28 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2022
COVID-19 SAFETY
CDC NOT ALERTING
TEACHERS, UNIONS SAY
BY ANDREA SHALAL
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has not been communicating
well enough with educators, teachers
unions say, as Covid-19 hospitalizations
hit records in the country.
The safety of American public schools,
which educate over 50 million kids, has
become a hotly contested issue, pitting
teachers’ unions worried about the disease’s
spread in sometimes underfunded,
antiquated buildings against local
and state officials who want to keep
schools open.
The CDC, the United States’ national
public health agency, is not offering
teachers enough information or seeking
their input, despite a long history of close
contact, top union representatives say.
“CDC does not communicate the way it
used to, frankly, in the Trump administration
and the Biden administration, or
in previous administrations,” said Randi
Weingarten, the president of the 1.7
million-member American Federation
of Teachers (AFT).
The CDC didn’t issue fresh guidance to
schools about how to handle new fiveday
isolation rules for those infected, issued
Dec. 27, until mid-January — well
after schools reopened after the winter
holiday break, Weingarten said.
Becky Pringle, president of the 3 million
member National Education Association,
said her group was also seeking
more communication with the CDC, but
did not elaborate.
“I would hope that every person in this
country would want CDC to be asking
the largest union of educators — NEA —
about how their guidance affects public
education, so more, not less, communication
is essential to getting this right for
our students, schools and communities,”
she said in a statement to Reuters.
A woman wears a “Teacher Strong”
face mask in New York on Sept. 1,
2020. (REUTERS/Carlo Allegri)
Asked about the criticism, the CDC said
it has included both the AFT and the
NEA in education outreach and meeting
invitations. Both groups were “valued
education partners” in CDC’s Covid-19
response efforts, a spokesperson said.
Weingarten said her union’s contacts
with the CDC dropped off after conservative
news outlets Fox News and the
New York Post reported in May 2021
that the AFT and CDC communicated
on school reopening guidelines before
they were issued on Feb. 1, 2021.
The reports relied on emails acquired
by conservative watchdog group Americans
for Public Trust through the Freedom
of Information Act, or FOIA, that
showed teachers unions made suggestions
about school reopening, masking
and other policies.
“Since Fox and others FOIAed their paperwork,
what has happened is that they
don’t talk to people anymore,” Weingarten
said. “I think that’s a big disservice
to Americans.
“What you’re seeing is a lot of confusion,
and a lot of fear and a lot of misinformation,”
she said. “It’s obvious that they
should be communicating better and it’s
obvious that they should be communicating
in advance, but they’re not.”
-Via Reuters
We Must Win the War
on Potholes
ExEcutivE DirEctor-Marc HErbst
Long isLanD contractors’
association
What would you do with an
extra $3,200 in your pocket
each year? Maybe finally
take that vacation to Hawaii
or Italy? Maybe put it in your
kids’ college savings account?
Maybe get those Mets season
tickets?
According to the latest TRIP
(National Transportation Research
Nonprofit) report this
month, the shocking truth is
that Long Island motorists
lose about $3,200 per year
from driving on rough and
unsafe roads that are too congested.
That is unacceptable.
Even more egregious, statewide,
we are losing $28 billion
every year. These costs
come from higher operation
costs, traffic crashes, and
congested-related delays.
Earlier this month, Governor
Kathy Hochul’s executive
budget speech leaves little
doubt about why she declared
“a war on potholes.” It’s a
war that’s been long overdue,
but one that needs to be won
handily.
The TRIP report, “New York
Transportation by the Numbers:
Meeting the State’s Need
for Safe, Smooth and Efficient
Mobility,” lays out what we
have long known. Throughout
New York, almost half of
all major roads and bridges
are in poor or mediocre condition.
That translates to
5,019 deaths from 2015 to 2019
in the state, tragically. Nobody
should be losing their
life due to unsafe road conditions,
plain and simple.
On Long Island, 13% of
bridges are poor or fair, with
a whopping 92 hours spent annually
in traffic instead of at
home with loved ones. Three
hundred twenty-four million
gallons of fuel are wasted
each year by drivers stuck in
traffic on Long Island. Think
about what 324 million gallons
look like. It’s unimaginable.
This brings us to solutions.
Thankfully, we have billions
of dollars coming to New
York from the historic bipartisan
infrastructure bill,
which will go a considerable
way towards investing in infrastructure
projects of all
sizes. We also have a Governor
who has made infrastructure
investments the heartbeat
of her vision for New
York’s recovery. Thankfully,
when Hochul declares a “war
on potholes,” she’s declaring
war on throwing good money
out the window, a war on unnecessary
deaths, and a war
on time wasted.
We are excited to see improvements
and investments
in New York’s infrastructure
at local, state, and federal levels.
It’s the best way to keep
people working, traveling,
and living safely.
Let’s hope the war is swift and
successful. Everyone could
use a couple extra thousand
bucks, and spring training is
right around the corner.
“Communication
is essential to
getting this right.”
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
