New York Mayor Bill de Blasio exited a Brooklyn elementary school after observing pandemic-related safety procedures earlier this month.
Photo: John Minchillo/Associated PressThe New York City teachers union prepared on Saturday for a possible strike-authorization vote to delay opening school buildings.
The preparations follow the union president’s recent threat to strike if he deemed it necessary to protect staff from coronavirus. Mayor Bill de Blasio has previously called the union’s strike threat a provocation and a stunt.
The 100-member executive board of the United Federation of Teachers—the New York City teachers union—plans to meet Monday evening. The union also scheduled a meeting online Tuesday for thousands of members of its delegate assembly, which includes representatives from each school building, a spokesman said.
If the executive board approves a resolution to authorize a strike, the resolution could be presented to the delegate assembly for a vote on Tuesday, UFT spokesman Dick Riley said Saturday. Mr. Riley said a “yes” vote from the delegate assembly could authorize UFT President Michael Mulgrew to call a strike if he deems it necessary.
Mr. Riley said drafts of such a resolution were circulating among union officials but it wasn’t yet clear whether it would be presented to the executive board on Monday.
It is illegal for teachers across New York state to strike. Representatives for the city Department of Education and City Hall didn’t immediately provide comment.
The New York City mayor and schools Chancellor Richard Carranza have held numerous press briefings in recent weeks to highlight preparations to open school buildings safely on Sept. 10, showing new cleaning techniques, mask usage and plans to keep children 6 feet apart to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The mayor has said repeatedly that children learn better in school, any classrooms deemed unsafe won’t open, and most parents want to send their children to school in person.
He has said school buildings will open only if the city’s rate of positive coronavirus tests is less than 3%, using a seven-day rolling average. The positive rate is about 1% and has been under 3% since early June, by city data.
The nation’s largest school system, with about 1.1 million children, is one of the few big districts planning to open for in-person instruction. It plans a hybrid model, in which some students choose to take classes online from home every day, while others learn remotely part of the week and go to school buildings for one, two or three days a week.
The UFT wants mandatory antibody or Covid-19 tests for all staff and students entering buildings before they reopen, and is sending union representatives to check each school for adherence to safety procedures, sufficient personal-protective equipment and cleaning supplies. The union says any school building that doesn’t meet its criteria must not open for in-person instruction, but instead rely on remote learning.
New York’s Taylor Law says that “no public employee or employee organization shall engage in a strike, and no public employee or employee organization shall cause, instigate, encourage, or condone a strike.” The term “strike” means any concerted stoppage of work or slowdown by public employees.
Teachers who strike don’t get paid and can be fined twice their daily rate of pay, union officials said. The union also faces financial penalties.
The UFT has about 120,000 school-based members, including about 75,000 teachers, officials said. The last time city teachers went on strike was for one week in September 1975 during the city’s fiscal crisis, over issues tied to teaching time and work conditions.
So far, by city Department of Health data, the city has had nearly 230,000 coronavirus cases, with 19,047 deaths confirmed tied to Covid-19 and 4,636 probably due to the virus.
Write to Leslie Brody at leslie.brody@wsj.com and Katie Honan at Katie.Honan@wsj.com
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