Union ‘Safety Strike’ Tells Detroit Teachers To Stay Home, But Will Students Show Up Remotely?

The Detroit Federation of Teachers union has authorized a safety strike, authorizing teachers to refuse to teach except in remote-instruction situations.

The teachers union has said that it doesn't want its members returning to classrooms until Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declares that the state has entered in the final post-pandemic phase of the reopening plan she has ordered.

That could take years. And Detroit's public district has had problems with students showing up for classes in school buildings.

In 2018-19, 62.1% of the Detroit Public School Community District student body (33,808 students) were classified as chronically absent, according to the state of Michigan.

Students are deemed chronically absent if they miss at least 10% of the school year.

The union contract in Detroit calls for 186 work days, which suggests most students were missing about 18 days a year.