2 biggest teachers unions say they are open to striking over coronavirus safety measures

Two of the most powerful teachers unions in the United States would consider striking once again soon, though this time the issue is coronavirus safety measures, rather than pay, Politico reports.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten laid out five conditions for schools to reopen, absent a vaccine, during the coronavirus pandemic. They include: a decline in cases over 14 days; adequate testing, tracing, and isolation; temperature taking, cleaning protocols, personal protective equipment, and distancing measures like staggered school times; transparency and fidelity to all these measures; and, of course, the proper funding to pay for it all. And if schools reopen without many of those things?

"You can scream bloody murder," Weingarten said. "And you do everything you can to ... use your public megaphones."

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Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the president of the National Education Association, also didn't rule out strikes, which she said would likely be aided by the fact that teachers have unified across the nation after two years of demonstrations for more state funding. She also believes parents would join the cause since their children's safety will be on the line. "You can put all things on the table when it comes to student safety," Garcia said. Read more at Politico.