American Federation of Teachers, which represents 1.4 million employees, will give financial and legal aid to any local chapter choosing to strike
Junior high teacher Angela Andrus attends an Utah Safe Schools Mask-In urging the governor's leadership in school reopening during a rally Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Salt Lake City.One of the nation’s largest teachers unions is authorizing its members to strike if their schools plan to reopen without proper safety measures in the middle of the global pandemic.
In announcing the measure, the union’s president blasted President Donald Trump for pressuring schools to reopen even as the virus continues to surge. Randi Weingarten called Trump’s response “chaotic and catastrophic,” saying it has left teachers afraid. The nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association, separately said its members will do “whatever it takes” to protect students.
The Chicago Teachers Union, which has clashed with the city over its school reopening plan, said on Tuesday that it isn’t ruling out a work stoppage. In Massachusetts, nurses represented by the Boston Teachers Union are planning a sit-in at City Hall on Wednesday over the city’s reopening plan. The nurses are calling for rapid testing in schools to identify COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. They also want more protective equipment for nurses and teachers and assessments of air quality in school buildings, among other measures.
Along with mask requirements, the union is also pushing schools to keep people 6 feet apart, to keep buildings and buses clean, and to make accommodations for teachers at greater risk of health problems if they contract COVID-19.
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