George Altamari--Says we can all reflect on his life and leadership. Was active as CL in several schools. Involved in many activities, including strikes. May he rest in peace.
Vincent Gaglione--Was bigger than life. Always well-dressed. Smooth talker. Helped when I was borough rep by making connections. Was a good guy.
Barr--Sterling Roberson has retired. Thanks him and appreciates all his years of service. Will be round of meetings in which we will take nominations for the vacancy.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew--Thanks entire staff who worked all last week to face challenge of today. Overall, today was the day. Good we had extra days, but today was still tough. 4K of us are out. Perhaps 3K on unvoluntary leave, rest have accommodations. Never happy when someone is taken off payroll. Court cases stated over 100 years of vaccine mandates stated they were legal, but we needed to work for exemptions and accommodations, currently about 900.
We don't want schools to combine classes. We have given flexibility for the week but will monitor everything. Many schools have dealt with this internally.
Tomorrow I testify at state hearing on what city is doing with fed money. Then we will meet on quarantining and contact tracing.
Special ed. town hall Thursday. We will also have one with people on involuntary leave. Anyone who gets vaccinated can come in next day. We will see where it goes. Big problem with paras out. Schools trying to process subs. Hat off to UFT staff and chapter leaders dealing with challenges. Want to keep it short because everyone had long days.
Questions/ answers
Q--# citywide teachers not permitted entry?
A. No finite number. Few hundred showed with vax cards. Under 3K if you don't include accommodations. More than half paraprofessionals.
Spring break pay--Step two done, waiting for city's response. Scheduled early December. We are ready.
David Campbell--Looking at mid December, most likely.
Will Adams be pro-charter?
Was vetting committee's biggest concern. Bloomberg meeting with him. Bloomberg would love to try and charterize NYC. We are watching, talk to Adams all the time. Working cautiously.
What agreements were made on impact bargaining?
Will present at next meeting. Every title in emergency can do coverage. Sent out to CLs.
D75 teachers lacking guidance--What if students won't wear masks--We don't suspend, so how do we handle exposure and non-compliance?
Majority of d75 sites had people wear masks and shields. Some teachers wore medical gowns because some students had difficulty with masks. They get more PPE than regular building. Have seen schools where everyone wore them.
What about buses, and cases related to it? Distancing on bus?
Numbers are coming down right now. Waning quickly where there is high vaccine rate. Of course we don't know what's next. We don't have all the answers to your questions. Had great relationship with testing team last year. This year there are changes and issues. School now has to determine what is close contact. Far from ideal. We will make sure people understand what's going on. We need hearing because we don't know what's coming. Disagree with mayor's policies.
What will happen to unvaccinated if Supreme Court overrules mandate?
If that happens they go back to work. There is a lot of law involved, and people have to know what we're being told by lawyers. They were very clear with us. Vaccine mandates have never been overturned, especially if they're done properly. This SCOTUS session could be very dramatic, but lawyers say they'd be shocked if overturned. We are over 97%, approaching 98, but we don't want anyone to lose their job.
Thanks CLs, staff, for rising to occasion.
Reports from districts:
Patricia Filomina--Had annual bocci tournament. Thanks SI people. Raised 1K for disaster relief.
Barr--Sean Rocowitz new SI rep.
Serbia Silva--100 teams for Strides. Asks people wear pink October 10 walk Brooklyn, October 17 elsewhere.
Resolutions-- Endorsement for mayor, comptroller, public advocate. Including Eric Adams, says he will fight for worker rights. Jumaane Williams, Alvin Bragg, Mark Levin, Brad Lander, Mark Levin, Mark Murphy.
Michael Friedman--Lost paraprofessional Michael ?, asks for moment of silence.
Mike Schirtzer and Arthur Goldstein speak against Adams endorsement due to his support for charters and having taken money from pro-charter PACs.
Rashad Brown--We cannot find a perfect candidate. Speaks in favor of resolution.
Liz Perez--Position on charters is because he believes in parent choice. Has been good on other issues. Not anti-public ed. Created steam centers. Supports resolution.
Anthony Harmon--In favor as it stands. Goes with hopes and not fears. Feels hopeful. Wants to educate him on issues. Has supported us on other issues.
Debate closed.
Carries overwhelmingly.
Second resolution--City council endorsements--
Liz Perez--3/4 of city council will be changed. Interviewed 300 candidates. Names many names far too quickly for me to get down.
Resolution carries without opposition.
We are adjourned. 6:44
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