Andrew Worthington is a former United Federation of Teachers chapter leader who currently teaches in New Jersey.
Four years ago this month, educators in NYC public schools organized an illegal sick-out to shut down schools as COVID-19 was breaking out in the city. Three rank-and-file teachers reflect on lessons from the strike for educators and other workers today.
Teachers unions across the country are organizing alongside community members, striking, and advancing an agenda that benefits teachers, students, and the entire working class. Not so in my union, New York City’s United Federation of Teachers.
Last year, as elected officials dithered on whether to shut down schools at the pandemic’s beginning, educators forced them shut. A year later, educators are making the same demand — against the efforts of both Mayor Bill de Blasio and their own union, the United Federation of Teachers.