Maybe everyone will learn a lesson from this? Sarah Chambers, the executive vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, has publicly attacked plans by the city to reopen schools as a dangerous risk in the COVID-19 epidemic. A week ago, Chambers urged teachers to walk out if Chicago tried to reopen the schools, claiming that it would be unsafe, and the CTU has threatened to go on strike to keep students and teachers at home.
But is “home” where Chambers is while demanding that schools remain closed? According to WGN, not exactly (via Twitchy):
As recently as Thursday, she tweeted to rally special education teachers not to return to work Monday because it’s unsafe.
Just a few hours earlier, Chambers posted a picture on Instagram that appears to show her pool side in Puerto Rico and talking about going to Old San Juan for seafood.
The post also mentions she previously had COVID, got a negative test result and consulted her doctor before traveling.
If all that’s true, then perhaps Chambers can travel safely, but it’s still a bit of an if. (One question: why take a COVID test if you’ve already had it?) But assuming that’s true, then Chambers — and teachers who are similarly situated — should also be able to return to the classroom. Some teachers would be better than none, and it’s a much safer bet to have teachers in classrooms than in airports and seafood restaurants in Puerto Rico while getting paid in Chicago.
WGN tried reaching out to both Chambers and the CTU, both of whom clammed up:
Both Chambers and the Chicago Teachers Union have not responded to WGN’s request for comment. Since we have reached out, Chambers has deleted her Instagram account.
The Washington Examiner reports that Chambers made it private rather than deleted it, but the effect is the same to those who haven’t followed the account previously. One has to wonder what other examples of do-as-I-say the account might have revealed. Just how many people were in those Old San Juan restaurants eating seafood at the same time?
The CTU’s position in this standoff isn’t entirely unreasonable. They want to wait on in-person schooling until its membership gets vaccinated, or presumably have recovered from an acute COVID-19 case like Chambers claims to have done. With mass vaccinations just weeks away and debates over vaccination priorities likely to loosen up as more doses get into the system, it’s at least a defensible position to take. It’s not at all defensible, however, when union bosses tell parents that they’re stuck at home with their kids while they fly to Caribbean resorts and indulge in the “pool life” on the taxpayer dime. Chambers is yet another example of elitist hypocrisy in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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