National review
Biden supports Chicago teachers who refuse to return to school: “I know they want to work”
President Joe Biden on Monday expressed his support for the Chicago Teachers Union in its fight against reopening schools for personal learning, saying, “I know they want to work.” CTU voted on Monday to defy the urban school district and continue to work remotely. “You just want to work in a safe environment, and as safely as possible, and we can,” said Biden. Biden’s comments came in response to a question about the union at a press conference following an American manufacturing event, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. White House staff were reportedly briefed by Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, of the ongoing stalemate in the country’s third largest district. When asked if teachers should return to school, the president said, “We should make the school classes safe for the students, the teachers and the assistance in these schools that run these facilities.” The president added, “We should should be able to open any school, kindergarten through eighth grade if we actually do these tests, and we’ll have the added benefit that I could add of getting millions of people back to work. ”Biden didn’t mention Chicago or Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot in his response. He said widespread testing and working ventilation systems are key to reopening schools – both of which have led to disagreements between officials at Chicago Public Schools and CTU, which is a local subsidiary of AFT. Weingarten said the White House was “very concerned about the reopening and really concerned about getting it right”. “I felt that it was my moral obligation to inform the White House this weekend, which I did,” she said, adding that she told Biden executives about “what I saw was going on in Chicago “informed. She said that she was “very satisfied” with his comments on Monday. Politically powerful national teacher unions form an important part of Biden’s base. First Lady Jill Biden hosted a virtual event with 11,000 teachers last week with Weingarten and National Education Association President Becky Pringle. According to the Chicago Public School’s reopening plan for coronavirus, around 70,000 elementary school students are expected to return to face-to-face learning on February 1 for the first time since schools closed in March 2020. Around 10,000 primary school teachers and employees should report on Monday in preparation for the reopening. However, CTU members voted to stay home due to disagreements with CPS over the reopening plan. 86 percent of all CTU members cast ballots, and 71 percent chose to continue working from home. The union advocates that members with medically vulnerable relatives should be given remote working accommodation at home and that teachers should only return to face-to-face classes after receiving a vaccination. It is also pushing for increased testing of staff and students, as well as a public health metric that would determine when schools should reopen or close. Union members said they were encouraged to hear Biden’s comments on the situation, according to the Sun-Times. CTU vice president Stacy Davis Gates said Biden “takes no sides” but “prioritizes the safety of everyone involved in every city in every state in that country.”
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