Chicago Teachers Union vice president Sarah Chambers is under fire after saying the COVID-19 pandemic makes it too dangerous to reopen schools while vacationing in the Caribbean. Many people have been caught not practicing what they preach, but social media is shedding a light on that pretty quickly.
The Chicago Teachers Union teachers and staff have been slated to be in the second phase of vaccination, which means they won’t be vaccinated before buildings are due to reopen in March or late February for in-person classes.
While school nurses will help administer the inoculations and schools haven’t seen a drive-in community spread, the Chicago Teachers Union continues to fight reopening plans because of skepticism in the district’s ability to keep teachers and students safe.
“It would be humane if, just once, the mayor and CPS acknowledged the fear and trepidation many educators and families have less than a week before their planned reopening and offered some reassurance. “Follow the science” means little when your entire household has COVID-19,” the Chicago Teachers Union tweeted.
One of those members had been Chambers, a special education teacher who wrote on Twitter opposing teachers to return to the classrooms. She had previously been fired as a teacher back in 2017 but was reinstated in 2019 with the help of the union.
“Hearing of an educator revolution happening. Tons of members are emailing their admin: I’ll be asserting my right to continue to work in a safe remote environment on January 4th, 2021. I have signed the pledge, along with over 8,000+ union educators to continue to work remotely,” she wrote.
Just a few hours before the tweet, Chambers had posted a photo that appeared to show her poolside in Puerto Rico and talking about going to Old San Juan for seafood. She defended her trip by saying she got 4 covid tests and wore 2 N95 masks, but previously had COVID-19 and consulted with a doctor before traveling. Since the post, Chambers has deleted her Instagram account.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Americans against traveling to Puerto Rico and categorized them under a very high COVID-19 infection level and chances of spreading it. The island clocked in more than 110,000 coronavirus cases.
The Chicago Teachers Union continues to threaten a strike if the district goes ahead and reopens school buildings, but has not commented on the Chambers incident. The hypocrisy is staggering but there’s plenty of people out of jobs from the government-mandated shutdowns who could use a teacher’s job right about now. They just don’t want to work and get paid.
