25 minute read
Union Matters
Under new bill, NYC will lower class sizes
School fundamentals: math, reading, and writing (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)
By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO
Special to the AmNews
After months of hesitation, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed legislation that will lower class sizes in every grade in New York City over the next six years. Teachers’ unions and their supporters are heralding her action, but opposition to the bill remains strong.
Once the bill was signed, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew and Nicholas Cruz, UFT’s director of community and parent outreach, sent out an email praising the new law. “The city has more state and federal education aid than ever before,” the email reads, “and coming out of this pandemic, our students’ needs have never been greater. Thanks to this legislation, the class size gap between New York City public schools and schools in the rest of the state will finally close. The impact on our school system will be tremendous.
“We want to be clear: This bill was never about reducing the number of children enrolled in popular programs and schools. On the contrary, the law will require the city to create more seats wherever they are needed so students receive the individualized attention they deserve. In no way will it lock children out of popular schools.”
But opponents claim school funding issues are precisely what will determine how this new law is received. They have long charged that lowering class sizes won’t be easy: it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars for the construction of more building facilities for more classes and will necessitate the hiring of more teaching professionals (at a time when fewer people are choosing to enter the profession and the number of current teachers retiring remains high).
In a report from 2011, the Brookings Institution agreed that lowering class sizes is expensive for any education board. But it noted that “researchers have found positive effects of early and very large classsize reductions on academic achievement in school and college attendance, with the economic benefits of the program outweighing the costs.”
Peter Greene, a retired English teacher, wrote in his blog “Curmudgucation” about studies that show that smaller class sizes mean more attention to the individual needs of students—and allow teachers the opportunity to spend more productive one-on-one time with young learners. Those who are against smaller class sizes, Greene says, don’t really have a valid argument: “Ask parents. Would you rather have your child in a class of fifteen or thirty-five? Then find me even a dozen parents who pick the larger class. Heck, even people in the ‘Gosh, there’s no hard evidence that smaller is better’ crowd admit that they still prefer smaller for their own children. Meanwhile, every teacher will tell the same story that I will tell you about my years in the classroom—with fewer students, I could give each student more personal attention. Not only that, but as an English teacher, fewer students meant that I could do more writing assignments as well as provide richer feedback because I was only grading 150 essays over the weekend instead of 300.”
State lawmakers had overwhelmingly approved the class size reduction bill in June and teachers’ organizations clamored all summer for Hochul to make a decision on it. When she finally signed the bill into law on Thursday, Sept. 8, it was presented with one minor change: the phasing in of class size requirements will take place by September 2028, instead of by 2027 as initially proposed. So each year, from 2023 through 2028, New York City will have to reduce class sizes in at least 20% of its schools.
One public school parent has been vocal in opposing the reduction of class sizes. Yiatin Chu, who serves as president of Asian Wave Alliance and is a co-founder of PLACE NYC, had created a petition urging Hochul not to sign the new law just days prior to it being passed. “Mandating class size caps will force the DOE to cut seats in programs that NYC families want: popular neighborhood schools, gifted and talented (G&T) programs, AP courses, Specialized High Schools (SHSAT) and other in-demand middle and high schools,” Chu’s petition states.
“Higher class sizes are often in schools with space constraints. Putting classroom caps will force students onto waitlists, into trailers or rezoned away from neighborhood schools and bused to underenrolled schools with capacity. We must build more schools in these areas before we impose class caps.”
But State Sen. John Liu who sponsored the bill—and chairs the Senate Committee on NYC Education—said, “New York City school kids have been denied a sound basic education for too long. This legislation forces the Department of Education to at long last develop a 5-year plan to bring class sizes down to levels originally established by the DOE itself instead of merely paying lip service to the problem. Moreover, the City is receiving $1.6 billion more state funding annually toward this purpose, and must stop with nonsensical rhetoric claiming ‘unfunded mandate’ and just get stuff done! Thanks to Governor Hochul, NYC school kids will now get what they are entitled to.”
Freight rail workers may go on strike
By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO
Special to the AmNews
Rail workers could go on strike as soon as this Friday, Sept. 16.
Contract negotiations stalled during the pandemic for some 115,000 U.S. freight railroad workers. Workers are planning a national strike as a way to forward their negotiations with rail owners about stagnant wages, heavy workloads, unsafe conditions, and strict attendance policies.
Labor negotiators remained in talks to prevent the strike as the AmNews went to press.
Train engineers’ and conductors’ unions say the main sticking point is the fact that companies don’t want to accept the union’s proposal for sick time policies.
The larger media is covering these negotiations because the rail strike could threaten U.S. supply chains. Other than goods for shopping, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, one-third of U.S. exports travel by rail, the railroads account for nearly 68% of freight rail mileage, and 70% of the miles traveled by Amtrak trains are on tracks owned by freight railroads.
The presidents of SMART Transportation Division and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Teamsters Rail Conference issued a statement claiming rail owners are resorting to corporate terrorism: “This completely unnecessary attack on rail shippers by these highly profitable Class I railroads is no more than corporate extortion. Our Unions remain at the bargaining table and have given the rail carriers a proposal that we would be willing to submit to our members for ratification, but it is the rail carriers that refuse to reach an acceptable agreement. In fact, it was abundantly clear from our negotiations over the past few days that the railroads show no intentions of reaching an agreement with our Unions, but they cannot legally lock out our members until the end of the cooling-off period. Instead, they are locking out their customers beginning on Monday and further harming the supply chain in an effort to provoke congressional action.”
The Biden White House is making contingency plans in case there is a disruption to vital supplies that could threaten the nation’s economy.
The approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in 2020 ushered in a hope for stemming the endless tide of death and illness wrought by COVID-19. While the importance of the original vaccines is undeniable, variants continue to prolong the pandemic. From preventative measures such as mask wearing, physical distancing, and hand washing to COVID-19 treatments such as Paxlovid, numerous measures have been instituted over time to lessen the tragic toll of COVID-19. In the continuing COVID fight, the latest tool to be developed to turn the tide of the pandemic are the Omicron specific boosters from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNtech.
According to experts at MD Anderson “[u] ntil now, COVID-19 booster shots have been monovalent or univalent. That means they only contained one version of the mRNA sequence for the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ spike protein—the one that came from the original strain which emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, China.” The boosters that were recently approved are considered to be bivalent vaccines, meaning they will protect people both from the original COVID-19 strain and the current Ba.4 and Ba.5 Omicron subvariants.
In an interview with the AmNews, Dr. Torian Easterling, the first deputy commissioner and chief equity officer for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, stated that “we’re seeing right now with the current monovalent booster that’s available with the current vaccines that are available for our primary series, that cases are decreasing, that hospitalizations are also decreasing.” Easterling went on to state that “during this Omicron wave…we have seen higher rates of infection and reinfection but we did not see a high rate of hospitalization similar to previous waves and I think there are a number of reasons why that may be the case but we certainly know that vaccines have remained effective keeping folks out of the hospital and keeping folks from severe illness.” The theory is that the booster shots will continue to protect people from serious illness and death, and also strengthen the memory of the immune system, thus potentially leading to an ability for the body to recognize variants long-term. While the original vaccines and boosters still provide strong protection, scientists believe that the new boosters designed to target Omicron will be even better at providing protection from infection, hospitalization and death from the evolving COVID-19 virus.
On August 31, 2022, the FDA amended the emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to allow “bivalent formulations” of their COVID-19 vaccines. In a press release, FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. stated that “[t] he COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, continue to save countless lives and prevent the most serious outcomes (hospitalization and death) of COVID-19…As we head into fall and begin to spend more time indoors, we strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to consider receiving a booster dose with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.” This approval was quickly followed by CDC approval on September 1, 2022.
According to the FDA, for the Moderna COVID-19, those 18 years and older are eligible for the bivalent booster at least two months after their primary vaccination completion or most recent booster. For the Pfizer-BioNTech booster, the eligibility age is 12.
While the approval of the boosters is not without questions, it is also important to remember that this process is similar to the flu vaccine process where the flu vaccine is reformulated each year without new additional human clinical trials.
The data submitted by the booster manufacturers is mainly from animal data and European studies. Human clinical trials in the United States are expected to occur later this year and will be necessary for full approval of the vaccines. While clinical trials are not necessary for an emergency use authorization if the manufacturers have not significantly changed the manner in which the vaccine is made, there are concerns regarding public acceptance of such a process.
For those interested in getting the newest booster, New York, like many other states, will rely on a network of pharmacies, health care practitioners, and clinics for distribution as opposed to the mass vaccination sites seen earlier in the pandemic. As for whether people should wait until they become eligible for the new booster or can get access, Easterling encouraged individuals to continue to get their primary series and current booster. According to Easterling, once final procedures are in place at the state level “we’ll have updated revised boosters…available for New Yorkers.”
Updates on the booster can be found at the CDC’s website page entitled “Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines Including Boosters”: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html. For more information regarding vaccines and boosters in New York City, please go to www1.nyc. gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines.page. These and other resources can also be accessed on the AmNews COVID-19 page: https://amsterdamnews.com/covid/
Global implications of the water crisis
In last week’s editorial we raised EDITORIAL questions about the water crisis in the nation, particularly the precarious situation at that time in Jackson, Mississippi as well as in our drinking water here in a NYCHA housing unit. Thankfully, both have been for the moment remedied but not to the point of completely assuring residents in either place.
We were pleased to learn that NY Rep. Yvette D. Clarke has been equally concerned about water conditions, whether here or abroad. Last summer she introduced the Safe School Drinking Water Act, legislation to protect children from the harmful impacts of lead contamination in drinking water in schools. Lately, we learn that she has taken on another water crisis, this one a devastating one far from our shores in Pakistan.
Many of you are certainly aware of the record amount of rainfall in Pakistan and the nearby region resulting from the summer’s monsoon season. Rep. Clarke and several of her colleagues in the House of Representatives, notably Sheila Jackson Lee, are urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Pakistanis currently living in the U.S.
In a letter addressed to the Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the department’s secretary, they wrote that the flooding is “the worst seen in Pakistan in over a decade, claiming the lives of more than 1100 peoples. Bridges, agricultural lands, and countless homes have also been destroyed, causing over 33 million people to be displaced or otherwise impacted.”
Also reported is an outbreak of waterborne diseases at relief camps established by the government, and that must give the issue additional resonance for Rep. Clarke given her concern for lead poisoning in water.
We made reference to the global impact of the water crisis without citing particular instances of such a problem, and we are thankful that the ever vigilant Rep. Clarke has brought the issue in Pakistan to our attention—and we certainly hope that the leaders at the Department of Homeland Security express the same sense of urgency.
Shining an educational light in the darkness
By AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG
Our nation’s most challenging internal struggle—and finest victory—was eradicating the legacy of slavery and segregation. The principles that guided the nation through that critical time, so powerfully articulated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., offer a guiding light for today.
The task of teaching those unifying, non-violent principles to a new generation is urgent and lies on the shoulders of the current generation which has time and again gravitated toward collective wisdom and come up with solutions that transcend politics and violence.
But too many students have not been equipped for responsible citizenship, let alone effective leadership. So we have a relative dearth of leaders who can call our society to a higher standard like Dr. King.
There are no panaceas. But the most important action we can take is to commit ourselves to inculcate social and civic responsibility in our young, thereby equipping them for a future of service and leadership.
Particularly important is actively modeling, and not just discussing, these principles. Which makes the example of Dr. King so important.
Dr. King eloquently appealed to our better natures. His message transcended our differences. But he also lived his principles, which gave his words special power.
Dr. King was more than visionary. He was also an activist and organizer. He did not leave the hard work of doing to others but acted to change the world. He also pursued his passion for justice with a commitment to nonviolence that inspired millions.
Today’s young people desperately need to hear this unifying message.
To that end, the Andrew Young Foundation is collaborating with Good of All to launch a scholarship program for students determined to follow in Dr. King’s footsteps. We hope to teach the coming generation how to take up the great challenges of our age and advance his principles. These scholarships will go to students who, like Dr. King, dream of being ambassadors of non-violence and making not just the nation but the world a better place.
At a dark moment in the struggle against injustice and violence in an earlier era, Dr. King declared: “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
These same enduring principles can help us to overcome darkness in our era. We can shine an educational light that can help to bring healing to our troubled world. Teaching Dr. King’s principles will empower the coming generation to create a better future for us all.
Ambassador Andrew Young is the former mayor of Atlanta and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Dr. Matthew Daniels is the founder of Good of All (www.mlkcurriculum.org)
Just call it the Black and brown toll
By BERTHA LEWIS
Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher
and Editor in Chief Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor Nayaba Arinde: Editor Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor
After three years and a pandemic, New York finally got to look at the MTA’s Environmental Assessment (EA) for its darling—the Central Business District (CBD) Tolling Plan—and spent the next two weeks trying to decipher the nearly 900page report and its thousand page plus appendices. Sadly, despite the length, the MTA did the bare minimum to assess the impacted areas. Insultingly, moreover, they settled upon a tolling plan that is little more than a greenwashed extortion scheme on our communities of color. Rather than a congestion toll, they should have called it the “Black and Brown Toll,” and I can’t stress how awful this really is, nor my opposition, hard enough.
I don’t hate congestion pricing conceptually. New York is horrifically congested and polluted by commuters. Our public transit system is aging, unsafe, and communities of color are underserved by it. Charging auto commuters could easily fix both problems, if done right. So you would expect the MTA, studying this idea since it was approved in 2019, would present a nuanced EA that examines the economic and environmental impacts of this issue on the city’s most affected communities, and tailor their scenarios with that in mind.
I was disappointed, but unsurprised, when the MTA’s brain trust delivered an EA that barely accounts for our communities. We, people of color, are New York’s unsung, underpaid heros; we keep this city running for a pittance. Some of us have to drive to work because we don’t have access to public transit and for some of us, driving is our work. Yet the MTA has decided that we, more so than the wealthy white suburbanites driving SUVs to New York because “public transit is for poor people and minorities,” should be their piggy bank. We can barely afford to live in the city already!
Especially damaging is the levy on forhire vehicle drivers (FHVs), over 90% of whom are people and immigrants of color. Under every scenario, FHVs are excessively charged; in many cases being subject to an unlimited number of tolls! Moreover, these would be on top of surcharges we already have to pay on FHV trips, which were implemented in 2019 at the behest of the MTA to do the exact same thing the CBDTP is supposed to! What happened to that money, which we paid during the global pandemic on the few rides we did get? How is it fair, or equal, to DOUBLE tax FHVs as opposed to taxis, or the commuters and commercial delivery trucks that are actually causing the congestion and pollution problems?
The new tolls will destroy thousands of jobs held by immigrants and people of color in New York. FHVs will have no choice but to pass along the tolls to riders (up to $23!), inevitably reducing ridership and thus driver pay. Our drivers, as well as our outer borough commuters of color, have families to feed and are integral to their neighborhood economies. When our jobs and disposable income vanish, what will happen to the communities we support? Devastation, plain and simple.
The MTA made us a sacrificial lamb to avoid going after the actual problem: white commuters in the metropolitan area. The city and the big companies have a vested interest in defeating any attempt to make these commuters pay, sure, but the MTA didn’t even try to do the right thing. They instead did a bare-bones analysis, covered it with a lot of fluff and glitter in a report designed to keep us from discovering that fact, and are now trying to rush the public hearings so our voices are not heard. Well I did read it and I, along with The Black Institute, condemn the MTA for this halfbaked, racist plan that will kill thousands of our jobs and disrupt our communities. We demand the EA be retracted, the environment properly restudied, and a new plan that will address the real problem: the white commuters with their gas-guzzlers. Otherwise, don’t insult us by calling this plan a “congestion pricing toll.” Call it what it is—a Black and brown toll.
Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus
Bertha Lewis is a community organizer and the Founder and President of The Black Institute (TBI), which states that it shapes intellectual discourse and impacts public policy uniquely from a Black and people of color perspective in the United States and throughout the Diaspora.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the New York Amsterdam News. We continue to publish a variety of viewpoints so that we may know the opinions of others that may differ from our own.
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS
What has the government done for you lately?
In spite of the many billions of dollars that the government has in its coffers and the outsized influence it has over our nation and the world, it appears that the majority of us scratch our heads when this question is posed to us. There is no doubt that we have access to a variety of government programs in addition to police, fire, and other emergency services. However, if one takes a step back and looks at the broader picture, it would appear that the majority of these government programs are in place to solve a problem that the government created itself.
Government thrives when it maintains its power, and it is precisely its desire for greater power and enormous riches that makes it possible for them to place the populace in situations that force them to plead with the government for help when they are in need.
During the course of the COVID19 pandemic, we were witnesses to a myriad of problems that had been created by the government and that will have long-lasting effects on future generations of children and adolescents. They closed businesses, which led to a number of bankruptcies, and terminated employees because they refused to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination, both of which drove people into poverty and increased the rate of unemployment (which at one point reached almost 15%). And perhaps most importantly, they drove students away from the enriching experiences that are scientifically necessary for their development into successful and sociable young people who will effectively lead our society.
Recent studies demonstrate how students in the United States have been significantly impacted by the closure of schools. For instance, the number of children who attempted suicide rose by 51%. In addition to that, the number of children who are classified as obese has nearly doubled. And to add insult to injury, the pandemic claimed the lives of at least one parent or primary caregiver for more than 200,000 children.
As a direct result of this, we are already observing children who are significantly less sociable as well as significantly more depressed and overweight. It does not take a genius to understand how the life of a child could be negatively impacted by these catastrophic effects.
Should we be thankful to the government if, in the future, it provides us with things like health care subsidies and tax credits, as penance for the harm they caused? Not in my opinion. When the government is the source of a problem, it should not be praised for finding solutions to the problem. It is inevitable that these problems are the result of hasty decision-making, which in turn results in poor policy. The situation is made even worse by the fact that the only place individuals can turn for assistance is the government.
The issues which government create to force the people into reliance on government assistance has resulted in a myriad of issues, chief among which are the pervasiveness of poverty, the growth of criminal activity, and the severe lack of employment opportunities for younger people.
The fact that many of these issues have simple solutions is the aspect of this scenario that’s the most frustrating. In the case of children going to school, for example, it was known from the very beginning what the consequences of exposing them to COVID-19 would be, as well as the effects of locking children up in their rooms for two years without providing them with any opportunity for social interaction.
It is true that children can be carriers of the COVID-19 virus even if they are not sick; however, research suggests that the lockdowns and other restrictions that we were subjected to did little, if anything, to impede the virus’s ability to spread. You need only look as far as Florida to see a state that broke the mold and did the polar opposite of what every other state did. They made it possible for their children to go to school, allowing them to develop socially as well as intellectually. As a result, their current COVID19 rates are comparable to those of the general population. It is now abundantly clear that the potential dangers are relatively insignificant when weighed against the dangers posed to the growth and development of our children.
Take this issue into careful consideration. How are votes gained for political candidates? They gain support from voters by giving hope to individuals. Yet, if there is no issue, then there cannot be any hope for a future without it. So, after they have fixed a problem that they initially caused, our elected officials have almost no trouble promoting their accomplishments on television and online while having almost no trouble concealing what they’ve done wrong. Because pain and suffering have become part and parcel of our daily lives, few people notice how the government wrongs them daily.
Corruption is an ongoing issue within the government that is one of the contributing factors to the decline of both our communities and our nation. As Americans, we are no longer unified; instead, we are divided by partisan politics, which are made worse by the efforts of the government to increase its control over us. Unfortunately, as long as there is civilization, there will be those who seek to rule.
The government needs only one idea to guide them: the more issues, the more solutions.
Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is manager / sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year. www. armstrongwilliams.co | www.howardstirkholdings.com
Support our libraries
CHRISTINA GREER PH.D.
I recently found out that September is National Library Card Sign Up Month. There seems to be a month to celebrate almost anything, but signing up for a library card is definitely worth the recognition and celebration.
In so many ways, librarians are often the unsung heroes of a community. They help unlock children’s imaginations and they are a wealth of knowledge for people looking to advance themselves or merely explore a topic of interest. And most importantly, for many, they are the first people to introduce the love of reading to so many young people.
Recently, with the nonsensical debates over Critical Race Theory and right-wing legislators banning books in schools and libraries across the country, supporting our library systems and diligent librarians is more important than ever.
The New York Public Library (NYPL) system has an extensive network of branches and it is relatively easy to sign up for a library card. They state, “NYPL library cards are available free for anyone who lives, works, attends school, or pays property taxes in New York State.” If someone is interested in applying for a library card they must complete and sign an application form and return it to a Circulation Desk at any NYPL location. In order to process your application you must also bring with you a New York State ID or other approved documentation from the list on their website at www.nypl.org/librarycard.
As states across the country have begun banning books in schools, public libraries have become a beacon for those interested in learning about race, gender and sexuality, American history, and so much more. The Brooklyn Public Library has even taken the bold step to make, for a limited time, a free eCard to any person aged 13 to 21 across the United States. This generous counterattack to the rising tide of conservative closed politics will allow young people free access to 500,000 digital books, including many censored books.
If you know a young person interested in applying to receive a free eCard, encourage them to go to Brooklyn Library’s Books Unbanned website at www.bklynlibrary. org/books-unbanned to learn more or they can email booksunbanned@bklynlibrary.org to inquire and apply. You can also donate money once on the website to help the library continue their support for teens across the country.
Hopefully our readers have fond memories of their public library growing up. If not, hopefully you will use this time to help support public libraries across the country so they can continue to provide services for a new generation of young people. And if you have not done so, be sure to sign up for a library card this September. As my childhood librarian would always say, “Books are our friends.” Indeed, they are, and a library card is a passport to many new worlds.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University, the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream,” and the co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of The Blackest Questions podcast.
