So we are walking into the bowels of death on Monday. "But," the UFT says, "we have a plan! And we are now on top of things!" 

Yeah. Sure. Right. 

But what should the UFT do? The members know.

The Crack Team met with it's favorite near octogenarian earlier and we spit balled some ideas.

1. Set Up Member Hotline!

Why this hasn't been done yet goes beyond reason. A hotline number and/or form on UFT website should be set up posthaste so members can report themselves, students, what they hear or whatever is happening in their school. Other members asnd I do not trust, nor should we, information we get from our administrations, the DOE, the Union, and the Situation Room. Then with the information gleaned investigate, investigate, investigate!! Maybe the PR person on Twitter can spend time investigating. Or Hedley Lamar from District 25 can.

2. Cases On UFT Website

Look at SUNY Albany. They have a COVID dashboard. Listing cases among students and teachers, as well as those in quarantine as well as recovered.  This is what the UFT should have on its website. 

3. Where Are The Outbreaks?

Screw the Situation Room's friggin map. It's time for the UFT to have a real time map with real time information. 

4. Attendance Rates

List all attendance rates daily for students and staff. Updated daily!

5. Answer This Question

How can schools not be breeding grounds for COVID? One person from the union can answer this in the comments section. Maybe Hedley Lamar from District 25 can. 

6. Stop The PR Crap!

On Twitter we see several spewing the propaganda line of the DOE. Usually from a person who has never ever in their life set foot in a classroom nor wouldn't know what to do if they were in one. Or trolling like Hedley Lamar. 

7. Hold Principals Accountable 

Too many principals are sweeping positive tests under the rug. They are playing God. 

8. Testing In Schools

On the UFT COVID dashboard, there should be how many tests for the days system wide, borough wide, district wide, and for each school. Positive and negative results should be reported.

9. Complete Transparency

It is time now to know who is in charge of the Situation Room, who works there, and what qualifications one must have to work for the Situation room. Heck, where is it located?

Oh yeah. And from the UFT as well.  

Will the UFT implement any of these ideas? Doubtful. These ideas make too much sense. One thing we will hear is this: "We can't push back too hard. We need our seat at the table." 

Here's the dirty little secret the UFT doesn't know. The seat at the table is at the kid's table. All the other unions are at the grownups table. Not the UFT. I sat many a Passover at the kids table. We got the brisket last. The kugel last. 

The UFT's table is a Passover sedar. And guess who the City and DOE have looking for the Afikomen every year? Yep, got that right. And like usual the UFT falls for the same bit every year. For the last 8 years after finding the Afikomen, Uncle Bill told Mulgrew the dollar was in his pants pocket. This year, it will be Uncle Eric doing the same. And guess what? Mulgrew ain't grabbing no dollar.

 Who remembers Trixie the teacher? For those who don't remember, Trixie was the teacher that had sanitizer splashed in her eye and is teaching nuclear fission for grades K-2 without any coaching or anything from higher ups. Caught up? Good. Because the news gets nuttier. In fact so nutty, the news falls under the auspices of "This Shit Can't Be Made Up!"

Trixie teaches at the Speed Racer School. It is a K-5 school with a lot of students and teachers in the building. Whilst out caroling on Thursday with other teachers from her school Trixie found out news that made her so aghast, so upset that she puked.

For several days of last week (The days before break), an entire grade at the Speed Racer School was on quarantine. That includes the students, the teachers, the paras, and any wayward cucarachas. All students and their families, the teachers, the paras, and any wayward cucarachas were all notified. 

NOBODY ELSE IN THE SCHOOL WAS NOTIFIED!

No, I am not making this up. 

"B-b-b-ut we did contact tracing," Trixie was told.

Yes Trixie was told that. But is contact tracing 100% effective? What happens if someone doesn't remember being near someone. Or someone is in the stall going #2 and someone else is at the urinal going #1? They are both in the same bathroom. How would the those at the stall and the urinal know who is in the bathroom with them? 

How would someone remember if they were just passing someone in the hallway? Or on the stairs? Or sitting together in the auditorium? Or, outside the building walking in?

Trixie is freaking out! She has health issues to begin with. But there are loved ones at home who are seriously immune-compromised.  Yes, Trixie and her loved ones are all vaccinated as well as having had boosters. But there is nothing guaranteed in this world except death and taxes.Wait, there is one more thing that is guaranteed: Mulgrew and the UFT leading from behind and not being proactive!

I'm not giving Mulgrew or the UFT and thumbs up, kudos, or job well done for last weeks email and presentation on NY1. It's all to little too late.

As much as a loath PBA President Patrick Lynch he would have the balls to tell his members to stay home. 

Trixie shouldn't be upset with her school administration. She should be upset with the DOE, the Situation  Room and the UFT.

But, the DOE and the Situation Room is not there for the teachers well being. They are not supposed to give a damn about us. However, at the very least the UFT is, at the very least, supposed to feign interest in its members well being. 

When Trixie came and shared this story with myself and The Crack Team we sat there incredulous. Yes, none of us expected the DOE to do anything? But the silence coming from the UFT on  this quarantine has been deafening as well as mind numbing. Of course the UFT knows about this shut down! How couldn't they? Why didn't the UFT notify the members of Trixie's school? And by the UFT, we want to know why 52 Broadway was silent, not the borough office. This falls upon those downtown to make sure are mitigation is being done right, to ensure there is social distancing, mask wearing, etc.. and to inform and allay concerns of the members as well as the parents. And what happens? NOTHING! BUPKUS! STUGOTS!

A kid with head lice or strep throat a note goes home. Head lice or strep are easily treatable and cured. COVID and Omicron it's "If we don't say it out loud or if we bury our head in the sand it'll go away."

How difficult is it for the UFT to lead?