NYC DOE says teachers who refuse COVID-19 test will be removed from payroll
12-5-2020
NY Teachers for Choice would like to thank reporter Susan Edelman for covering our resistance to NYC in-school testing and Fulgent Genetics. Though we wish we had made it closer to the lead of the story, we are very grateful that our issue was covered accurately and truthfully.
From Edelman’s report:
DOE spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said in a statement, “Testing is a necessary component of keeping our schools safe and we developed this plan in conjunction with the teacher’s union. There is no reason for staff to not participate in testing: it is quick and easy, and all school-based staff will be required to participate.”
But Michael Kane, who formed the group “NY Teachers for Choice,” called the threat to withhold pay “illegal and coercive.” The group has a 12-member steering committee of union members statewide, and a “rapidly growing” email list of 100 teachers and parents, he said.
Kane said some oppose mandatory testing for various reasons. He is against it because the city has refused to release all the contracts with laboratories that conduct and analyze the tests.
NYC’s Health+Hospitals Corp. has not released its “Specimen Collection Agreement” with Fulgent Genetics, the main laboratory, only a statement that officials said constitutes the agreement. The city has released agreements with two other labs involved in the testing.
“Fulgent Genetics owns a library of genetic information that it can use for profit. I want to ensure that my specimen is protected from ending up in that library,” Kane said.
Both the DOE and Fulgent have denied that specimens collected in city schools will be used for anything other than COVID-19 testing.
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Read the entire report at NYPost.com
NYC DOE says teachers who refuse COVID-19 test will be removed from payroll
https://nypost.com/2020/12/05/nyc-teachers-without-covid-19-test-will-be-off-payroll-doe/
Teachers For Choice 