CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One of the unions that represents teachers and school service personnel in West Virginia is marking success against the coronavirus but it’s not through the courts.
The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia said it’s gained relief for its members through through the already established grievance process.
Judge after judge and the state Supreme Court have continued to uphold Gov. Jim Justice’s authority to take action during a pandemic so the AFT turned to filing grievances on the local level. AFT-WV President Fred Albert said.
“While we wish we could flip a switch to take care of all the COVID concerns out in our schools, we know that it’s not that simple, given the politicization of the virus, the map and 55 county school systems which are constitutionally ruled by 55 separate boards of education. Our focus is to tackle issues locally and seek resolutions from the board members in each of these counties, who are accountable to the citizens who elected them,” Albert said in a recent newsletter to members.
The union recently reported that it had a quick resolution of the first three grievances filed in Kanawha County. The resolution lowered class sizes to permit social distancing, the union said.
“By both statute and the state constitution, the county boards have the authority and ability to rectify many of the COVID-related concerns of their employees, and we are hopeful that many will follow the example that Kanawha County has set by addressing staff concerns to settle the grievances,” AFT-WV reported.
A large grievance case is pending in Marion County. It involves 104 AFT members who work in 13 Marion County schools. The case is centered on dual instruction where teachers are doing both in-person and virtual instruction. A similar grievance has already been settled in Randolph County where the county board of education has agreed that for next semester teachers will teach one or the other.
“This is a tremendous victory for Randolph County educators,” AFT-WV said.
The union is also filing grievances over the mask issue. A filing in Kanawha County came after a student, who didn’t have a health issue, refused to abide by the mandatory mask order.
“The county board has given the parents an ultimatum regarding mandatory masks being absolutely required for in-person learning. If the parents choose not to comply with the school system’s mask requirement, the grievance will continue forward until the health and safety concerns of the members are addressed,” AFT-WV said.