of students and their use of restrooms? Well, first they would need toilet seats with lids. They would also need very compliant students, LOL. They would also need staff members to monitor restrooms. The restrooms will also need to be cleaned constantly. This requires more funds. The DOE is an incredibly indifferent entity. The only time any movement (even a bowel movement) happens is when somebody can grab some easy money. I’m sure they will hire some consultants after reading this. Please hire a retired ATR, that would be elegantly ironic or perhaps this is what all working ATRs have to look forward to - coordinating bowel movements and watching restrooms. Shit it’s great money for a shit job. This is just one detail. There are hundreds. I have absolutely no faith that the DOE will get it right or that the UFT will do anything to help. However, I would not concentrate on any of this. The real danger is the online classes. It will be incredibly easy for them to lay massive numbers of teachers
ReplyDeleteA fat guy who smokes get medical accommodations while a healthy 56 year old woman has to work on site... this is BS. If it is unsafe for some, it is unsafe for all.
ReplyDeleteThe principal at Flushing High School just had a town hall meeting. He said all students will grab a grab and go lunch whenever they want and eat in class hence removing their masks to eat putting everyone in danger. Also only core courses (ELA, History, Math and Science) will have live instruction while gym, art, music and for. lang. will all be remote leaving the question if those teachers will have to come to work. Basically all in all it's going to be a big disaster at Flushing like it always is.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the resignation severance, not retirement...
ReplyDeleteA teacher at my school is applying for a medical accommodation because she is allergic to paper masks and can't breathe in cotton ones. But all the rest of us are permitted to be exposed. I am allergic to dying sm I exempt?
ReplyDeleteGreat information James. Thank you for writing this piece.
ReplyDeleteBronx ATR, you are absolutely correct about the use of the toilet and it spreading the virus into the air. It is a monumental task to get schools to meet safety guidelines.
Bronx ATR, I understand your point that it will be easier to lay off remote teachers if we are all remote. That is why a remote contract is necessary. I have zero faith the Unity people will do it right. I hope I am wrong and they do get it done properly.
ReplyDeleteAlso, glad you are back Bronx ATR. You were missed here.
ReplyDeleteJames I disagree with your premise. It’s July 21. Why should Mulgrew show his hand now?
ReplyDeleteHey Peter, The UFT hasn't fought in ages. Members need to know their union stands with them. It will take more than ten days in September to convince members the Union is serious and will not encourage its members to go into unsafe buildings. We need more than the threat of lawsuits at this point. Preparation for real militancy needs to happen now to put pressure on the city and show members the UFT is serious. It is what real unions are doing throughout the country now. We have to be militant, particularly after all of the loss of life this union's rank and file suffered in the spring.
DeleteDr Fauci from CNBC
ReplyDelete"I have never seen infection in which you have such a broad range literally no symptoms at all in a substantial proportion of the population to some who get ill with minor symptoms to some who get ill enough to be in bed for weeks," he said. "Others get hospitalized, require oxygen, intensive care, ventilation and death. The involvement with the same pathogen is very unique."
Fauci said officials have to do better in containing the virus as states attempt to reopen. On Tuesday, he said state officials should adopt mask mandates and close bars. He said Wednesday that U.S. health officials do not see "an end in sight" to the pandemic.
"We are certainly not at the end of the game" of the pandemic, Fauci said. "Certainly we are not winning the game right now. We are not beating it."
James, I'm sorry, I agree with your point of view on almost everything, but I don't agree with you on this. Not all teachers are fearful of going in. I never felt that my school building was completely "safe," but I went to work anyway. No place is completely "safe".
ReplyDeleteI am fine with people disagreeing with me. I want a real discussion. I hope and pray no more UFTers are infected if around 100,000 go back to school buildings. Knowing what happened in March and knowing who our employer is, I believe we need to be extra vigilant. Other school systems around the country are going fully remote for fall and CDC says it is the lowest risk.
ReplyDeleteJames this is the person who alerted you about the radio interview, it's all about dollars and no sense, Mulgrew is scared about the automatic check off which a lot of rank and file does not understand. It's a money train for the union. When the MTA went on strike they lost this and had to chase around the rank and file for dues. Most people will not own up to paying dues if not automatically taken out.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, NYC DOE sent out a tweet on how they are preparing for September, they show a perfectly clean room being clean. There are 3 custodians in the room. When have you seen that? This propaganda should be exposed with most schools not looking like this.
@9:21-
ReplyDeletei agree- i am apprehensive- but i am not fearful of going in.
of course im worried about the subways etc but i was always apprehensive of them anyway- and this just gives credience to those apprehensions.
we all go outside and walk down the street and shop and yes our exposure time is less, but at some point we must move on with our lives. I aleady told my wife iwill probably get covid 19 when i return to work and we agree we will deal with it as best as we can. if they offered a buyout for me -49 years old- 26 years in i would take it- payed int0 55/25 but thats not happeneding either.
The only solution, apparently: in the name of equality, let your child stew in ignorance and incompetence while paying exorbitant taxes to support a non-functional school system. Social justice sure is fun!
ReplyDeleteMalls in city closed. Broadway shut. But let's put kids back in school.Give us a break. If you want to risk your life or the life of your older relatives, by all means volunteer to work in a rec center.Let the rest of us teach from home.
ReplyDeleteI too am fearful of going in. I fear taking it back home. I believe there are ways it can be safe to return but I also believe there are too many variables to control.
ReplyDeleteTake Broadway for example. In essence, Broadway should be safer to open. Spread seats out. Wear makes. No drinks or food so coverings don't come off. Dealing with adults. It actually would be more dangerous for the performers if they are not kept in a bubble like the NBA and NHL are doing.
We cannot keep schools in a bubble. If all were tested and all negative and then all stayed away from all outside encounters it's possible to make it work. But that isn't realistic. Students and staff go home to more people who have interacted with more people. It doesn't work.
But let's say we use the fact the NYC has been doing better and we continue with some sort of opening. What works and what doesn't. Spreading students out while wearing masks works. Having one teacher in a class with them for 3-4 periods works. Grabbing a lunch to take with them home and not eat in class works. Masks always stay on works.
But now for the problems. How do the kids get into the classrooms? How do they leave? How do they get in staying 6 feet apart? How can you assure anyone that the students will remain 6 feet apart throughout the day. At what age is this even possible? Will 3K be able to do this? Pre-K? K? 1st? 2nd? etc. Bathroom breaks for all? Too many variables to control.
So we push for 100% remote learning to start but there are too many complaints about this also. This is where we as a staff have to take the blame. Yes, we were given no plan. Yes, we built the entire system ourselves. Yes, we tried coordinating it with families and students, some of who had no means of communicating. All valid arguments but all pointless to complain about. I will now speak for my school here. We had no structure. We had no schedule. Core subjects were planning on their own while PE, Foreign Language, and Art were forced to find time. We had an opportunity to make something...not like it would have been perfect. So why do I say we should take blame for this? Because, I have met so many incredible teachers in this city. After getting to know them, work with them in PDs, and stop and talk to them in my daily life I know we are capable of better.
I do appreciate this site. I used to get my info from Chaz and it led me here. But we are better than the complaining. If we don't come up with a real solutions since we know the classroom better than anyone then someone who doesn't understand our job will give us a solution instead...and it's going to be one we won't like.
Trump speech at 5pm on school reopening.
ReplyDeletecarranza already said he would not accept full remote learning. This is our friend.
20 teenagers contracted Covid-19 at a party in Middletown, NJ.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 12:14- Carranza said he would not accept full remote learning as a PLAN presented by principals (and there are already schools who are doing this, regardless). He did not say no to remote learning. If we're remote, he sure as hell isn't making that decision.
ReplyDeleteOur friends in action...Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday to remove graffiti blaring anti-police messages like “Kill all cops” and “F–k cops” from municipal buildings, calling it “another sign of decay” in the Big Apple.
ReplyDelete“I’m telling the mayor: The cleaning up the city is important. You have a lot of negativity in the air now. Positive progress, move forward!” Cuomo urged Hizzoner during a Manhattan press briefing Thursday.
“It’s gotta be cleaned, it’s graffiti! Graffiti is not COVID, it’s not. It’s spray paint on a building,” Cuomo said, noting the relative ease of addressing the issue, which de Blasio had neglected for weeks.
9:21 and 10:28 hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteI remember from April through June people complaining about remote schooling and now suddenly it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Sure getting paid for not going to work is a great deal, as long as you can get it. When the city wises up and furloughs everyone, then what?
What we need are those Uncle Sam posters from WWII, that say "I WANT YOU to get up off your ass and go to work!" and "I WANT YOU to get up off your ass and go out to eat!" and even a clean shaven Uncle Sam saying "I WANT YOU to get up off your ass and go get a haircut!"
As long as so many people hide in their basements there will continue to be more economic carnage and without tax revenue we have no jobs and no pension.
How about Uncle Sam saying, I want you to have a rational government that won't open up states before we have COVID-19 under control and not have the government I represent tell states to reopen economies when it isn't safe.
ReplyDeleteAt least there’s Major League Baseball, again. If Donald Trump was the starting pitcher and had to face the Coronavirus Covids team —
ReplyDeletehe would have not lasted the first inning and would have immediately been sent down to the minors or released.
LOL. Trump. Would lightfoot have lasted while blacks are slaughtered in her city? How about de blasio? Durken? Wheeler? Frey?
ReplyDelete7:17- Correction. Educators did work from March til end of June. It's called 'Remot0'. Not the best of circumstances for K-12, but colleges do it all the time.
ReplyDelete