Federation of Teachers Considering Louisiana Strike Over Safety
With the start date of Louisiana schools looming large in the near future (even after it was being pushed back in most parishes), the threat of increasing transmission rates of the Coronavirus is becoming more and more worrisome. So much so in fact, Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LTF) is now considering a strike in the most contested parishes in the state.
According to WWL, LTF President Larry Carter says "...in hotspots across Louisiana union members are having active conversations about potentially staging safety strikes." Although Carter stated that such strikes would be a last resort, he also said that many teachers he has spoken with aren't convinced that schools in parishes with extremely high infection rates are safe to return to yet. Some educators also expressed that the lack of progress and effort to make classrooms safe again is deeply troubling.
These teachers are demanding that their concerns be met with an adequate amount of PPE for staff, effective social distancing measures in the classrooms, and clear and strict policies designed to protect everyone in the event of an outbreak in schools.