{"id":191597,"date":"2021-03-05T18:31:26","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T23:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=191597"},"modified":"2021-03-05T18:31:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T23:31:28","slug":"teachers-union-president-claims-union-has-been-trying-to-reopen-since-april-heres-what-actually-happened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teachers-union-president-claims-union-has-been-trying-to-reopen-since-april-heres-what-actually-happened\/","title":{"rendered":"Teachers Union President Claims Union Has Been \u2018Trying to Reopen\u2019 Since April. Here\u2019s What Actually Happened."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fteachers-union-president-claims-union-has-been-trying-to-reopen-since-april-heres-what-actually-happened%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=191597&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/GettyImages-631332572.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The president of the nation\u2019s most powerful teacher\u2019s union claimed Thursday that her union has been \u201ctrying to reopen schools\u201d so children can resume in-person classes since April of 2020, when pandemic lockdowns were in full force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSorry, you know I get very angry about this.\u00a0My union has been trying to reopen schools since last April,\u201d American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told CNN host Chris Cuomo during an appearance on his primetime show Thursday evening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know how important in-school learning is!\u201d Weingarten added.<\/p>\n<p>She went on to blame former President Trump for teachers\u2019 reluctance to return to in-person classes, claiming Trump did not give teachers the data, guidance, and resources they needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI begged for it for months and months and months,\u201d Weingarten said, adding that\u00a0it is \u201ca complete lie\u201d that teachers are being unreasonable in their requests.<\/p>\n<p>Later in the interview, Weingarten emphasized \u201cthe joy\u201d of in-person learning, recalling a visit she made to a reopened school along with First Lady Jill Biden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe joy in that school, the joy in the kindergarteners\u2019 faces, the joy in seeing the First Lady walk the halls talking to all the teachers,\u201d she said. \u201cThey have the safeguards. People are back in school. There is a sense of resiliency and joy there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, President Biden\u00a0announced a plan to prioritize teachers getting the coronavirus vaccine, proposing a goal to give teachers\u00a0at least one dose of a vaccine this month.\u00a0Critics accused the president of capitulating to teachers unions, arguing that pharmacies would have to deny at-risk people such as the elderly in order to provide vaccinations for young and healthy teachers.<\/p>\n<p>Weingarten said Thursday that the move to prioritize teachers was \u201chuge\u201d but cautioned that more safety measures are still needed in schools.<\/p>\n<p>Her cautious response has become a familiar one. As much as the Biden administration, city governments, and parents of students have attempted to assuage the COVID-19 fears of teachers unions, the response has been largely the same for nearly a year: the measures put in place are not enough.<\/p>\n<p>The AFT, the\u00a0second largest teachers union\u00a0in the country with 1.7 million members, began advocating for the closure of schools as soon as the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, demanding that school districts meet safety demands that critics say are unreasonable before teachers consider returning to the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Back in April, Weingarten accused the Trump administration of believing that \u201cgovernment is not necessary,\u201d stating that is why the administration was unable to put together guidance for public schools.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the Trump administration\u2019s \u201clack of preparation,\u201d \u201cthe only way to mitigate right now is basically to close down the economy,\u201d Weingarten <a href=\"https:\/\/talk-out-of-school.simplecast.com\/episodes\/interview-with-aft-president-randi-weingarten\">said<\/a> on April 1 of last year on the\u00a0WBAI radio show \u201cTalk out of School.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank goodness we have a Democratic House of Representatives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>In May, Weingarten\u2019s stance was that schools need cash, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2020\/05\/28\/coronavirus-how-schools-reopen-safely-teachers-union-randi-weingarten\/5277774002\/\">saying<\/a> that until they know what the next federal aid package is going to be for states, schools, and localities, \u201ca lot of people are really immobilized.\u201d She hailed the massive $3 trillion HEROES Act stimulus package that the House passed in May, but that died in the Senate.\u00a0As of January, about\u00a0$9 billion of the $13.2 billion in school aid provided by the\u00a0CARES Act, passed in March of last year, remained unused.<\/p>\n<p>As the fall semester drew closer, Weingarten <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aft.org\/press-release\/afts-weingarten-rejects-trumps-schools-reopening-guidelines-too-little-too\">criticized<\/a> the Trump administration\u2019s school reopening guidelines, describing them as \u201ctoo\u00a0little, too late\u201d and reiterated that schools need more emergency aid to open, specifically\u00a0$116 billion for extra safety measures. In July, she announced that union leadership would support local chapters engaging in\u00a0\u201csafety strikes\u201d if school districts failed to follow\u00a0health precautions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf authorities don\u2019t protect the safety and health of those we represent and those we serve \u2026 nothing is off the table,\u201d Weingarten warned. \u201cNot advocacy or protests, negotiations, grievances or lawsuits, or, if necessary and authorized by a local union, as a last resort, safety strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne factor, one person\u00a0is making them all worse: Donald J. Trump,\u201d she said, referring to the pandemic, the\u00a0economy, and the protests that swept the nation this summer.<\/p>\n<p>The school year wore on through the winter, and a growing number of students and parents stuck at home who had once been determined to remain resilient through the crisis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/education\/2020\/11\/27\/remote-learning-emotional-toll\/?arc404=true\">became<\/a> more discouraged. As the fall semester drew to a close in December, thousands of children around the country found they had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/04\/us\/children-vaccine-teachers-schools-reopen-coronavirus.html\">failed<\/a> their classes.<\/p>\n<p>In November, when New York City\u2019s public school system shut down entirely again as coronavirus cases spiked, Weingarten acknowledged that\u00a0in-person classes were not driving the city\u2019s increased transmission rate. She argued, however, that schools were still vulnerable to the presence of the virus in the surrounding community despite transmission rates inside the city\u2019s schools being significantly lower.<\/p>\n<p>Weingarten, who previously headed\u00a0the United Federation of Teachers, the\u00a0AFT local union representing most teachers in New York City public schools, had previously approved of the city\u2019s decision earlier in November to reopen some in-person learning with strict safety precautions.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Weingarten admitted many times over the past year that virtual learning is \u201cnot the best way to engage kids\u201d and \u201chas not been good for kids.\u201d She has acknowledged that children must return to in-person learning and said she wants classrooms\u00a0to open back up as soon as possible, but the counterpull of hundreds of thousands of her union members who want to continue teaching from the safety of their homes remains strong.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Trump is no longer president. Biden is not only approving teachers for the coronavirus vaccine but prioritizing them, and schools across the country are opening up their classrooms, especially private schools.<\/p>\n<p>In January, Weingarten was criticized for advocating for a $22.7 billion coronavirus testing program for the spring semester, critics saying the cost and unwieldiness of such a plan would only\u00a0delay school reopenings further.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its highly-anticipated and clearest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/community\/schools-childcare\/operation-strategy.html\">guidance<\/a> yet on reopening schools.\u00a0The guidelines recommend in part that schools enforce six-foot physical distancing, allow students and teachers who are vulnerable to severe illness to opt out of in-person learning, and prioritize vaccinating teachers.<\/p>\n<p>The CDC noted, however, that teacher vaccinations are not necessary for reopening schools.<\/p>\n<p>Later in February, Weingarten was asked by Axios\u2019 Dan Primack\u00a0whether there is a point at which kids have been out of physical in-person school for so long that the education they have lost \u201cisn\u2019t really recoverable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, I don\u2019t believe that. I believe that kids are resilient and kids will recover. But we as adults have to meet their needs,\u201d Weingarten responded, adding that, \u201cwe have to believe that this is recoverable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her response, which appeared to downplay the negative effects that isolation and virtual learning have had on American children, was promptly panned as out of touch. In one of the most disturbing instances of the negative effects of school closures on students, Clark County schools in Las Vegas were forced to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/student-suicides-drive-las-vegas-schools-to-reopen\/\">reopen<\/a> after 18 students committed suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, prominent members of the union have been caught reaping the benefits of in-person learning for their own children even while calling for continued school closures.\u00a0The president of a local AFT union,\u00a0Berkeley Federation of Teachers president Matt Meyer was recorded taking his two-year-old daughter to a private pre-school school after advocating for keeping the local public school district shut until all teachers and staff are vaccinated.<\/p>\n<p>As of February, about half of the country\u2019s children have not returned to school.\u00a0Some parents, meanwhile, say they have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/mar\/16\/coronavirus-us-schools-closures-children-meals\">driven<\/a> to tears over prolonged closures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand parents\u2019 frustration,\u201d Weingarten said last month. \u201cBut the teachers and their unions didn\u2019t create the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some data suggests that fears about the coronavirus being passed between students and teachers in a school setting have been disproportionate.\u00a0A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pediatrics.aappublications.org\/content\/pediatrics\/early\/2021\/01\/06\/peds.2020-048090.full.pdf?utm_source=Sailthru&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=MJ_20210205&#038;utm_term=Jolt-Smart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study<\/a>\u00a0from the American Academy of Pediatrics found zero instances of child-to-adult transmission within schools among 90,000 students and staff in 11\u00a0North Carolina school districts who returned to in-person classes. Over nine weeks, there were 773 community-acquired coronavirus cases as well as 32 infections acquired in schools, the study found.<\/p>\n<p>Biden said at a town hall last month that the goal is to have a\u00a0\u201csignificant percentage\u201d of K-8 schools open for in-person learning five days a week by the end of his first 100 days in office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUncertainty is going to be a fact of life,\u201d Weingarten said in May.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly a year later, her prediction feels more like a promise.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1614970634236000&#038;usg=AFQjCNEqF1HpYU53pESUvPcT6y35n2Lm-Q\">member<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The president of the nation\u2019s most powerful teacher\u2019s union claimed Thursday that her union has been \u201ctrying to reopen schools\u201d so children can resume in-person classes since April of 2020, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2274872,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/GettyImages-631332572.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Teachers Union President Claims Union Has Been \u2018Trying to Reopen\u2019 Since April. Here\u2019s What Actually Happened.","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/GettyImages-631332572.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Teachers Union President Claims Union Has Been \u2018Trying to Reopen\u2019 Since April. Here\u2019s What Actually Happened.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2274872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}