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Today, Governor Justice unveiled additional changes to the WVDE color-coded school metric. While we agree that more testing is imperative in gaining a more accurate reflection of the infection rates in our communities, AFT-WV questions the effectiveness of a constantly changing metric for school attendance. Employees, parents, and students need a system they can trust and easily understand. While the ultimate goal is for every student to be taught in-person, the Governor should not pursue that goal at the expense of any child or employee’s health and safety.  Since April, AFT-WV’s message has

CHARLESTON- The state’s largest education union responded to reports that school-related COVID cases are no longer being reported by state officials.

On September 4th, Governor Justice said “I want every single thing transparent at all times,” when he was still reporting cases at his tri-weekly briefings. Additionally, State Health Officer Dr. Ayne Amjad stated that same day that “we have announced the schools because we do think it’s a public health/safety concern, and parents, teachers and the public do need to know….and we will be doing that.”

“It took less than three weeks for the Governor

AFT-West Virginia would like to clarify the misleading and out of context remark made by Governor Justice in his press conference today about school reopening.  We have been working with officials at the WVDE on a consistent basis throughout this pandemic.  We have shared our re-entry guidance documents and safety checklists with the WVDE to help ensure we have input into the re-entry process. The union believes the WVDE has incorporated some of those metrics into their guidance plans, but we also know that not all our suggestions have been implemented into the overall reopening plan.  The

WASHINGTON—The 1.7-million member American Federation of Teachers announced the results of its biennial officer elections on September 1st, with delegates to the union’s convention (held virtually in July) voting overwhelmingly to re-elect President Randi Weingarten, elect Fedrick Ingram as secretary-treasurer and elect Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus to her first full term.

Delegates to the convention also elected AFT-West Virginia President Fred Albert as an AFT Vice-President.

Albert said:
“I am so honored to represent this great union and work to improve the lives of our country’s

AFT-WV has been alerted to concerns some members have regarding one of the resolutions passed during the 2020 AFT National Convention last week. We want to take the opportunity to clarify some points for those members with concerns.

First and foremost, it is important to remember that AFT-WV and our local affiliates are independent and autonomous as per our constitution and bylaws. There are occasions where the viewpoint of the national organization is different from that of AFT-WV, and this is such an instance.

In a resolution addressing police brutality, passed during the Convention, one of

Resources on School Reopening 

National AFT recommendations for safe school reopening

Workplace Checklist for Prevention of Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Virus in K-12 Education

COVID-19 Workplace Accomodations Memo
 

*A message from AFT-WV President Fred Albert*

I hope everyone is doing well amid these trying times we are living in right now. I just wanted to give a quick update on the latest information regarding school re-entry. AFT-WV has been meeting with various education and health officials as they work through the multitude of questions and issues that need addressed for the upcoming school year. Last Friday, our local presidents and executive board met with State Superintendent Clayton Burch via Zoom and had the opportunity for Q & A. County boards of education are working on their plans for the

People across the United States are eager to return to some semblance of “normal.” To do so, we must meet a herculean challenge: remaking our society and the places in our lives we hold dear—public schools and colleges, places of worship, workplaces, restaurants and more—in ways that hold paramount our ultimate priorities: the safety and well-being of our children, families and communities; the safety of our members and every frontline worker; and the health of our economy and economic well-being of working families. Physical distancing efforts have slowed the rate of COVID-19 infections, but

"Do Your Job OSHA” campaign calls on the agency to protect employees on frontlines of COVID-19 pandemic

The number of employees infected or killed by COVID-19 due to workplace exposure to the virus hasn’t been tallied yet, but those who represent these frontline workers say this count would be far lower if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would step up to protect public and private sector workers on the frontlines of the pandemic.

AFT-WV President Fred Albert said, “OSHA was created 50 years ago today to ensure safe and healthy conditions on the job for America’s working

AFT-WV has become aware of some county school systems attempting to require employees to report daily to the buildings, when these same employees have not been required to do so during this crisis.  The guidance from the WVDE has not changed, and the Governor’s stay-at-home order has not been lifted.  Educators are still directed to work from home and provide instruction remotely to students. The recent guidance issued by the WVDE pertains to the one-time closing out of classrooms and students’ retrieval of personal items from the schools in accordance with social distancing guidelines.

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