Parents: Would you support a teacher strike if it means there is no DL?

[Anonymous]

It feels like they’ve been on strike all year anyway.

[Anonymous]

I support a strike. My child's school reopened today depsite 5 covid positive cases last week and windows that don't open. How did they pass the walk through. I understand why they say all schools are not safe and I believe as parents in this city we have a role in this too.

[Anonymous]

This is really such a useless thread. Just another place for parents to get worked up at WTU for no reason. There’s not going to be a strike, people! (Some) kids are back in school! Give it a rest already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is really such a useless thread. Just another place for parents to get worked up at WTU for no reason. There’s not going to be a strike, people! (Some) kids are back in school! Give it a rest already.

You apparently aren’t following the WTU’s announcements that they are going to discuss “collective action,” even after they lost the MOU ruling. Could be a strike, certainly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I support a strike. My child's school reopened today depsite 5 covid positive cases last week and windows that don't open. How did they pass the walk through. I understand why they say all schools are not safe and I believe as parents in this city we have a role in this too.

So those positive cases didn’t come from school, given that school was closed. Who was doing the testing? Is this DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At this point, I’m pretty philosophical about this whole mess. I don’t think it’s fair to ask teachers to work in person until they are fully vaccinated. I certainly don’t think it makes sense in terms of public health. So I guess I see their point of view.

In person teaching without a vaccine can be done with risk reduction measures. Many people (teachers and non) worked in person without being fully vaccinated, since last march.

But that's beside the point, because vaccines are HERE. Teachers should be vaccinated, then return to in person teaching. It is not going to look anything close to normal until the broader community can be vaccinated, but we can begin to move in that direction.

Also, I don't think the state/district/anyone can require vaccines until they are fully approved, instead of just approved for Emergency Use. Not that I expect them to actually mandate it in any case, but it really isn't possible with the current state of vaccines.

I do not support a strike. I have been pro-union my whole life, but not anymore.

I'm pro-Union, but I wouldn't support that strike. Teachers have the right to a workplace that's following CDC guidance and implementing appropriate precautions -- good ventilation, enforcing mask-wearing by kids and staff, limited-size cohorts and other measures to minimize the number of people everyone is exposed to, necessary supplies like soap and hand sanitizer, etc. Teachers are eligible for the vaccine. Teachers with pre-existing conditions or vulnerable family members should be able to request a accommodations. If there is some precaution that teachers can point to that precludes a safe opening, find, point it out. But "the risk must be zero" is just misguided. We don't operate on a zero-risk standard for anything else. If some schools aren't ready, then let's talk about those schools, and what needs to be done to bring them up to snuff. If there are additional mitigation measures that can be taken, they should be. But a general strike just to oppose opening at all, at the cost of all education, DL or in person? Nope, I wouldn't support that.

Very thoughtful.
+1

+2
Where were the teacher strikes for banning guns to keep schools safer. If you want zero risk in the workplace, start there. I would support that strike. I was getting so fed up with school shootings and now they are just...forgotten.

[Anonymous]

I moved here from another city where last year there was a multi-week strike, which as a parent I fully supported to the point where I have marched with the teachers and brought food and drinks to the striking teachers.

If WTU calls a strike for the currently stated reasons, they do NOT have my support. The levels of "safety" they are demanding are completely unreasonable. They were not 100% safe in pre-pandemic times. And they are not 100% safe when they are not going to school.

Going into the currently well regulated school setting after receiving a vaccine is not an increase in their level of exposure or danger. I am completely done with these bad arguments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really such a useless thread. Just another place for parents to get worked up at WTU for no reason. There’s not going to be a strike, people! (Some) kids are back in school! Give it a rest already.

You apparently aren’t following the WTU’s announcements that they are going to discuss “collective action,” even after they lost the MOU ruling. Could be a strike, certainly.

Where are these announcements being publicly shared?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved here from another city where last year there was a multi-week strike, which as a parent I fully supported to the point where I have marched with the teachers and brought food and drinks to the striking teachers.

If WTU calls a strike for the currently stated reasons, they do NOT have my support. The levels of "safety" they are demanding are completely unreasonable. They were not 100% safe in pre-pandemic times. And they are not 100% safe when they are not going to school.

Going into the currently well regulated school setting after receiving a vaccine is not an increase in their level of exposure or danger. I am completely done with these bad arguments.

But the teachers aren’t fully vaccinated yet. That’s part of WTU’s argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved here from another city where last year there was a multi-week strike, which as a parent I fully supported to the point where I have marched with the teachers and brought food and drinks to the striking teachers.

If WTU calls a strike for the currently stated reasons, they do NOT have my support. The levels of "safety" they are demanding are completely unreasonable. They were not 100% safe in pre-pandemic times. And they are not 100% safe when they are not going to school.

Going into the currently well regulated school setting after receiving a vaccine is not an increase in their level of exposure or danger. I am completely done with these bad arguments.

But the teachers aren’t fully vaccinated yet. That’s part of WTU’s argument.

Several at my kid's school are refusing vaccination. Many more are making arguments that even after they are vaccinated they still won't be safe (as also upthread). This is *exactly* the moving the goalposts BS that DCPS is complaining about. Every other profession has found an acceptable threshold of risk, including pre-vaccine. Teachers should too, and too many of them want (unattainable) perfect safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really such a useless thread. Just another place for parents to get worked up at WTU for no reason. There’s not going to be a strike, people! (Some) kids are back in school! Give it a rest already.

You apparently aren’t following the WTU’s announcements that they are going to discuss “collective action,” even after they lost the MOU ruling. Could be a strike, certainly.

Where are these announcements being publicly shared?

Twitter to an extent, the WTU emailing members and then members sharing it in various places (including DCUM), Washington Post reporting on the DCPS lawsuit against WTU to stop talking about collective again after the court found that DCPS had satisfied most of the agree-upon MOU (that didn't include vaccines, btw).

For example: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-schools-reopening/2021/02/02/29bfe1c4-6514-11eb-8468-21bc48f07fe5_story.html

"The teachers union has said that no organized sickout or work stoppage is planned, but the school system feared that teachers could unravel the reopening plans, and requested Monday that a judge grant a temporary restraining order against the union to stop any talk of a strike."

What this meant to be a "gotcha!"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved here from another city where last year there was a multi-week strike, which as a parent I fully supported to the point where I have marched with the teachers and brought food and drinks to the striking teachers.

If WTU calls a strike for the currently stated reasons, they do NOT have my support. The levels of "safety" they are demanding are completely unreasonable. They were not 100% safe in pre-pandemic times. And they are not 100% safe when they are not going to school.

Going into the currently well regulated school setting after receiving a vaccine is not an increase in their level of exposure or danger. I am completely done with these bad arguments.

But the teachers aren’t fully vaccinated yet. That’s part of WTU’s argument.

Why wasn't that in their MOU? It's just another goalpost shift, and it's gotta stop.

[Anonymous]

Looks like they’re still considering a strike. https://www.wtulocal6.net/wtu_teachers_want_to_go_back_to_school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like they’re still considering a strike. https://www.wtulocal6.net/wtu_teachers_want_to_go_back_to_school

Oh no! Let have another 30 pages where everyone says the same thing over and over again until nothing happens. Then let’s find a new wtu outrage and start over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like they’re still considering a strike. https://www.wtulocal6.net/wtu_teachers_want_to_go_back_to_school

Oh no! Let have another 30 pages where everyone says the same thing over and over again until nothing happens. Then let’s find a new wtu outrage and start over.

I give you permission to not read DCUM. It's ok.