The executive council of the American Federation of Teachers has voted to pursue various tactics鈥攊ncluding strikes鈥攖o keep schools from reopening for in-person instruction without proper safety measures.
鈥淚f authorities don鈥檛 protect the safety and health of those we represent and those we serve, as our executive council voted last week, nothing is off the table鈥攏ot advocacy or protests, negotiations, grievances or lawsuits, or, if necessary and authorized by a local union, as a last resort, safety strikes,鈥� said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a Tuesday speech during the national teachers鈥� union鈥檚 biennial convention.
Delegates from the 1.7 million-member union were supposed to meet in Houston this month for its biennial convention, but the conference was made virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic. Much of the union business, including voting on resolutions, is closed to the press. But speeches are being livestreamed, including former Vice President Joe Biden鈥檚 address to delegates on Thursday. (He also , the other national teachers鈥� union, earlier this month.)
In her speech, Weingarten slammed President Donald Trump for his response to the coronavirus pandemic and his calls for schools to reopen for in-person instruction this fall. Trump has since said that districts in areas heavily affected by the coronavirus .
鈥淲e know that kids need in-person learning and that remote instruction is no substitute for it, but it has to be safe,鈥� Weingarten said, adding that there can be no one-size-fits-all plan for reopening since transmission rates vary widely across the country.
The says that school buildings can only open in places where the average daily community infection rate among those tested for COVID-19 is below 5 percent and the transmission rate is below 1 percent, and where there is effective contact tracing.
Safeguards also need to be put in place, the AFT says, for educators who are at high-risk for serious health problems or death due to COVID-19. The union says they should have access to accommodations and that safety measures like face covering requirements and social distancing are in place. And Congress needs to send additional funds to schools to pay for these measures, the union says.
鈥淧arents, students, school staff, and their unions have to be involved, not sidelined,鈥� Weingarten said.
In many places across the country, including Arizona and Florida, teachers have been organizing protests against plans to resume in-person instruction. Some educators, emboldened by the wave of teacher activism in the past couple years, have called for strikes.
See also: Teachers Are Scared to Go Back to School. Will They Strike?
The AFT, along with the NEA, has also and other state officials over their directive for school districts to offer full-time, face-to-face instruction to all families who want it.
Meanwhile, 10 of the 15 largest school districts in the country have opted to start the school year fully remote, according to 澳门跑狗论坛鈥檚 tracker.
Concerns About School Police
In Weingarten鈥檚 keynote speech, she also spoke about the national reckoning on race that is taking place after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black people.
鈥淩acial bias is not only evident in one man鈥檚 knee on another man鈥檚 neck,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is built into virtually every system in the United States,鈥� including schools.
The AFT has called for school districts . Now, the union will 鈥渃onvene a nationwide conversation on how to transform school security,鈥� Weingarten said, as well as implement anti-racist training in all of the union鈥檚 leadership developments.
Delegates from the Detroit Federation of Teachers have submitted a resolution to be voted on this week that would recommend schools 鈥渋nvestigate the practicality鈥� of having school security or police officers wear body cameras, and to require 鈥渞egular and continuous cultural sensitivity, emotional intelligence, mental illness, and de-escalation and unconscious bias training鈥� for officers who work in schools.
Historically, the relationship between school police and teachers鈥� unions hasn鈥檛 been neat and tidy.
Also, AFT delegates this week will vote whether to endorse Biden in the general election. The AFT, along with the NEA, endorsed Biden over Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, despite frustration from some members.
Photo of Weingarten 鈥擟liff Owen for the Associated Press