Unsafe Schools at any speed --call on UFT and DOE to issue 10 foot poles to vaxed school employees

There's the old joke: 

Guy1: What are those round marks on your forehead?  Guy1: From the ten foot poles. 

The origin of the phrase not to touch people with a ten foot pole comes from previous plagues. 

If I were still working, my unvaxed colleagues would have round marks on their foreheads. Imagine you are in the staff room and one of these characters walks in to eat lunch.

I call on the UFT and de Blasio to issue ten foot poles to all vaccinated school employees. There certainly should be one in every staff room. Or just use that window opening pole.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew is working to get religious and medical exemptions from the city's COVID vaccine mandate. He should be working on getting at least as many safety precautions in the schools as there were last year when COVID was at a lower rate in NYC than it is now but instead, Mulgrew is doing his best to placate an intractable loud minority of anti-vax mandate UFTers, many of whom are anti-union. Mulgrew is part of the bipartisan consensus among Democrats and Republicans to open full in-person learning no matter what is happening with the Delta variant. How many UFT members are we talking about who aren't vaccinated?.... James Eterno, ICEUFT blog

My religion is the cult of the cat. If I were still working that's my excuse. If I were working and I knew colleagues who refused to get vaxed I'd stay so far away from them I'd need binoculars to see them. Or just walk around with a 10 foot pole.

We just might have beaten the coming Delta school-based deluge IF all teachers and eligible students had been vaccinated. But they haven't been, so here goes more lock downs. 

James has been covering the UFT capitulation to the anti-vaxers at the ICE blog. You've got to read some of the comments to see why covid test cases are rising.

HAPPY LABOR DAY FROM EDUWONKETTE TO ALL BUT UFT LEADERSHIP

We love Eduwonkette who we helped get started with her blog over 15 years ago which became one of the hottest education blogs in the nation.

My tweet in response has gotten some play:

 

In Rockaway, Breezy Point (11697), which is supposedly over 90% vaxed, despite being 80% Trump territory, has a 15% testing rate, possibly the highest in the city. How is that possible? A friend from Breezy told me that there is a massive amount of children with Covid. I get that about children under 12. Far Rock Zip 11691 has one of the lowest vax rates in the city -- 39% --- and also has high infection rates -- that has been throughout the epidemic -- with loads who have died. 

 

James followed up with a slam at the so-called "choice" people -- do they refuse to show their drivers license when they fly?

ANTI-VAX MANDATE LEADER GETS UFT ATTENTION BY PROMOTING LEAVING THE UNION; WHAT DOES PRO-VAX MAJORITY HAVE TO DO TO GET UFT TO PUSH FOR SAFE IN-PERSON SCHOOLS AND A REAL REMOTE OPTION?

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2021/09/anti-vax-mandate-leader-gets-uft.html

Calls for remote, sickouts in Chicago and maybe NYC: What does a safe, equitable & responsive NYC school reopening look like? WBAI Talk

An excellent discussion of safe schools yesterday with Daniel hosting Kaliris and Tajh. If you missed it: https://talk-out-of-school.simplecast.com/

There are increasing demands for a remote option, which the de Blasio admin with the help of the NYT pro-school opening and damn the torpedoes ed reporter Eliza Shapiro doing the cheerleading. For two years in a row the DOE, with the silent complicity of the UFT, has bunged remote options as they go on a wing and a prayer schools will be normal. They won't and watch how they have to scurry to make up ground -- compare to LA and Chicago where strong unions  have an impact. I even heat talk about sickouts in NYC --- not clear if this is from parents who will keep kids hone or teachers who will come down with the ed flu.

 

 

 

While the UFT namby pamies, other unions are out there: 

At a news conference outside the CUNY Office of Graduate Studies in midtown Manhattan, James Davis, president of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), which represents 30,000 CUNY employees, called the the city's plan to monitor and reduce the spread of the virus on CUNY campuses "inadequate" and "contradictory." https://www.gothamgazette.com/city/10732-union-leaders-call-for-better-covid-protocols-transparency-at-cuny-ahead-of-first-day-of-school

Before listening to this I checked out Michael Osterholm's must listen weekly podcast which echoed similar themes of safety - he took the CDC to task for putting social issues like kids having to be in school over their safety. Osterholm seems to have moved from opposing a booster shot to being more willing  - especially for elderly like me -- I'm ready to line up the minute they say I can. After all, I'm a proven sheeple.

Osterholm Update: COVID-19

Episode 66: Thank You Dr. Jena

August 26, 2021

In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss the news of FDA granting full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, updates on booster doses and the rationale being considered, and the need for updated guidance as schools reopen.

Email your questions: OsterholmUpdate@umn.edu (link sends e-mail)

View photos of Carl's beautiful place.

References:

• Corsi Box
• ASTM Standards for Face Coverings

Browse the podcast and CIDRAP merchandise store!

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Subscribe on YouTube!

Also worth reading is Arthur on deB: NYC Educator

Mayor de Blasio Does Own Research, Errs on Side of Convenience Rather than Caution  

It's pretty clear that commercial real estate and business interests dominate the school decision making.

There are calls for sickouts in Chicago starting tomorrow let by the union in response to the mayor. You might want to compare the CTU, the UTLA with the uft - small letters intentional.

 

Here is Daniel's post for the Talk Out of Schools program:

Hello, New York City public school family!

What does a safe, equitable & responsive NYC school reopening look like?

Daniel Alicea, NYC educator, will discuss it on 'Talk Out of School' with Tajh Sutton and Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez, two extraordinary parent activists and advocates, in a special broadcast about the fall reopening of New York City public schools.

Catch the show today, Saturday, Aug. 28th, at 1 PM, on WBAI 99.5. FM or also listen live online at http://wbai.org

Dr. Kaliris Salas Ramirez is an NYC public school parent who is a neuroscientist and professor for CUNY School of Medicine. She is also the president for Community Education Council 4, in Manhattan, and a steering committee member for Parents for Responsive, Equitable, and Safe Schools (PRESS).

Tajh Sutton is an NYC public school parent who is an arts educator and the program director for Teens Take Charge. She is also the president for Community Education Council 14, in Brooklyn, and a steering committee member for Parents for Responsive, Equitable and Safe Schools (PRESS).

To learn more about PRESS visit their site: https://www.pressnyc.org/

It's a can't miss event.

If you can't make it, listen to the podcast here later: https://talk-out-of-school.simplecast.com/

Love wins.

#protectNYC #protectNYCkids #remoteoption now #shutdownforsafety