Strike! Detroit Teachers Union Demands Teachers Stay At Home

The teachers union at the Detroit Public Schools Community District has authorized its members to go on strike if its demands are not met.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers stated that teachers should not return to the classroom until the state is in the final post-pandemic phase of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's reopening plan. Under that plan, this phase would not occur until “the number of infected individuals falls to nearly zero.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned that he doesn't think COVID-19 will ever be eradicated.

The Detroit teachers union called the job action a “safety strike” and said it was not a work stoppage, because teachers agreed to work remotely from home. Teacher strikes are illegal in Michigan.

The union's proposal stated that, with the exception of special needs students, there be no in-school instruction this fall. Other Detroit children enrolled in the district would not be allowed to go into school buildings for class until the region enters phase 6 in Whitmer’s plan, according to the union.