It’s been four years since COVID-19 first exploded in New York City, and four years since public school workers organized an illegal job action to close the city’s schools. The unauthorized strike — technically a “sick-out” — received little attention amid the din of a national presidential election and larger panic about the pandemic, in part because teachers kept it close to the chest due to its extralegal character.

But four years on, to commemorate the anniversary of the sick-out, the three of us — as current and former teachers in NYC public schools — want to reflect on what the action achieved and some lessons we took from it. (Because of the extralegal nature of some labor actions described, we have left out the specific names of involved members and schools.)

First, we learned that — in cases where the union leadership is unwilling to actively organize and confront the bosses — rank-and-file workers can and must take the initiative ourselves to act together, so that the union can become the organization our students and coworkers need.