After voting overwhelmingly to refuse to return to class, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union members had to be reminded to not post pictures of themselves on vacation during their spring break.
According to Fox News, Los Angeles Teachers union President Cecily Myart-Cruz indicated that UTLA members voted 91% (22,480) to 9% (2,100) against returning to class due to what the deem to be “unsafe” conditions despite the CDC saying it is safe to return to in-person learning. The union demands that all school staff must be vaccinated or have access to vaccination, among other COVID-19 safety measures before they return to school.
In a post to the union’s private Facebook page, one member warned others to not post pictures of themselves on social media while on vacation because it could affect the credibility of their argument.
NEW: In a leaked post from a private Facebook group for UTLA union members only, teachers are warned not to post on social media if they go on spring break vacations because the optics would be bad for them while UTLA is refusing to return to "unsafe" in-person schooling @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/KxQc7k450T
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 9, 2021
The screenshot was taken by a member of the union who opposed the results of the vote and wanted to expose the group’s blatant hypocrisy. Another member - with some sense - responded to the post saying, “Or better yet, don't travel on spring break and set an example."
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"The union’s decision to condone international vacations while keeping students and educators from returning to classrooms is so hypocritical you would think [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom thought of it himself," John Burke, the communications director for Kevin Faulconer for Governor, told Fox News. "Our spineless governor refuses to stand up to them and do what’s right for our students. It’s time to recall Newsom."
A recall petition for Governor Newsom (Calif.) recently reached 1.9 million signatures.
Last week, Newsom signed a $6.6 billion bill to speed up the process of returning to in-person schooling in California. Schools that fail to reopen by April 1 will lose 1% of their eligible funds each day they aren’t open.
"We have a diverse membership and they are able to post their views on personal Facebook pages and in this Facebook group - however, UTLA does not monitor nor is responsible for the content," UTLA said in a statement to FOX 11 - Los Angeles. "We do not want to discourage a robust dialogue for members in the public square of opinion."