MEDIA | UPDATES | RESOURCES
#HCCSsafeReturn
Teachers and staff represented by the PSC at the Hunter College Campus Schools wanted to return to in-person teaching in buildings that have been proven safe with adequate health and safety protocols. They pressed all summer for a voice in their schools’ reopening plan and called for independent inspection of the ventilation system of their fortress-like building with windowless classrooms and a history of poor ventilation.
The Hunter Schools administrators pressed ahead with flawed plans to reopen their schools for in-person instruction. The teachers’ key demand was for an independent safety inspection. After an intense campaign that included an 85% “yes” vote on strike authorization and much subsequent negotiating, CUNY allowed independent inspections of the HCCS building at 94th Street and the Silberman School of Social Work where 9th and 10th grade classes are being held this fall.
Because of the teachers’ advocacy and the support of their union, the HCCS teachers and students are protected by important new safety protocols, including regular COVID testing, safety inspections, containment of dangerous mold, and a temporary restraining order that impelled Hunter to install HEPA air filters in classrooms.
The teachers are continuing to push for a structure of continuing labor/management meetings to address safety problems as they arise.
MEDIA
- Spectrum News NY1: Teachers, Faculty at Hunter College Campus Schools Demand Stricter COVID-19 Protocols
- Gothamist: Teachers At Hunter College Campus Schools Threaten Strike After Four People Test Positive For COVID-19
- TAPinto.net: Union May Re-Activate Strike Authorization at Hunter
- Patch: 2 Hunter Teachers Test Positive, Raising Alarms Among Staff
- NY Post: Teachers at Hunter College Campus Schools warn they may still strike over COVID-19
- AM NY: Teachers won’t rule out strike after COVID-19 outbreak at Hunter College Campus Schools
- New York Times: This Elite School Is in a Brick Fortress. Can It Handle a Pandemic?
- The Ticker: Safety strike over building-related COVID-19 concerns avoided at Hunter College
- NY County Politics: Safety Strike Over Building-Related COVID-19 Concerns Avoided at Hunter College
- TapInto.net: Strike Averted at Hunter College Campus Schools
- Gothamist: Schools Update: Independent Inspection Clears Hunter College Campus Schools To Reopen, Averting Teachers Strike
- Patch: Hunter Teachers Call Off Strike, Return To School Tuesday
- AMNY: Hunter College Campus School teachers support possible strike over COVID-19 safety concerns
- TapInto.net: Hunter Teachers Vote for Safety Strike Authorization
- Patch: Hunter Teachers Vote To Strike As School Reopening Nears
- Gothamist: NYC Schools Update: Judge Orders Proper Air Filters For CUNY “Brick Prison” High School, But Teachers Say It’s Not Enough
- Gothamist: NYC Schools Update: Judge Orders Proper Air Filters For CUNY “Brick Prison” High School, But Teachers Say It’s Not Enough
- Gothamist: NYC Schools Updates: Teachers At Hunter College “Brick Prison” High School Fight Reopening
- 1010WINS: CUNY teachers union sues to delay in-person classes at UES school over air filtration system
- NY Post: Teachers sue CUNY over poor air-filtration at ‘brick prison’ high school
- Patch: Hunter Teachers File Restraining Order To Stop School’s Reopening
- AMNY: CUNY Teachers’ Union sues to block start of in-person classes at Hunter College Campus School
- Daily News: A great teacher’s COVID retirement — and what it reveals about NYC’s school reopening failures
- LaborPress: Hunter College Educators, Parents Demand COVID Testing, Ventilation Inspections and Contact Tracing
- Patch: Teachers Denounce Hunter Schools’ Reopening Plan At Protest
- Manhattan Times: Stall the Start – CUNY staff demand delay of in-person classes
- SILive.com: Union, elected officials call for delay to all in-person CUNY classes
- Patch: CUNY Faculty, Staff Call For Delayed Reopening Over Virus Fears
- Yahoo News: CUNY Faculty, Staff Call For Delayed Reopening Over Virus Fears
- NY Daily News: CUNY staff union calls to delay all in-person courses as fall semester nears
UPDATES
- 10/18/20: Press Conference: After Four Confirmed COVID Cases, Hunter Campus Schools Refuse Tighter Safety Protocols
- 09/29/20: Victory for Students, Teachers and Community at Hunter College Campus Schools
- 09/26/20: Safety strike authorization vote for Hunter College Campus Schools
- 09/25/20: Judge Bars Hunter Schools from Starting In-Person Classes in Rooms without Real HEPA Filters
- 9/24/20: Teachers at Hunter College Campus Schools Have ‘No Confidence’ in Administrators or their COVID-19 Reopening Plan
- 09/22/20: PSC Files Restraining Order to Bar In-Person Classes at Hunter College Campus Schools until Building is Proven Safe
- 09/16/20: Hunter College Campus Schools Teachers Protest on Student-Parent Orientation Day to Demand Safe Reopening
- 08/21/20: Union, Lawmakers, Experts Demand that CUNY Delay In-Person Activities until Buildings are Proven Safe
RESOURCES AND DOCUMENTS
- 10/17/20: List of COVID Protocol Improvements and Clarifications Delivered to Hunter President Jennifer Raab and HCCS Director Lisa Siegmann
- 10/03/20: Explanation of No Confidence Vote by HCCS PSC
- 10/01/20: Report on Inspection of Hunter College Campus Schools facilities at Silberman School of Social Work
- 09/28/20: Olmsted Environmental Services Inspection Report, Hunter College Campus Schools, 94th Street
- 09/25/20: Temporary restraining order barring administrators at the Hunter College Campus Schools from compelling teachers and College Laboratory Technicians to return in-person instruction in rooms without HEPA filters.
- 09/22/20:Petition for a temporary restraining order and injunction against the City University of New York and Hunter College
- 09/20/20: Email Message to Hunter Parents
- 09/17/20: Jean Grassman Affidavit
- 09/15/20: Letter from Jennifer Raab, President of Hunter College to Barbara Bowen, President of the PSC
- 09/11/20:Q&A Session Video For Parents
- 09/10/20: Letter from PSC President Bowen to Hunter College President Raab
- 08/20: Collection of open letters from faculty protesting refusal to engage with the teacher’s union about re-opening plans.
- 08/20: Report: Safety Issues with the Hunter College Campus Schools Reopening
