From Sue Edelman in the NY Post:
At the Queens High School for Information, Research, and Technology in Far Rockaway, at least 13 teachers and administrators — including the principal and three assistant principals — are now quarantined for two weeks after a supervisor in charge of safety and security tested positive, according to staffers.
“Any one of them could come down with it now,” a staffer told The Post, referring to the exposed colleagues.
Also upsetting to teachers: They spent two days in the building after the staffer tested positive on Monday. They received notification about the case on Wednesday evening.
You may be wondering about the UFT's involvement here. Since Jeff Kaufman works in the building, we were sent the District Rep's email to the Chapter Leader from Wednesday:
It appears that an employee from your school tested positive and reported it to the school on Monday. I have no reason to believe that the administration did not follow the protocols, but although the DOE and NYC promised to do the contact tracing necessary and the notification to the staff, it appears at this moment that neither has been done. The union is involved and I have reached out to the superintendent for an explanation of this case. Please let your staff know.
Jeff Kaufman wrote a response to the DR. A major part of it is copied below:
While [the District Rep] has "no reason to believe" the administration did anything wrong how is it that we find out about this from the Union over 2 days later than the employee reported it? Didn't the administration have a duty to advise us on Monday? When did the Union find out?
[The District Representative] admits no contract tracing was done but, don't worry, "the union is involved." What the hell does that mean? Who is protecting us?
I have notified the media of this finding but I guarantee there are many more schools where this information, like it was in March, will be hidden from our fellow teachers and the public.
I have been skeptical of both the DOE and our Union for most of my career but I never thought they would conspire, either through recklessness or some perverted sense of maintaining the status quo, of endangering our lives. This has to stop.
Sue reports 61 DOE COVID-19 positive tests since September 8, "including 23 who reported to 21 school buildings and possibly infected others." We don't know how many are quarantined.
This has the potential to get worse when the students arrive starting tomorrow in District 75, pre-k and 3-k.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew's words from Friday's tv interview keep playing in my head:
"Look, this is a major challenge and every other large school system ran away from it. We're not."
What I cannot comprehend is why so many UFTers would still go into buildings if they believe they are unsafe.
So now what? Are we decertifying today? Opting out? Another unsafe, scam job that Mulgrew agreed to...
ReplyDeleteIt is cold outside, everyone should be getting sore throat, runny nose, etc...STAY HOME. That is the rule.
ReplyDelete@10:57am...
DeleteAbsolutely.
Why is anyone surprised? Who has walked out? Who has stayed home? Who has opted out?
ReplyDeleteThere was a case in my building (different school) during the first week back. We learned about it first via Facebook, and though our principal unofficially told us in a staff meeting, we have never received official written notification.
ReplyDeleteDoe central, work from home
ReplyDeleteSame for trs...
But we should be sent to get deathly ill? Keep paying dues.
So, we are gonna keep posting how bad the uft is and keep paying them? Maybe death will change the mind.
ReplyDeleteWHY ARE UFT BOROUGH OFFICES CLOSED WHILE THEY SENT MEMBERS INTO CLASSROOMS??IS MANHATTAN UFT OPEN?NOBODY FROM NYC EXPLAINED WHY DOE AND TRS ARE REMOTE WHILE WE GO IN...
ReplyDeleteSo, to the person that keeps telling us to opt-out of paying union dues, what then? After we stop paying dues, what happens? My taxes will increase because my income will increase, right? So I'm not sure about how much I'd actually save when I stop paying. Let's say we all stop paying, what then? No more union for us?
ReplyDeleteWe are posting about how bad the UFT LEADERSHIP is, not the union. A union is absolutely necessary. I think needing a real union is the fundamental reason for this blog and why I continue to post about how awful the UFT LEADERSHIP's actions are.
ReplyDeleteOk, so now that James posted all of this about how bad the leadership is...?
ReplyDeleteWhat can we do in the next 2 weeks to give UFT leadership an ultimatum? What can we do to scare them? A pledge to not pay dues? A petition to vote Mulgrew out? I saw on this blog once that if 100 canvassers got 50 signatures each, that would be enough to vote on changing union leadership or disbanding it and making a contract with a new real union. Can we get those signatures online? Union leadership takes its rank and file as a joke, how can we demonstrate power immediately?
ReplyDeleteIf you have the activists ready to go, I will call PERB and find out from PERB what the rules are for decertification or fragmentation are in a pandemic.
DeleteI backed away from pursuing either one in 2017 because of a lack of organizers.
You get the activists, contact me, I will help you get the ball rolling.
Not ready to go, but I believe that I can make a website which explains this strategy, ask for activists to sign up, and then give them the materials to get the signatures. If we could do it digitally then being an activist is as simple as using twitter a lot. If we explained the strategy on a website landing page, then had a link to a form to fill out (not sure what information would be necessary) I feel we could get 5000 qualified signatures pretty quickly if it was a streamlined process.
DeleteI posted at 2:18 PM, and I agree with you James. I was just asking the "stop paying union dues" person to explain the game plan if everone does that.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that I'm learning that many more people than I expected put all the blame of the disaster this school year on de Blasio and Carranza, but none on our union leadership. I agree with those people that the mayor and chancellor should take a lot of the blame, but I also think the union leadership has failed its membership by following along and allowing the mayor to get away with this. My union dues don't go to the mayor and chancellor, they go to UFT. I expect them to protect me and fight for me, not de Blasio or Carranza.
@3:01 pm
DeleteMany agree with your sentiment. Now that more rank and file are ready to take action and with James' knowledge NYC educators can return the profession to the professionals: Educators. It seems like the blog picked up more doers. Let's gooooo!!!
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, who portrays himself as a loyal representative of his union members while duplicitously trying everything in his power to enact this fiasco of a plan; all the while taking credit for our activism.
ReplyDeleteSo as we are all getting sick we are doing this? This is life and death right now. We have already gone in for 2 weeks to infected buildings.
ReplyDelete91 schools infected!!!
ReplyDeleteYesterday the Department of Education released an updated list of schools that have had at least one COVID case since staff returned. With some students coming back on Monday, 91 schools are already on the list.
301 pm, how about just saying that you are no longer willing to give mulgrew a 300k salary? Have you walked out? Refused to show up? Quit? What suggestion do you offer? Yes. I endorse bleeding their dues.
ReplyDelete@3:31 pm
Delete3:01pm appears ready to take action.
Where is the 91 number from?
ReplyDeletegothamist
ReplyDeleteGothamist
@Gothamist
Some NYC public schools begin to open on Monday, 9/21—so far 91 of them have already reported at least one COVID case. Here’s a map:
WAKE UP!
ReplyDeleteIt is shocking how teachers are so naïve, ignorant, ill-informed, and dare I say stupid. If it was up to Mulgrew you would have been back in school already! Mulgrew agreed to open the schools with no teacher input, with no testing program in place, limited PPE in place, windows that only open inches, etc. because he was not looking out for our safety, he was looking at all the extra staff the city needed and would be paying the UFT dues. And do not dare tell me: "oh but he won some teachers the ability to get accommodations and stay home." Go learn about NYC, NYS and Federal law which required your employer to give you reasonable accommodations if you have a disability. The city did what it was required for it to do under the law, Mulgrew won nothing! The law covers disabled, not if someone in your house is disabled, not if you have childcare needs, etc. and that is why the other groups do not have accommodations.
Thank goodness for militant UFT members! The UFT has been telling protesting teachers to "go back into their building, they are safe." Teachers want to teach, they do not want to sit outside, but they know these schools are death traps! The UFT and City has only been quick to respond to needs at this point because of the private lawsuit filed by teachers. The UFT should have been the one fighting the lawsuit, not trying to coverup their own incompetence.
The worst days for being a UFT member are dead ahead!
So the only thing of value you get for dues is the lawyer, IF you need it. So what happened? Teachers had to pay out of their pocket to get a private lawyer to get accommodations. Why pay for nothing?
ReplyDelete3:31 PM - What do you think will happen to UFT if everyone or mostly everyone stopped paying dues?
ReplyDeleteAs the sheep keep blindly pay dues and go into infected schools, read this...Long term damage.
ReplyDeleteToday marks 6 weeks since I came down with #COVID19, so here's an update (thread).
The good news is that I'm no longer actively sick or contagious (according to the pulmonologist I saw a couple days ago).
The bad news is that I have post-viral damage: partially collapsed lungs (bibasilar atelectasis) and reactive airway disease.
The good news is that both sound scarier than they are and are both reversible, hopefully without too much scarring.
The bad news is that it'll take weeks or even months to get back to normal. Normal for me, a healthy 37-yo, was breezing through a 2-hour spin class. Now, I get winded going up the stairs in my house.
The good news is that every day feels better than the last.
The bad news is I have Obamacare, which I love. It provides excellent coverage & allows me to have the freedom to take years off of being an employee to work on projects I'm passionate about, like my book. I'm worried I'll no longer be able to do that if the ACA is killed.
The good news is that I have an amazing family and network of friends who have carried me through this. I have received so much love and support, including from people on here. I am so lucky and so grateful.
The bad news is people are still not taking #COVID19 seriously—nor is our govt. I am sharing my story so you can see how quickly a mild case in a young, healthy person can get to a point where you're fearing for your life—and the damage it leaves behind. This is not a drill
WHere is your source on the 91 schools? I can't find anything online.
ReplyDeleteThe gothamist has the 91 story.
ReplyDeleteLook what is happening as you are paying dues. Principle has to take over. You CANNOT continue paying uft for what is going on. You will die. You will kill family members. Why can't you see that?
OK 405, play it out, we stop paying, we send the biggest message in the history of the union. Go ahead, what happens?
ReplyDeleteWe get f***ed even more with a union that lays off half its staff because it has so few duespayers
ReplyDeleteWhy am I going into work to teach remotely when I can do it from my home?
ReplyDeleteOh really? Worse than dying? Could mulgrew roll over any further? Give more back? Be deeper in bed with mayor? How can he exceed giving up our health? Even with no dues, couldn't just lay everyone off.
ReplyDeleteFor dues, you get lawyer, although a shitty one.someone I know fired their uft lawyer and won his case with a private lawyer.since I can't afford a private lawyer, I got a uft lawyer who seemed good-till he flipped the script on me at the 3020a hearing.that is what we get.. we definitely need a union.we need a leader who isnt in bed with the city, selling us out at every opportunity.thankfully, if I get picked off, I have time and years.i am staying cuz if I leave, I cant earn extra money during a pandemic.hopefully I will survive d75 kids that refuse a mask.why doesnt the city use child care money to keep them out of schools?and how many d75 teachers of disturbed kids will end up spay on and masks ripped off? Ou heard from a friend that these behaviorally challenged kids are coming for in person learning and the crisis tchr is on remote.should be a good shitshow...
ReplyDeleteWanted to share:
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/Gothamist/status/1307439178418970631?fbclid=IwAR22TeWlq6XPDIGueeHZHUHt_ibFQLHhe1piK6Fonb4PwNep-xKLZ8QvaMc
524, many had to get Bryan Glass to sue to stay home, out of their own pocket.
ReplyDeleteAnother mulgrew special, so we get harrassed...So principals were notified that “school readiness building captains” will be assigned to... wait for it... take staff attendance. Please explain why you have $ for this new unneeded position when we don’t have enough teachers or social workers?
4:39: I can't find the 91 schools story at all in the Gothamist. I tried several searches. Could you copy and past the schools into the blog? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you, James, for the info on requirements for a decert vote. Unity's utter cynicism and mastery of antidemocratic power-consolidation make Mitch McConnell look like an amateur. The machine they've built is essentially invulnerable... so going to PERB really does seem like the most viable of all the difficult potential routes for saving UFT from them.
ReplyDeleteRight now, though, in confronting this emergency, it seems as if just getting teachers to engage in some kind of action at 52 Broadway might be the only effective way to put some real pressure directly on Mulgrew in a fast way. My sense is that many of the thousands of teachers being used this week as guinea pigs for Plan Mulgrew-de Blasio are really, really angry... The absurdity of having them teach remotely, in a mask, from an unsafe building is just so obvious and the risk is so immediate and real. It would take just a tiny fraction of them holding signs and protesting outside UFT headquarters to have an effect and perhaps get some good press coverage.
The challenge, as always, is how to get people informed and mobilized. I would guess that MORE is reluctant to do it for fear of being dismissed as 'politically' motivated. This is probably a valid concern. But frustratingly, most other activists have also shied away from pointing the finger directly at Mulgrew for his broad-daylight treason, despite what seems to be unprecedented openness among R&F to being organized around their outrage about this.
The problem with continuing focus on Tweed, chanting "we won't die for DOE" -- a perfectly valid message in itself -- is that at this point this only serves Mulgrew's agenda. It keeps the focus off of him and allows him to pretend to be an advocate of teachers' safety rather than being exposed as the co-owner of the very plan that is putting them in harm's way.
If we want to have any chance of stopping this madness, I really believe the new mantra of every conscious, pissed off teacher needs to be "we won't die for UFT." I mean, how much more open can Mulgrew get (as you've written) about his collusion with the mayor in putting teachers' lives at risk? How much more clear could it be that long as he is co-directing this madness with BdB, it's going to go on until we hit 3%? I think many regular members see these issues more clearly than long-time activists/dissidents.
I just don't get it. This is right button, and perhaps the *only* button, to push. But the only people who have the connections at platforms to push it remain stubbornly wedded to an us-versus-Carranza script that's no longer relevant. And that's really holding things back.
(I have to say, never has the Arthur/Mindy/Mike strategy of 'change from the inside' seemed so bankrupt and hopeless. It sure would be nice to have them back intact from the Unity body snatchers right now, de-oathed and fighting the good fight. But alas.)
In any case, I will continue talking to every teacher I know and using any platform available to try to convey this message, but would welcome any thoughts from you and others about what else can be done. When I think of those most-vulnerable D75 and pre-K kids and teachers heading into those buildings tomorrow, it makes me want to cry and scream in rage at the same time -- at the BdB and Carranza, of course, but most of all at that scumbag and traitor, Mulgrew, whose only job is supposed to be to protect them, and who may well be sending some of them to get infected or even die.
For everybody's sake, it's time for him to start taking some real heat for what he has done-- from the members he has betrayed and everyone who loves them.