Tuesday, July 28, 2020

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM MULGREW: NO PROMISES BUT THERY'RE WORKING ON ACCOMMODATIONS FOR MEMBERS LIVING WITH RELATIVES WITH UNDERLYING CONDITIONS

I know I shouldn't even bother getting agitated when I see another email from UFT President Michael Mulgrew but I still do. 

On the same day as the AFT is talking strike, the UFT puts out this:

●Accommodations: We are in talks with the DOE about what can be done for UFT members who do not have underlying medical conditions themselves, but who live with and care for those who do. We can’t promise anything, but we clearly understand this concern and are working on it.

This is the degree to which the UFT has fallen. We no longer make demands. We work on things. Am I being too harsh here? 

In my humble opinion if we were seriously and credibly  planning for a possible walkout from unsafe school buildings, we could have a great deal more leverage with City Hall and the Department of Ed. 

The full email:


The latest developments

Dear UFT Member,

I want to thank the thousands of you who participated in our telephone town hall last Tuesday. When we come together as a union to support each other and to fight for what we know is necessary, we are unstoppable, even during this unprecedented crisis.

City Hall and the Department of Education owe us a comprehensive plan for reopening school buildings. We will carefully analyze that plan to determine if it is safe for our members and our students to return to their buildings in September.

Because there's so much going on, I will be regularly communicating with all of you about what we are working on and any new developments.

Here's what we have to report:

●Accommodations: The DOE’s reasonable accommodation process is up and running. There is no deadline — you can apply at any time. But we are asking members to apply by July 31 to keep things moving. We worked with the DOE to streamline and speed up the process.

●Ventilation: The DOE now has a budget and a plan for checking building ventilation plans, upgrading air filters, and checking airflow. We have identified school buildings with ventilation systems that may not be adequate and will be inspecting them.

●Other safety measures: The DOE has ordered disinfectants, masks and other supplies and has begun implementing other safety measures, such as new entry protocols and plexiglass partitions for main office and school safety agent desks in common areas. Each school will have a building response team tasked with making sure that schools have the necessary materials and that the agreed-upon protocols and policies are not only in place but being followed.

Here’s what we are still pressing the DOE to answer for us:

●Accommodations: We are in talks with the DOE about what can be done for UFT members who do not have underlying medical conditions themselves, but who live with and care for those who do. We can’t promise anything, but we clearly understand this concern and are working on it.

●Remote instruction: We are in talks with the DOE about what the remote instructional day looks like and how it will be staffed. Whether we are fully remote or adopt a blended learning model in the fall, remote instruction will account for the majority of most students' educational time. One group of children will work with the same cadre of remote instructors, but whether those instructors are from the child’s home school or from a more centralized pool of educators is still unclear.

●Testing and tracing: We are working with the DOE, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and city agencies including NYC Health + Hospitals to establish clear protocols for what happens at a school if a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19. Any school building that re-opens will need an isolation room; a school nurse who can trigger the testing and tracking response in the event a child or adult is ill; a communication plan for alerting families and staff; and a clear closure plan. The medical experts we work with are also recommending everyone do two things, regardless of whether we go back into school buildings or not. First, get a flu shot this season. Second, get a COVID antibody test as a baseline.

As I said at the town hall, whether or not the DOE gets it together enough for school buildings to reopen, a large part of our teaching and support services for the foreseeable future will be delivered remotely. So while we work to make school building safe, we have to simultaneously work to make sure our remote capabilities are the best they can be.

We want to get back to our school buildings, but we want to return safely. We need assurances that our school system is using the same level of precaution as every other government agency or corporation in New York City that is bringing people back to work.

There's broken trust between City Hall and the UFT because of how things played out in March. So we are rightfully cautious - there is too much at stake.

Together, we will fight to keep each other and our students safe. We have each other's backs.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew
UFT President

31 comments:

  1. You are not wrong about our timid leader Michael Milquetoast.

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  2. If the doe agrees to this, there will be next to no teachers coming in in September. People can make up that people are living with them when they really aren't.

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  3. “There's broken trust between City Hall and the UFT because of how things played out in March.” 🥴 Mulgrew’s has to think teachers are the stupidest group of creatures on the face of the Earth. He’s sunk so low that he’s pulling a Cuomo. Teachers will be going back into school this September unless they start protesting. Don’t wait for the CSA and don’t put your faith in Mulgrew - trust in him was broken in March. Unbelievable.

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  4. That is how I talk to children. He must think we are complete morons and we are for taking it continually without fighting back.

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  5. CSA has 141 questions. Mulgrew has 3. We are so fu***d.

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  6. You're not wrong. Ventilation?Really? I'd probably be less pissed if he just cut to the chase and said youre all screwed. Peace out. Which is exactly what this is going a long way to say.

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  7. Mulgrew is placing our LIVES AT RISK! We need to strike! I like for him to relocate his office in one of these schools so his life can be in danger of DEATH as well!

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  8. He is so bad you should keep paying dues.

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  9. Trump is just as bad by threatening to hold funds if schools don't open. I challenge him to send Barron to inner city D.C. school.

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  10. No money, right? No money like the 2014 contract. Chirlane McCray’s new ThriveNYC website reveals $1.25B program’s empty boasts

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  11. Last week Mulgrew said 3000 put in for medical accommodations.. this was probably the strongest bunch as they knew they were going to seek accommodations. So say that number triples to 9000, will there be enough teachers for remote learning? Probably not. I bet they have a sense that many more parents do not want to send there kid back into a diseased buildings, much to the chagrin of Diblasio's claim that almost a half a million want back in.
    So then what, enter the hero Mulgrew, "oh we are going to help teacher who live with people at risk of COVID"! Sure, that is the motivation... not the looming remote teacher shortage.

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  12. I don’t blame Trump. DeBlasio and his paisan Cuomo have done nothing but insult him ; and deB has robbed the city blind. DeBlasio painted a BLM slogan in front of Trump Tower ( not for BLM, but for a show) without that Federal money, there will be layoffs and they may even come a time when they go after retirees’ pensions. Mulgrew is misrepresenting all of us, whether we pay dues or not. Dues aren't at the point. Everyone - if you care at all about teaching, your career and:or students - have to protest and that includes retirees. If we protested last spring against Mulgrew, we wouldn’t be dealing with this now.

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  13. @Anonymous 9:05 PM:

    NYC does not need federal funds. There is plenty of fat that can be cut from the DOE budget but DeBlasio and Carranza have already surrendered their souls. Our local State and City politicians and educational leaders are the ones responsible for the unsafe, corrupt, money pit the NYC public schools have become.

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  14. When you have incompetent leaders with incompetent wives there is no good to come out unless you have a serious protest with thousands of teachers on board.

    Some charter schools are going remote until october then coming to a decision on whats next.

    How will you know if a kid when he/she is sick doesn't have the flu and the coronavirus will be the brainwashed thinking/fear. If you feel safe as a parent to send kid to school, then do it. If you want to be ultra conservative about this then go remote first semester and begin semester 2 live if vaccine and no major cases

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  15. Mulgrew's email, Carranza's parent meeting, and Cuomo's invite to MLB yesterday to play all of their games in NYC sent my anxiety through the roof yesterday. We're going back.

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  16. People are infecting older family members in shared homes
    Front-line caregivers, elected officials and experts in Houston, South Florida and elsewhere said they are seeing patterns of hospitalization and death that confirm fears this would happen.

    WaPo

    It makes no sense to open schools.

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  17. Ok, help me out here: Why, why, why, do NYC teachers keep thinking that we are going to be "fully remote" in September? Cuomo set the standards for reopening a couple of weeks ago. 5% infection rate means closure. NY is currently at 1.5%. If it stays that way SCHOOL BUILDINGS WILL BE OPEN. He does not give a shit about what is happening in Texas or California. He cares about the economy of NY. He is pandering the parents who want schools to be open. He hates teachers as well. The bottom line is that yes, opening the buildings will be a shit show but as long as the Covid numbers are down, we all better be ready for the fact that we will be expected to report to our schools. (And don't even get me started on a strike. Mulgrew will NEVER go for that.) A wildcat strike/sickout is possible, but even that is going to be a hard sell to the general public if infections stay at the level that they are now. I hope I am wrong but I am being as realistic as possible here.

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  18. Because we want to be safe, we want kids to be safe and all our families too. Why do Google employees get to work from home for the rest of the year? So many school districts are closing buildings too.

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  19. Looks like things are ready to roll. de Blasio just announced that the final opening plan will be announced the Friday.

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  20. My bet is that this means unless the numbers spike over the next few weeks the school doors will open.

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  21. At least the Public Advocate—Jumanne Williams suggested that students on a very limited basis— report to schools—not till October.
    That’s better than nothing and does buy time for all to rethink this dangerous policy of allowing buildings to reopen after Labor Day.

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  22. At least the Public Advocate—Jumanne Williams suggested that students on a very limited basis— report to schools—not till October.
    That’s better than nothing and does buy time for all to rethink this dangerous policy of allowing buildings to reopen after Labor Day.

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  23. At least the Public Advocate—Jumanne Williams suggested that students on a very limited basis— report to schools—not till October.
    That’s better than nothing and does buy time for all to rethink this dangerous policy of allowing buildings to reopen after Labor Day.

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  24. You people are dumbasses. You're not getting it. The reason to keep the schools closed is so the rate stays that low. If he were really comfortable, he would allow everything else to open. If we go full open, we're going to end up like Florida, Cali and Texas.

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  25. Full open isn't even a consideration, just the half assed hybrid model.

    Push school closings and see the exodus from the City, something I said on this blog would not happen. The City is on the precipice of a disaster of 1975 proportions. Say goodbye to your job and your pension when the State and City declare bankruptcy.

    I can understand people's apprehension but no society can sustain being shut off for months on end. Even the old Cold War Civil Defense manuals only called for a 2 week shelter in place after a nuclear bomb.

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  26. Mulgrew said he sternly "told " the chancellor, that he expected the Chancellor to make things right over our abruptly cancelled April Break.

    I do not want 4 days (an arbitrary number unilaterally given via edict) added to my CAR.

    I want full pay for all the days.

    So, what a "state of emergency"--- when it snows, and sanitation is ordered to worked extra they get time and a half or double time. ---- Not some crumbs thrown at them.
    Yes, Gov Cuomo was within his right ordering remote to continue, but what about payment for services rendered? Ironically, THE NYC DOE is in love with the Phrase "theft of services,” if you leave the building five minutes early on a professional development day.

    Well my services were stolen!!!!

    why is this never discussed??
    It’s a non- issue apparently.

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  27. @2:06, we're not dumbasses, we understand the rationale of keeping schools closed, but we don't make that decision (Unless we strike, lol).

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  28. We have to open. Not opening will be very very very bad all around. For numerous reasons. Go in. Stay as safe as possible. So many other people are back at work. But not opening would be very very bad and have bad ramifications.

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  29. yes, but those people who are at work have cooperative employees. Also you can limit customers and throw them out if they refuse to comply. We have kids who will do whatever they want and we won't have the ability to throw them out when they don't cooperate.

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  30. The writing is on the wall on how scary it is going to be. Check out article:

    "NYC schools roll out plan for reacting to positive COVID cases in reopened buildings"

    By MICHAEL ELSEN-ROONEY
    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
    JUL 30, 2020 AT 7:09 PM

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