Thursday, April 08, 2021

NEW SCHOOL BUILDING CLOSURE RULES FROM MULGREW AND DE BLASIO

 



Dear ______,

Since September, our stringent safety policies have proven successful — keeping the percentage who test positive within our schools low throughout the year. Thankfully, as school staff get more access to the vaccine, the number of adults accounting for new positive cases in our schools is decreasing.

But our children don’t have access to the vaccine yet, and we need to keep monitoring them inside schools to keep them safe. While the mayor has been fixated on removing the two-case rule for some time, we knew we must follow the science and the advice of our independent medical experts during any change in policy. Our independent medical experts have advised us to shift our attention from unlinked cases within schools to the cases within schools that can be traced to a common source. Our focus should shift to even greater monitoring inside the schools. We need to maintain a strong pulse on what’s happening in our schools to avoid spread.

We understand that as circumstances and science evolve, policies should shift to keep up. We have negotiated with City Hall to create a new protocol for closing classrooms and schools that will take effect on Monday, April 12. The goal of these negotiations was to preserve our current level of safety, mitigating spread within schools, while reducing classroom disruptions for our members, students and families.

Here are the details of the new protocol for classroom and school closures:

  • We will continue our very strong classroom closure rule. If there is a positive case found within a classroom, that classroom must move to remote learning for 10 days.
  • If any school has two or more positive cases in different classrooms within seven days, in addition to moving those classrooms to remote learning for 10 days, testing will be increased to 40 percent for that school building for the next weekly testing cycle.
  • If four or more cases are found in different classrooms within one school in a seven-day period, and those cases can be traced to a common exposure within the school, the entire school will move to remote learning for 10 days.
  • Co-located schools within buildings will be considered separate from each other, as long as the schools can prove that there is no physical interaction with the other schools.

It’s been a long road, but as a city, we are making progress against this virus. We have undergone so many changes this year, and I know how flexible you have been to provide as much stability as possible for the students you serve. These new safety protocols will take us through June and give us more consistency while continuing to keep us all safe.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew

UFT President


60 comments:

  1. Bring in all of the UFT office people into school buildings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 2 cases, 4 cases, this many days, that many days.. it's a game. They just play games. Meanwhile, we have to endure the results of their games. Any reaching out to the rank and file to get their opinion, by way of something like, say, a vote? Nothing. Just masters telling their slaves what to do. The UFT just passes to us whatever the DOE/Mayor want us to swallow. They do not arbitrate for us, as a union should. No, they are positioned on the other side, against the will of us workers, keeping us at bay.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There are very few people in this world I have so little respect for. I have none. This spineless man has a fan club. Like other politicians, I just don't get the cult. It is that beneficial to join?

    A few nights in a hotel attending boring conferences and the chance to cheat on a spouse after a night of open bar? I guess so.

    Mulgrew, you believe in Karma?

    ReplyDelete
  4. How long are we going to hide under our beds for?

    Time to leave your houses and live life. It’s all we have.

    ReplyDelete
  5. James, what will it take for you to realize that your way of attacking this isn't working? Mulgrew winning again next year? Mulgrew getting 85% of the vote? All of these complaints about this profession aren't coming from just 3 people? Even if what you say is true and CLs are changed, that will never harm Mulgrew/Unity. They make deals without consulting the 100k+ members. The contracts are landslides. The elections are landslides. Would a different CL at my school change the 2 case rule? The strike threat and then walk back? The lack of discipline code? The 12 year wait for retro? the spring break pay from last year? Come on. You gotta wake up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UFT buildings closed, Arbitration is closed, Charter Schools are closed
    and NYC public schools are open. WTF?

    ReplyDelete
  7. VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE NOW!

    ReplyDelete
  8. 5:07: Next time you're on a zoom meeting with your colleagues ask the ones who are got remote learning accommodations why they aren't coming in.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 732. Thats part of the problem. People taking advantage while others suffer and are put in danger. Just the travel costs me 4 hours a day.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yeah, teachers are openly, in writing, already talking about trying to get an accommodation for next year. Pretty pathetic. If vaccinated, should return. If not vaccinated, you chose not to be. Either everyone goes in or nobody...

    ReplyDelete
  11. 732,

    I have no issues with those who have remote accommodations.

    What I am saying is that I feel comfortable in the building and feel we need to look to open schools in a responsible way.

    The time has come to reopen the economy.

    Anyone who feels uncomfortable or has an accommodation, that’s fine by me.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I agree with 9:20s comment completely but to think down the line at some point the world must get back to normal and full capacity. When that will be it's hard to say but it will come down to this...you choose to either get vaccinated or you choose to not get vaccinated and face the consequences of that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The majority of the teachers in my school who have accommodations have admitted that they sought an accommodation to save money, stay home with their children, save time and hassle of commuting, minimize lesson planning and teaching, and minimize the BS that comes from administrators. They have also been attending social gatherings, traveling, going to the gym, going to bars, going to restaurants, and posting on social media. They also teach multiple lessons a week asynchronously.

    Divide and conquer, one of Bloomberg's mantras, is in full bloom. Teachers need a leader who can unify, strengthen, revive, and lead. A little intelligence and wisdom would help, too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Crony capitalism on steroids.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I get that a lot of us have allowed the MSM propaganda to scare us into living under rocks, and that another group of us want to milk the pandemic for as long as possible, but in reality this virus is just not as dangerous as people think it is. Many people don't understand the statistics.

    Age Survival rate %
    0-17 99.998
    18-49 99.95
    50-64 99.4
    65+ 91.0
    https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html
    updated 3/19/21

    In my opinion the new closure rules are a good compromise that allow us to open up (and stay open) while taking reasonable steps to manage risk.

    -If a student tests positive then the close the classroom(s). That gives time for anyone who's been infected to become symptomatic w/o infecting others in the process.
    -Increasing surveillance after 2 cases will help catch more cases in the future, further minimizing transmission.
    -If there is a severe outbreak then they close the school.

    Let's stop being dramatic, 2 positive cases in an entire building shouldn't shut the whole thing down. We should only disrupt learning is there's an actual outbreak.

    If you're scared then get the vaccine.

    Also stop freaking out about these variants. Variants are expected. In my opinion these "variants" are the MSM & authoritative govt way of milking the pandemic. None of them are actually more deadly.

    I'll change my mind in the unlikely event that a more dangerous variant actually emerges, and has data to back it up. Until then it's just a possibility, just like avian flu.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It’s absurd to make the litmus “known exposure in schools” in high transmission communities when our children and adults go to the same deli and ride the same buses. The idea behind triggers for closure is about CONTAINMENT. https://t.co/CjJzgfRsmR

    ReplyDelete
  17. Preventing needless deaths is more important than opening the economy.

    This is from AP this morning. The piece is called, "Countries worldwide hit new records for virus cases, deaths." The last country mentioned is the US. They note we are in a race against the variants. Let's win the race.

    https://apnews.com/article/countries-worldwide-hit-new-records-coronavirus-cases-deaths-29b18a267fbe972766403f8de0fee415?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Friday_Morning_Wire&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers

    Midwestern states have seen troubling signs in recent days, including a school district in Iowa where 127 students and five staff members tested positive for the coronavirus or are presumed positive.

    In Massachusetts, where the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen to over 2,100 new cases per day, the Massachusetts Public Health Association called on Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to reinstate public health measures. The group urged Baker to limit indoor dining capacity and other indoor activities, saying the rise in cases and hospitalizations followed Baker’s decision to loosen those restrictions.

    “We are currently in a race between the vaccines and the variants,” Carlene Pavlos, the group’s executive director said Thursday. “Without these public health measures, even more innocent lives will be needlessly lost.”

    ReplyDelete
  18. James says deaths are so important, while getting mad when people opt out, as the uft is forcing more deaths.

    ReplyDelete
  19. James, I disagree with the statement that "Preventing needless deaths is more important than opening the economy". I think the reality is more nuanced.

    If you take "safety first" to its logical conclusion then we will end up saving lives at the expense of everything else. Instead we need to find a balance between saving lives and the rest of society.

    Taking the argument to its extreme: Would it be worth shutting down the entire country (China lockdown style) to save just one life? Even if it meant destroying 10 million of livelihoods? If not, would saving 1,000 lives make destroying 10 million of livelihoods worth it? How do we decide?

    Let's compare that to auto accident deaths. If we lowered the speed limit, or designed cars that max out at 15mph, then we'd save over a million lives per year. Why don't we lower the speed limit to 15mph? We accept those million+ deaths as a necessity for society to function.

    At this point in the pandemic what's done is done, so we can't fix the alleged half million deaths. Moving forward the calculus is different. We have the vaccine and a large percentage of those at high-risk have been vaccinated. At this point the cost of opening in terms of lives up is much lower than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. I no longer feel the cost to society imposed by lockdowns is worth it. Keeping the economy and society closed has real and severe impacts on millions of Americans, including our students.

    Besides, the new closing rules are not a free for all. I think they're a balanced way of keeping schools open while managing risk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charlie. China's economy not only survived, it flourished.

      Delete
  20. The smart people here know this is alllllll politics. Masks are bullshit. Anyone moron wearing a mask alone in the car is a joke and has no brain. Hydroxy, zinc, and ivermectin could work fine. No need for vaccine, you will be taking it yearly. If it was so good you would not need to wear a mask and you would not get covid again. Your choice, go ahead get it and see what happens in 1-2 years. Ill take my 99.5% survival.

    500,000 is beyond inflated just like cuomo had people killed to inflate.


    Texas cases plummeting.
    https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas-hitting-record-low-numbers-covid-19-cases-hospitalizations-deaths-positivity-rate-statistics-april-2021/287-4723aa91-4172-4361-b90f-958f881dcb0c

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon2323. Tell all those relatives the deaths are inflated.

      Delete
  21. NEWS: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urges a 2-week suspension of in-person high school classes, all youth sports & indoor restaurant dining. She stops short of ordering restrictions, instead asking for voluntary compliance to slow spread of COVID-19 as cases, hospitalizations mount

    ReplyDelete
  22. About About 38,000 US automobile fatalities in 2019 compared to over 560,000 coronavirus deaths in just over a year. That is not a valid comparison Charlie. This is a terrible pandemic.

    We don't have the leadership at the federal, state or local level that can convince the public to do what it takes (see New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam for examples) to get the pandemic under control, including the variants.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Sometimes I don't like to write about certain topics because I then have to deal with right wing comments. Either I don't print them and get accused of censorship or I have to take the the time to debunk their bullshit.

    This was said earlier:

    "500,000 is beyond inflated just like cuomo had people killed to inflate."

    Scholarly research shows severe undercounting of COVID-19 deaths in pro Trump areas.

    https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/25/undercounting-covid-19-deaths-greatest-in-pro-trump-areas-analysis-shows/

    Tens of thousands of Covid-19 deaths are going unreported in the U.S., with far more missed in counties that strongly supported former President Trump, according to new research.

    The figures suggest that political leanings have helped suppress the true scale of deaths. In cases where the deceased didn’t have a Covid-19 test, a coroner or medical examiner has the freedom to interpret symptoms.

    “There’s potentially latitude to make a judgement call conditional on a set of beliefs about Covid and whether it represents a serious problem or a hoax,” said Andrew Stokes, a professor of global health at Boston University School of Public Health who performed the analysis for STAT.

    ReplyDelete
  24. My bad, when I look it up the first source said 1.25m but it turns out that's globally. In any case I didn't mean to directly compare to auto deaths, my point was that we as a society accept that people will die for various reasons, many of which are preventable, but we do not because the cost of preventing them would be too great. At this point I believe that the cost of continued lockdowns/shut schools outweighs the benefits.

    Anon regarding zinc, quercetin (supplement available on amazon) is a good alternative zinc ionosphere to hydroxy, which is hard to get and once in a blue moon causes side effects.

    Also if ivermectin wasn't being suppressed I think we could've saves thousands of lives. Based on the current data it seems to be a very effective prophylaxis and relatively effective early treatment. I'm "at-risk" but have gotten my oncologist to prescribe it for prophylaxis and plan on returning in person soon. Based on all the data I've looked at I rather rely on ivermectin rather than take the vaccine.

    By the way, after a group of doctors testified to congress on the success they're been having with ivermectin and their covid patients (YouTube is actively banning their testimony) the NIH was forced to switch ivermectin from "not recommended" to "insufficient data for or against", which is the same category they put monoclonal antibodies and other treatments in. Also, Bill Gates is now testing a new, patentable (and presumably expensive) version of ivermectin. Guess he also suspects there's something promising to it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charlie. What if cost wasn't a factor? Our system forces us into compromising life for money.

      Delete
  25. Yes, if someone dies and there is no foul play involved, they will not do an autopsy. I had a relative that died who had covid symptoms but never got tested. He died two days later in his sleep. They did not perform an autopsy but said he died due to heart failure possibly due to covid symptoms. So yes, deaths are severely underreported just as cases are underreported.

    ReplyDelete
  26. FDA answers Charlie

    https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19

    COVID-19. We’ve been living with it for what sometimes seems like forever. Given the number of deaths that have occurred from the disease, it’s perhaps not surprising that some consumers are looking at unconventional treatments, not approved or authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    Though this is understandable, please beware. The FDA’s job is to carefully evaluate the scientific data on a drug to be sure that it is both safe and effective for a particular use, and then to decide whether or not to approve it. Using any treatment for COVID-19 that’s not approved or authorized by the FDA, unless part of a clinical trial, can cause serious harm.

    There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin to treat humans with COVID-19. Ivermectin is often used in the U.S. to treat or prevent parasites in animals. The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses.

    Here’s What You Need to Know about Ivermectin
    FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans. Ivermectin tablets are approved at very specific doses for some parasitic worms, and there are topical (on the skin) formulations for head lice and skin conditions like rosacea. Ivermectin is not an anti-viral (a drug for treating viruses).
    Taking large doses of this drug is dangerous and can cause serious harm.
    If you have a prescription for ivermectin for an FDA-approved use, get it from a legitimate source and take it exactly as prescribed.
    Never use medications intended for animals on yourself. Ivermectin preparations for animals are very different from those approved for humans.
    What is Ivermectin and How is it Used?
    Ivermectin tablets are approved by the FDA to treat people with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two conditions caused by parasitic worms. In addition, some topical (on the skin) forms of ivermectin are approved to treat external parasites like head lice and for skin conditions such as rosacea.

    Some forms of ivermectin are used in animals to prevent heartworm disease and certain internal and external parasites. It’s important to note that these products are different from the ones for people, and safe when used as prescribed for animals, only.



    ReplyDelete
  27. Part 2 from FDA:

    When Can Taking Ivermectin Be Unsafe?
    The FDA has not reviewed data to support use of ivermectin in COVID-19 patients to treat or to prevent COVID-19; however, some initial research is underway. Taking a drug for an unapproved use can be very dangerous. This is true of ivermectin, too.

    There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. That is wrong.

    Even the levels of ivermectin for approved uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death.

    Ivermectin Products for Animals Are Different from Ivermectin Products for People
    For one thing, animal drugs are often highly concentrated because they are used for large animals like horses and cows, which can weigh a lot more than we do—a ton or more. Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans.

    Moreover, FDA reviews drugs not just for safety and effectiveness of the active ingredients, but also for the inactive ingredients. Many inactive ingredients found in animal products aren’t evaluated for use in people. Or they are included in much greater quantity than those used in people. In some cases, we don’t know how those inactive ingredients will affect how ivermectin is absorbed in the human body.

    Meanwhile, effective ways to limit the spread of COVID-19 continue to be to wear your mask, stay at least 6 feet from others who don’t live with you, wash hands frequently, and avoid crowds.

    ReplyDelete
  28. For those who would like to look at NIH data:

    https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/tables/table-2c/

    An excerpt:
    Since the last revision of this section of the Guidelines, the results of several randomized trials and retrospective cohort studies of ivermectin use in patients with COVID-19 have been published in peer-reviewed journals or have been made available as manuscripts ahead of peer review. Some clinical studies showed no benefits or worsening of disease after ivermectin use,21-24 whereas others reported shorter time to resolution of disease manifestations that were attributed to COVID-19,25-28 greater reduction in inflammatory marker levels,26,27 shorter time to viral clearance,21,26 or lower mortality rates in patients who received ivermectin than in patients who received comparator drugs or placebo.21,26,28

    However, most of these studies had incomplete information and significant methodological limitations, which make it difficult to exclude common causes of bias. These limitations include:

    The sample size of most of the trials was small.
    Various doses and schedules of ivermectin were used.
    Some of the randomized controlled trials were open-label studies in which neither the participants nor the investigators were blinded to the treatment arms.
    Patients received various concomitant medications (e.g., doxycycline, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, zinc, corticosteroids) in addition to ivermectin or the comparator drug. This confounded the assessment of the efficacy or safety of ivermectin.
    The severity of COVID-19 in the study participants was not always well described.
    The study outcome measures were not always clearly defined.

    ReplyDelete
  29. The bulk of what the FDA said was to discourage taking drugs meant for animals. Obviously it's a bad idea to take a horse sized dose. That argument is irrelevant when taking legit human pills.

    All drugs have side effects. Ivermectin has been used for decades and is exceedingly safe. I just looked up ibuprofen side effects and the list was much longer and just as if not more serious sounding that those of ivermectin.
    https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682159.html

    During this pandemic, when I started paying attention, I realized that the level of corruption in our institutions is mind boggling. I guess I was naive to think corruption couldn't affect our country like it does many others. I now look at what our institutions say and compare to other countries and organizations before trusting one or the other.

    It's interesting how the NIH finds plenty of excuses for why there is not enough "gold standard" data to support the use of ivermectin, a cheap drug, while an expensive one like remdesivir is pushed, even when the data for remdesivir is weaker than that for ivermectin.

    I rather trust individual doctors and their experience than the government, paid off (legally) by big Pharma. Besides, you can make a RCT show anything you want if you are so motivated.

    Also, think about motivations. The government/big pharma/big business conglomerate has many incentives to suppress cheap medications. What motivation do individual doctors have for promoting drugs like ivermectin? Very little profit potential. If anything they are putting their necks on the line in order to do so.

    https://covid19criticalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FLCCC-Ivermectin-in-the-prophylaxis-and-treatment-of-COVID-19.pdf
    https://c19ivermectin.com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Is the European Medicines Agency in on the conspiracy too?

    https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ema-advises-against-use-ivermectin-prevention-treatment-covid-19-outside-randomised-clinical-trials#:~:text=Ivermectin%20is%20also%20authorised%20for,any%20application%20for%20such%20use.

    Ivermectin medicines are not authorised for use in COVID-19 in the EU, and EMA has not received any application for such use.

    Following recent media reports and publications on the use of ivermectin, EMA reviewed the latest published evidence from laboratory studies, observational studies, clinical trials and meta-analyses. Laboratory studies found that ivermectin could block replication of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), but at much higher ivermectin concentrations than those achieved with the currently authorised doses. Results from clinical studies were varied, with some studies showing no benefit and others reporting a potential benefit. Most studies EMA reviewed were small and had additional limitations, including different dosing regimens and use of concomitant medications. EMA therefore concluded that the currently available evidence is not sufficient to support the use of ivermectin in COVID-19 outside clinical trials.

    Although ivermectin is generally well tolerated at doses authorised for other indications, side effects could increase with the much higher doses that would be needed to obtain concentrations of ivermectin in the lungs that are effective against the virus. Toxicity when ivermectin is used at higher than approved doses therefore cannot be excluded.

    EMA therefore concluded that use of ivermectin for prevention or treatment of COVID-19 cannot currently be recommended outside controlled clinical trials.


    Although ivermectin is generally well tolerated at doses authorised for other indications, side effects could increase with the much higher doses that would be needed to obtain concentrations of ivermectin in the lungs that are effective against the virus. Toxicity when ivermectin is used at higher than approved doses therefore cannot be excluded.

    EMA therefore concluded that use of ivermectin for prevention or treatment of COVID-19 cannot currently be recommended outside controlled clinical trials. Further well-designed, randomised studies are needed to draw conclusions as to whether the product is effective and safe in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I am convinced. I am no longer going to look to the NIH, the FDA, the CDC, the EMA or my doctor for medical advice. I am going strictly by Anon2323, Charlie and the conspiracy theory websites they send us to for medical advice.

    In reality,I think thesr comments are a great reason for COVID-19 vaccine passports to teach just to keep crazies who won't take vaccines away from children.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Spoken like a true fascist freedom-hater, 2:33. If Anon2323; Charlie and the other Americans who disagree with you have their own minor children at home we best keep them away too. Let’s scoop them up and keep their parents from making any decisions. You are why I despise the left and hope for its destruction. You don’t know any news other than that which has been assigned to you by msm. Those of us who look outside msm are not conspiracy theorists in any large number. We are people capable of taking in a lot of information and coming to the reasonable conclusion that our institutions can no longer be trusted. Does that mean they’re up to no good with COVID or the vaccine? No. It means their actions or lack there of or contradictory statements or outright admitted lies( Fauci) have given us pause to say we’re just not going to believe you outright anymore. Earn back our trust. Get it now? BTW I’m fucking vaccinated.

    ReplyDelete
  33. James you have a lot more faith in the integrity of these institutions than I do. What I've said is just my take on what's going on and obviously I might be wrong. I'm happy to discuss but I don't want to totally highjack this post.


    2:33 You sound like the type of person who'd throw a colleague under the bus, if only because you disagree with them. Be careful what you wish for. The mob eventually comes around and eats its own.

    The passport will be great, until they use it to coerce you into something you're not comfortable with. But at that point, once it's installed and our rights are further eroded, it'll be too late for you to resist.

    In Israel, months after instituting their Green Pass, they are already threatening to revoke the passport of parents who do not get their kids vaccinated. What if you don't want to risk giving your child an experimental vaccine when they already have a next to zero chance of severe covid. Why should the govt make this decision for you?

    And if you're fine with this vaccine, how would you feel if you were fired by the DOE (union wouldn't protect you, they're already ok with putting you on unpaid leave if you don't consent to in-house testing) and excluded from society (passport revoked) if in the future you decide you don't need/want a booster/different unrelated vaccine? Regulators have already said that updated vaccines for variants will not need to go through phase 3 trials for safety or efficacy.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/health/covid-vaccine-variants.html

    Their reasoning is that new vaccines would be similar enough to current ones that they wouldn't need full testing. The problem is that if you change the spike protein coded for by the vaccine, you may not be able to predict how your body would react to the new spike protein. One hypothesis for why vaccines are causing blood clots is rare interactions between the spike protein and blood vessels & platelets. Wouldn't you want new vaccines fully tested for safety?

    We shouldn't set this precedent.

    ReplyDelete
  34. "Sometimes I don't like to write about certain topics because I then have to deal with right wing comments. Either I don't print them and get accused of censorship or I have to take the the time to debunk their bullshit."
    Great self-own here.

    ReplyDelete
  35. The point is I have neither the time nor desire to debunk things that really don't have much directy to do with the points made here.This blog is pro-union, anti Unity UFT leadership. Its purpose is to provide information and opinion so UFTers and even some outside the UFT can recognize their power and organize others.

    Arguments over who is pushing ivermectin are usually settled better in other places.

    All that said, why do right wingers come here? I don't see your comments at EdNotes, NYCEducator, or JD2718. Do they ban you? Why here? We have practically nothing in common politically. I am fascinated that we have a right wing readership when the pro union politics promoted here is way to the left in the current political environment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. James you answered your own question. You're against the establishment left so you get some crossover from the right including those of us who dislike the RINOs like many of you dislike the DINOs.

      Delete
  36. you are a funny man James, you think this blog is pro union. lol
    you are delusional to think this blog is pro union with all the uft bashing. thanks for the laugh you are the best.
    like I have mentioned many times, most are censored, even though we have nothing politically in common I look forward to reading different political opinions, unlike you I want debate

    thanks again for the laugh you made my day . you must have been a great teacher, teaching only one opinion, yours and only one side of the story that your left wing bias has created for yourself
    god bless and don't forget my post is responding to your post and shouldn't be censored
    God Bless

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 429 do you really not understand criticism? being pro union does not mean, or necessitate, being supportive of how it is run. the blog is critiquing the UFT leadership/Unity caucus.

      Delete
  37. @413 then your mistake--thinking non-sjws (since "progressives" own the democrat party) are anti-union. "Right wingers" usually just support policies and institutions that have been proven to work...this union has a track record of failures.
    But I'm gonna guess many of those horrible conservatives no longer read your blog or post here. (Happily I rarely bother anymore; maybe just once every 4 months when I think I can help someone).

    ReplyDelete
  38. The right posts here constantly. It is pro union here. A blog is not a classroom. I welcome you to ask any student I taught if I was fair to all sides of the political spectrum.

    You can't answer my question about why you post here on a pro public sector union blog so I am going to ask since I took it a bit off the rails to bring it back to the topic.

    ReplyDelete
  39. James it’s not your job to filter on my behalf. As good as your intentions may be, I am an adult who is perfectly capable of assessing credibility. I never believed Elvis was alive even though I saw trash mag after trash mag say it was true. You’re off the hook. Jack Dorsey is off the hook. We adults are responsible for believing or doubting anything presented to us. We’re not scientists. We’re not in the labs. None of us knows shit for sure. Let it go or just respond with “others disagree” and move on. Respectfully, I make this suggestion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ask any kid who I taught if I was fair to all sides of the political spectrum and I am confident about the answer.

      I can't please some people on comments. If I just let them go, I get emails that I let this be an anti-union cesspool board. If I discard things that are clearly beyond the fringes, I am destroying the first amendment.

      I guess a few folks are obsessed and continually come back no matter how many times I speak up so I will just ask again to stay on topic.

      Delete
  40. UFT Solidarity on new protocols in schools:

    UFT Solidarity is greatly troubled by the inconsistency of our union leadership. There was never any rank and file vote or conversation about any of these changes. We have questions on whether this is legal in terms of what the state has decreed about school closures. The plan that NYC submitted to the state had none of these adjustments in it. We are wondering if this plan was submitted to the state already. Mulgrew and Unity Caucus have consistently throughout this pandemic have ignored the needs of the Rank and File.

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  41. I believe I did answer your question, sorry for the confusion
    to present a different opinion, idea, or belief. if you want an echo chamber let us so called right wingers know.
    good try putting it back on me. you are still the best
    keep believing this blog is pro union if it helps but I enjoy reading many different perspectives from a variety of opinions. some I agree with others I think are total nonsense but I read and
    I can decide for myself. I have my big person pants on and can handle what I believe is nonsense.
    God Bless From A proud Right Winger Who Isn't Afraid Of Different Opinions. In Fact I Welcome Them Not Hide From Them

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  42. James why do you assume that every "right winger" is anti union?

    I'm here because I believe in unions. Doesn't mean I can't simultaneously agree with some ideas held by those on the right. People shouldn't religiously follow one side or the other.

    Also we need to distinguish center-left liberal from illiberal leftist. I'm starting to think that liberals have more in common with conservatives than leftists.

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    Replies
    1. Charlie. Liberals and Conservatives are essentially the same. They differ on social issues if anything. Keep in mind Liberalism (Neo Liberalism in US, since Reagan) is the ideology of capitalism. Whether one is more conservative or more libertarian in their view of how the ideology should be taken, is not a right or left issue, it's north/south on the political spectrum. Liberals and conservatives adhere to the same capitalist system. Leftists, which liberals aren't, do not.

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  43. Right wing, pro union is a bit of an oxymoron in today's world but if you stand for repairing the UFT so teachers, other UFTERS, and other working people can have a better life then we have something in common. Also, we favor kids having a better education with lower class sizes, updated school buildings and safe buildings with empowered chapters and teachers.

    Those are core values we repeatedly stress here. I don't know anyone in a position of power or who has a popular voice on the right or among corporate Democrats who shares those beliefs.

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  44. Most teachers hate teaching and hate the uft. They tell you that on this pro union blog and it's all over every facebook page. Most, almost all, believe the uft is not earning the dues. Not sure the argument.

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  45. 5:03 of course "Our system forces us into compromising life for money."

    What's the alternative, some socialist fairy tail? Read some history to find out how all past socialist->communist utopias ended up. Hint: eventually you run out of other peoples money.

    Capitalism is the only system in mankind's history that's managed to spark innovation and produce so much wealth that even those in "poverty" have $1000 phones.

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  46. 5:10 that's exactly my point. Liberals are confusing themselves with leftists. The Democratic Party is increasingly leftist. What many liberal democrats don't realize is that their party has left them, and that they actually have more in common with republicans.

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  47. You now have a MAGA arguing with a Manistee. You certainly do attract the beyond the fringes in these comments.

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  48. CNN counts at least 14 colleges and universities nationwide that have announced they will require students to be fully vaccinated when returning to campus in the fall.

    Coming soon to NYC.

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  49. Here come the passports UFTers.

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  50. I’m conservative and pro union. The idea of unions not the way the top down unions like UFT are run. Republicans say outright they hate unions. Dems smile and then kill us. No difference between 2 parties on teachers unions so I vote for candidates based on other issues. I go to this blog bc like most here I hate UFT leadership and my toxic work environment. Hope this gives you some insight James.

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  51. Conservative and pro-union here. You have no idea what you're talking about, James. Most of my friends in trades re conservative too and pro union

    ReplyDelete

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