What the UFT Must Do Now To Make Members Feel Somewhat Safer

So we are walking into the bowels of death on Monday. "But," the UFT says, "we have a plan! And we are now on top of things!" 

Yeah. Sure. Right. 

But what should the UFT do? The members know.

The Crack Team met with it's favorite near octogenarian earlier and we spit balled some ideas.

1. Set Up Member Hotline!

Why this hasn't been done yet goes beyond reason. A hotline number and/or form on UFT website should be set up posthaste so members can report themselves, students, what they hear or whatever is happening in their school. Other members asnd I do not trust, nor should we, information we get from our administrations, the DOE, the Union, and the Situation Room. Then with the information gleaned investigate, investigate, investigate!! Maybe the PR person on Twitter can spend time investigating. Or Hedley Lamar from District 25 can.

2. Cases On UFT Website

Look at SUNY Albany. They have a COVID dashboard. Listing cases among students and teachers, as well as those in quarantine as well as recovered.  This is what the UFT should have on its website. 

3. Where Are The Outbreaks?

Screw the Situation Room's friggin map. It's time for the UFT to have a real time map with real time information. 

4. Attendance Rates

List all attendance rates daily for students and staff. Updated daily!

5. Answer This Question

How can schools not be breeding grounds for COVID? One person from the union can answer this in the comments section. Maybe Hedley Lamar from District 25 can. 

6. Stop The PR Crap!

On Twitter we see several spewing the propaganda line of the DOE. Usually from a person who has never ever in their life set foot in a classroom nor wouldn't know what to do if they were in one. Or trolling like Hedley Lamar. 

7. Hold Principals Accountable 

Too many principals are sweeping positive tests under the rug. They are playing God. 

8. Testing In Schools

On the UFT COVID dashboard, there should be how many tests for the days system wide, borough wide, district wide, and for each school. Positive and negative results should be reported.

9. Complete Transparency

It is time now to know who is in charge of the Situation Room, who works there, and what qualifications one must have to work for the Situation room. Heck, where is it located?

Oh yeah. And from the UFT as well.  

Will the UFT implement any of these ideas? Doubtful. These ideas make too much sense. One thing we will hear is this: "We can't push back too hard. We need our seat at the table." 

Here's the dirty little secret the UFT doesn't know. The seat at the table is at the kid's table. All the other unions are at the grownups table. Not the UFT. I sat many a Passover at the kids table. We got the brisket last. The kugel last. 

The UFT's table is a Passover sedar. And guess who the City and DOE have looking for the Afikomen every year? Yep, got that right. And like usual the UFT falls for the same bit every year. For the last 8 years after finding the Afikomen, Uncle Bill told Mulgrew the dollar was in his pants pocket. This year, it will be Uncle Eric doing the same. And guess what? Mulgrew ain't grabbing no dollar.