New York City has not seen a teachers' union strike since 1975, an action that was prompted by the laying off of 15,000 teachers and other school employees because of the city's financial crisis. Since that time, the union has come close to striking, which is illegal under the 1967 Taylor Law, several times during contract negotiations. But never has the threat of a strike, which is typically used as a bargaining tactic, carried as much weight as it does now, as Mayor Bill de Blasio attempts to reopen schools in the midst of a historic pandemic.
"Teacher strikes have mostly been over pay and benefits. This one is unique and unprecedented," said Daniel DiSalvo, a CUNY professor and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute who studies municipal unions.
"We are in uncharted waters," he added.
With the planned first day of school on September 10th fast approaching, the mayor and the United Federation of Teachers appear to be on a collision course over a plan that seeks to make New York City the only major city to reopen schools with some in-person instruction. With many teachers and principals openly questioning the thoroughness of the city's preparations, Michael Mulgrew, the president of the UFT, has signaled the possibility of a strike. But de Blasio has so far refused to back down in the face of mounting calls to push back the reopening. How the battle plays out will have immense ramifications for over 1 million public school students, and restarting the city's economy, which depends on more parents being freed from childcare duties so they can return to work.
With one of the lowest transmission rates in the country, some public health experts have said the city should try to reopen schools, especially given the very real negative consequences of missing classroom instruction for the most vulnerable students.
For now, a majority of families in the school system appear to be willing to begin school with some in-person learning. But the numbers are shrinking. At least 33% have chosen an exclusively remote learning option, up from 26% nearly two weeks ago, according to the latest Department of Education survey. That leaves 66% who have not responded and are defaulted into the hybrid plan, a fraction that some say will surely erode over the next week.
Ester Fuchs, a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs who advised prior mayors David Dinkins and Michael Bloomberg, believes the mayor is gambling on a hastily-assembled plan that is likely to fail.
"He’s playing the odds for a big win," Fuchs said. "If he succeeds, that will shift the conversation and give him a little credibility."
The DOE is asking all teachers to get tested for COVID-19 before school starts, but it's not a requirement. The city's approach contrasts sharply with the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country, which has announced a $150 million plan to test nearly 700,000 students and 75,000 employees before resuming in-person classes. The project will include collaborations with the University of California, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Microsoft and the insurers Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net.
Asked about that plan on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show, the mayor was dismissive, saying, "That sounds like a very vague, if not noble vision there."
After weeks of pleas from teachers, parents, and city officials, the DOE finally announced a plan that gives schools the opportunity to use outdoor space, including city streets and parks.
With roughly 200,000 members, the UFT is among the largest and most powerful unions in New York City. Still, Mulgrew has appeared reluctant to threaten a labor action. After reaching a milestone contract in 2014, he praised de Blasio as "a mayor who actually respects the workforce." It's unclear how many conversations he has had with the mayor over the reopening plan, but a New York Times reporter tweeted this month that Mulgrew has been "at the table" and continues to consult with the mayor.
He first publicly raised the possibility of a strike this month by saying, “If we feel that a school is not safe, we are prepared to go to court and take action." An action could be anything from a formal strike, walkout, sickout or work stoppage, all of which could force schools to shut down.
The Intercept on Friday reported that the UFT's executive board is set to hold a strike authorization vote on Monday, what would be the first of several steps to initiating a strike. The next step is a vote by the 3,200-member delegate assembly followed by a final vote by all of the union members. If a majority vote yes, union leadership is then authorized to call a strike.
Dick Riley, a spokesman for the UFT, confirmed only that a meeting by the executive board was scheduled for Monday. "There is no strike vote scheduled at this time," he told Gothamist.
But by Saturday, a strike authorization vote seemed to be becoming more likely.
Meanwhile, district representatives sent an email on Friday advising chapter leaders "to not enter school buildings for anything other than retrieving classroom materials and supplies."
"The union’s school health and safety plan is clear," the email continued. "School buildings should re-open only when proven to be safe."
Another email urged members to attend an emergency meeting on Saturday to get their schools "strike ready."
Brooklyn City Councilmember Mark Treyger, a former teacher who chairs the council's education committee, said that he believes the UFT leadership is serious.
"Michael Mulgrew is not bluffing," Treyger said. "I’ve spoken to a number of school communities beyond my district. They are having those conversations."
But some teachers have complained that the talks have been vague, without specific details on when a strike would occur and whether individuals are ready to absorb the financial ramifications of forgoing pay. Under the law, teachers who strike can lose two days of pay for every day they are on strike.
"If push came to shove, I could be okay," said one Manhattan high school teacher who asked not to be named. "But I absolutely have colleagues who wouldn't be and I am concerned for them."
Then again, she wondered, "If you want to get something, maybe you have to lose something. I’m very on the fence."
She said she has not received some of the emails about striking that she has seen reported in the press. The only ones she gets are from Mulgrew, she said.
Although parents have struggled to imagine what the city's plan would look like and debated the wisdom of sending their children back to school, political experts said that teachers would face an enormous risk by striking. The last strike by a public union in New York City was in 2005, when bus and subway workers conducted a nearly three-day strike that hobbled the transit system right before Christmas and forced tens of thousands of New Yorkers to walk or bicycle to work. For the transit workers union, the fallout was significant. After the strike was ruled illegal, their president, Roger Toussaint, spent three nights in jail and the union was later slapped with massive fines. Even after a contract was reached, some workers wondered whether the strike had been worth it.
Although the UFT is larger and considered far more influential than the transit workers union, teacher strikes have the potential to be viewed more negatively.
"In the court of public opinion a strike would look like a betrayal of New Yorkers, kids, and working families. It would be viewed so negatively," Fuchs said.
She argued a strike was unlikely and that the rhetoric was meant to be a signal to rank-and-file members. "Mulgrew gets to rattle the saber of a strike that shows his members that he hears them and will fight for them," she said.
The DOE has accused the union leader of "fear mongering." And during recent public appearances, de Blasio has alluded to the ill will a strike would create among New Yorkers.
"I don't think the people of this city ever feel good about public servants not being there when people need them," he said.
The last time teachers came close to striking was in 2002 during contract negotiations with Mayor Bloomberg. After securing an overwhelming vote from the delegate assembly to authorize a strike, then-UFT president Randi Weingarten quietly conducted a telephone poll of 620 city households to gauge public support for teachers should they elect to walk off the job.
Treyger argued that the circumstances this time around were dramatically different.
"This is not about the preservation of their profession. This is about ensuring that kids are supported and safe," he said.
More than 23,000 city residents have died from COVID-19. Within the DOE, there were 79 reported deaths.
DiSalvo of CUNY raised the possibility of the union taking a wait-and-see approach. Should infections occur, forcing multiple schools to shut down, as many expect, the union could forge a strike then with the hopes that the public would see that the plan was not working.
The other and, some would argue, more critical player in this standoff is Governor Andrew Cuomo, who under emergency powers granted by the legislature during the crisis has more sweeping authority to decide whether New York City schools reopen at all.
The governor has never shied away from meddling in the city's affairs or usurping the mayor, a fellow Democrat but also a political rival. In April, only 30 minutes after de Blasio said city schools would remain closed for the academic year, Cuomo said that the mayor did not have the authority to close schools. He dismissed the latter's pronouncement as an "opinion." A few weeks later, the governor announced that all schools would remain closed for remainder of the school year.
"You want Cuomo," DiSalvo said. "He’s ultimately more important."
Cuomo has sown doubt about the city's reopening plan. During a recent press conference, he said, “I would not make a decision on a school district saying they have a blended program. I don't know what that means. I have questions."
Appearing on NBC's "Today," he said, "This is a risky proposition no matter how you do it."
Nevertheless, the governor has not said whether he favors postponing or scaling back the city's plan, which would also slow the city's phased reopening.
Treyger, who is planning to hold an emergency public hearing at the City Council next week calling for a delay, said he believes that the governor will ultimately step in.
Fuchs argued that the mounting pressure could actually work in the mayor's favor by giving him an exit strategy.
"I think that it is an opportunity for the mayor to back away from a plan that nobody thinks is workable," she said. "It can be a lifeline for de Blasio."
