Posts tagged in-person learning

    Op-ed / Commentary ● Labor Unions

    No More Snow Days for New York City Students. Blame the Teachers’ Union

    January 27, 2026 // Mamdani may have been the face of the decision, but he wasn’t its author. The real culprit behind the disappearance of snow days is the scheduling inflexibility caused by new holidays and the city’s contract with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). The Department of Education (DOE) sets the school calendar in close consultation with the teachers’ union, which generally tries to minimize the work required of its members. During the 2023 contract negotiations, the DOE issued calendars for the following two school years, effectively locking in the current 2025–26 school calendar as part of the teachers’ labor contract. Over the years, the DOE calendar has also inserted more holidays as a sign of cultural inclusivity. Mayor Bill de Blasio added Lunar (Chinese) New Year and the Muslim holy days of Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha. Mayor Eric Adams added Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

    Bill de Blasio education Eric Adams holidays in-person learning labor contracts New York New York City remote learning social justice students UFT vacation days Zohran Mamdani

    Blog ● Labor Unions

    Americans for Fair Treatment: Member Spotlight: Rochelle Porto

    February 6, 2023 // "The union does not stand up for kids, and I care about the children I teach and think we should do what’s best for them.”

    agency fees bargaining unit in-person learning Janus Pandemic Philadelphia Federation of Teachers special education Union union representation virtual learning

    News Article Research ● Unions

    Education, Tech Policy Leaders Ask Congress to Investigate Partnership Between NewsGuard, Teachers’ Union

    May 2, 2022 // A group of leaders from 19 education and tech policy institutions sent a letter on Thursday asking members of Congress to investigate a new partnership between the nation’s second largest teachers’ union and NewsGuard, a tool that provides “trust ratings” for news and information websites.

    AFT American Federation for Children American Federation of Teachers apolitical journalistic criteria Brent Bozell BRITTANY BERNSTEIN BuzzFeed censor censorship Christopher Rufo Congress Corey A. DeAngelis critical thinking skills CRT Democratic allied causes Democratic National Convention delegate Democratic Party discredited journalism fake news Fight for Schools fox news free expression Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign House leadership Ian Prior in-person learning keep schools closed left-wing organization liberal union activist Manhattan Institute Matt Skibinski Media Matters Media Research Center National Review New York Post news and information websites NewsGuard NewsGuard’s browser extension Nicole Neily Nieman Journalism Lab study Occupy Democrats online dishonesty open dialogue Parents Defending Education political intolerance political partisanship politicize schools Randi Weingarten RawStory Senate committees Senate leadership Senate subcommittees silence critics students teachers union tech policy institutions trust ratings Washington Free Beacon

    News Article ● Strike Unions

    Teachers union votes to approve contract after two-week strike in Proviso Township high school district

    April 5, 2022 // The three-year agreement includes a 3% raise for teachers each year of the contract, as well as an annual $500 bonus.

    Chicago Sun Times in-person learning Jermaine Nolen Proviso Teachers Union Proviso Township Proviso Township High School District 209 Schools James L. Henderson spring break union president Maggie Riley

    News Article ● Strike Unions

    Mount Diablo Unified teachers threaten to strike

    March 20, 2022 // District has offered 7% raise over three years; union wants almost twice that

    around-the-clock negotiations authorize strike Bay Point chief business officer Clayton Clyde Concord Covid COVID-19 relief decision distance learning district budget analysis fact-finding panel hybrid-learning hybrid-learning model in-person learning independent state mediator labor unions Lafayette Lisa Marie Gonzalez Martinez Mercury News model Mount Diablo Education Association Mount Diablo Unified Mount Diablo Unified School District music programs negotiations no-confidence vote non-binding recommendation Pacheco Pittsburg Pleasant Hill Public Employment Relations Board Rally reduce costs salary school board SHOMIK MUKHERJEE state employment board Strike Superintendent Adam Clark teachers threaten union president Anita Johnson union representatives union tactic unions Walnut Creek

    News Article Research ● Labor Strike

    Illinois: AMENDMENT 1 WOULD CEMENT STRIKES AS GO-TO WEAPON FOR CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION

    March 10, 2022 // The Chicago Teachers Union has gone on strike five times and walked out on students at least three other times since it got the right to strike in 1984. Gaining greater power through Amendment 1 would embolden militant union tactics.

    10-day notice Amendment 1 bargain collectively Chicago Teachers Union class sizes collective bargaining CTU educational educational union government government union Hannah Max IELRA IEP illegal strike Illinois Illinois Constitution Illinois Educational Labor Relations Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act Illinois General Assembly Illinois public education in-person learning Individualized Education Plans labor practices learning disabilities Members First public school employees refusal to report refused to return remote learning right to strike Salaries school boards SCHOOL CLOSURES state law Strike strike threats strike-driven statute Strikes students Union union bosses walk out work stoppage Workers’ Rights amendment

    Op-ed / Commentary

    Janus hasn’t stopped unions from wielding power over school closures

    January 25, 2022 // Pandemic-induced school closures underscored the conflict of interest between teacher unions and students. Strong union districts had less in-person instruction, which hit minority communities in urban centers especially hard. The power to determine the mode of instruction belies the notion that the U.S. Supreme Court put public-sector unions on a road to extinction with its 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME.

    agency fees Alaska California collective bargaining conflict of interest contact information Coronavirus DANIEL DISALVO federal courts improve government performance in-person learning increase transparency Indiana Janus Janus v. AFSCME Manhattan Institute Maryland minority communities New York New York State’s public-sector unions public sector unions recertification right-to-work SCHOOL CLOSURES state law teachers union Texas U.S. Supreme Court union representation urban centers Washington

    News Article ● Strike

    Chicago students to miss a second day of classes as teachers remain at home

    January 5, 2022 // Teachers will not be paid for refusing to report to school in person, Martinez said Tuesday. City officials said the union decision amounted to an illegal work stoppage.

    Chicago Chicago Public Schools CNN Covid CTU in-person learning Lori Lightfoot Strike students teachers Union