We hope that you all are gearing up for a restorative February break! Please note that the BTU office will be open and staff will be available Tuesday – Friday. There will be no regularly scheduled bulletin next week, but we will send special bulletins if needed.
Thank you to all who attended our membership meeting on Wednesday. We are writing with a few important follow up updates. As discussed during the meeting, BTU joined eight unions across the state to call on Health & Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders to support the Last Mile Vaccine Delivery Proposal. This proposal calls for:
- Local firefighters and EMTs to administer the vaccine in school buildings across the state and a private medical distribution company to handle all of the logistics
- Vaccinations for educators and other school employees to begin in February and scaled up beyond the pilot communities as more vaccines become available
- Educators not be moved ahead of any other groups but can be vaccinated at the same time as others in Phase 2
We’re asking you to join the call and urge Governor Charlie Baker, Secretary Sudders and Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel to take immediate action to make our schools safer for students, families and communities, along with Massachusetts educators. Please sign the Action Network petition TODAY!
We are also exploring a possible “buddy” program to help get our Retired Teachers Chapter members vaccinated with in-service educators who can help them to make appointments and get them to the vaccination site. If you are a RTC member who is 75+ or a Veteran who is 65+ (or know someone who fits either of those criteria) who would like to get vaccination assistance OR are an educator who would be willing to assist someone with getting an appointment and getting to their appointment (and may need to get vaccinated as well), please let us know.
The mayor announced today that veterans who are 65+ will be able to get vaccinations at sites in Boston this weekend as well. Here is the website for MA COVID Vaccinations.
Many of our educators have asked for clarity on mask wearing protocols and contact tracing. All staff and students should be wearing masks at all times in the building, unless their is a documented and approved reason they are unable to. Please see BPS mask protocols. Please also see here for clarification on the contact tracing protocols.
Don’t Forget: What should the BTU ask candidates for Mayor and City Council?Please take 5 minutes to fill out the BTU Political Priorities Survey if you haven’t done so yet. This year we will have many important municipal and state-wide elections. Hearing from you is very important to our endorsement process!
Building Reps: Please remember to fill out the reopening checklist as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so.
Lastly, we want to wish all who celebrate a very happy Lunar New Year! We look forward to a fortuitous year of the Ox!
#InThisTogether as always,
BTU Officers and Staff