Teachers in New York City, the country鈥檚 biggest school district, are threatening to strike if the city doesn鈥檛 put a long list of safeguards in place within three weeks, when the city plans to reopen schools with a model that includes face-to-face instruction.
In a Wednesday, leaders of the city鈥檚 teachers鈥� union, the 75,000-member United Federation of Teachers, said they were prepared to strike if adequate safety precautions aren鈥檛 in place for students and staff members. New York state law prohibits strikes by public-sector unions, but UFT President Mike Mulgrew said the union is prepared to take its battle to court if necessary.
鈥淭he union is prepared to go to court and/or go on strike if we need to,鈥� he said, according to an NPR report. Other news reports quoted Mulgrew as saying that if schools do open without the right health protections, it 鈥渕ight be one of the biggest debacles in the history of the city.鈥�
The union鈥檚 rhetoric, combined with what Mulgrew himself acknowledged is the of the district addressing all of the items on its by Sept. 10, raises the specter of a strike in the country鈥檚 biggest school system, where 1 million students and 100,000 staff members are scheduled to begin instruction. Union pushback is cropping up in other cities, too, including Detroit, where union members on Wednesday authorized their leaders to declare a 鈥渟afety strike.鈥� If they take such a step, it would mean that teachers would not report to work in person, but they鈥檇 continue to teach virtually.
With COVID-19 cases surging in many places, the issue of school safety isn鈥檛 one that鈥檚 about to go away. According to 澳门跑狗论坛鈥檚 database of districts鈥� reopening plans dozens of districts across the country still plan to include at least some level of in-person instruction when they reopen. New York City is one of the few large districts that鈥檚 still including face-to-face instruction in its plans. As of Aug. 18, the EdWeek database showed that 20 of the 25 largest districts are teaching remote-only.
The country鈥檚 second-largest teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers, in its member districts if health and safety conditions aren鈥檛 met.
See also: Teachers Are Scared to Go Back to School. Will They Strike?
New York City was once a coronavirus epicenter, but now virus rates have dropped to low levels: Mayor Bill DiBlasio said yesterday that the latest health department figures show a test-positivity rate of less than one-quarter of 1 percent. City officials used that data point鈥攁nd a list of safety protocols it鈥檚 planning鈥攖o defend its decision to reopen schools in a few weeks.
Talking with reporters during a visit to a city school yesterday, Bill DiBlasio noted that parents can choose whether to send their children to school in person or keep them home for remote instruction. A department survey found that two-thirds would choose remote instruction. He said his administration would keep talking with the UFT, but he threw this barb in, too, according to the Washington Post: 鈥淲e care more about kids and parents than these games.鈥�
The city education department didn鈥檛 mince words either when responding to the UFT鈥檚 announcement. 鈥淭his is fear-mongering,鈥� press secretary Mirando Barbot said in a statement posted on Twitter by ABC鈥檚 local affiliate.
NEW: says is 鈥渇ear mongering.鈥�
鈥� Derick Waller (@wallerABC7)
Randi Weingarten, the president of the AFT, said in an interview Thursday that the UFT is doing nothing more than pushing for 鈥渃ommon-sense鈥� precautions. DiBlasio, she said, has 鈥渁 hell of a nerve鈥� saying the union is playing games 鈥渨hen the mayor himself has had his head in the sand since March.鈥�
鈥淭he problem here is that the mayor has not managed the reopening effectively,鈥� Weingarten said.
Among other things, the UFT wants the district to permit union inspectors to examine every school building to ensure that there鈥檚 adequate ventilation, sufficient space to keep six feet between desks, and sufficient personal protective equipment. It also wants a guarantee that a nurse will staff each building.
The city鈥檚 principals union has raised concerns about school safety, too. In an , union president Mark Cannizzaro said he鈥檚 concerned that the district plans to reopen on Sept. 10 in 鈥渄isregard of the well-being of our school communities.鈥� Principals don鈥檛 have enough time to implement complex safety protocols, he said.
Detroit, Boston Heat Up
School reopening plans in Detroit heated up yesterday, too, as the union readied itself for a possible 鈥渟afety strike,鈥� in which teachers would work remotely, but refuse to come to school as planned for in-person instruction on Sept. 8. In an emergency meeting yesterday, the strike.
Terrence Martin, the union鈥檚 president, said in a news conference Wednesday that eight in 10 of his members want to teach only remotely. Authorizing a strike isn鈥檛 a step the union takes lightly, he said, but it felt it was necessary, .
In a posted on Twitter, Detroit superintendent Nikolai Vitti said he was confident that discussions with the union can bring about a safe reopening of schools. In a and Thursday, the district said the idea that schools can鈥檛 reopen was a 鈥渕yth,鈥� noting that test-positivity rates are below 3 percent and that no teacher is required to teach face-to-face.
Martin, however, countered in the union鈥檚 statement that 鈥渃hoice on whether to work remotely or in person is yet to be codified with signatures and guaranteed for all our members.鈥�
Teachers in Boston held a demonstration outside the Masschusetts State House yesterday over the safety of school reopenings. They want Gov. Charlie Baker to require rapid coronavirus testing for students and staff and make sure schools鈥� ventilation systems are inspected before schools鈥� scheduled Sept. 21 reopening. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 feel that our buildings are ready to accept our children ... at this moment,鈥� Boston teacher Ana Arroyo told NBC Boston.
One school district in Arizona had to delay this Monday鈥檚 scheduled school opening after several dozen teachers refused to report for work. Gregory Wyman, the superintendent of the J.O. Combs Unified district in San Tan Valley, Ariz., , saying he received so many notices of teacher absences that he鈥檇 have to cancel school, which was scheduled to begin Aug. 17. The district delayed again, until Aug. 19, and that evening, the school board voted to shift from a hybrid approach to an all-remote instructional model.
the start of school for two weeks and expand remote learning in some school districts. In against the state if schools reopen without adequate safety measures. The state鈥檚 biggest teachers鈥� union in it wants state officials to meet.
Staff writer Madeline Will contributed reporting for this story.
Photo: A teacher holds a sign in protest of schools opening in Boston Aug. 19. More than 100 Massachusetts teachers gathered in front of the State House to protest in-person learning, and demand the 2020-21 school year begin with fully remote instruction due to COVID-19. (Allison Dinner/ZUMA)