The UFT (NYC teachers’ union): how do we get the city to be proactive about bed bugs?
By nobugsonme on Feb 5, 2007 in bed bugs, bedbugs, government, health, new york, reader questions, schools, treatment in institutions, usa
by Nobugsonme
Ellie posted a question on one of the FAQs, which will probably get more feedback here.
Ellie Engler, Feb 5th 2007 at 8:53 am
The United Federation of Teachers represents more than 100,000 staff working in more than 1400 buildings where there are more than 1.2 million students in school We have received many reports of bedbugs and follow the NYC Health Department Protocol, the bedbug is bagged (not easy to find them), sent to the health department for confirmation and then the Board of Education will address the problem.
This process takes time and our staff and parents are very upset. We believe that the Board of Education believes that this is not a school problem because the bugs come from home.
Any advice?
Ellie, you should definitely read this post I wrote, about bed bugs in the NYC schools. Bed bugs are not like lice and do not necessarily “come from home,” because they can travel in any direction. Someone brought them in to the school, but in many cases, students and staff may be taking them from school and introducing them into homes for the first time. They don’t live on people, but in a place, and it is quite common to be bitten for a long time before you ever see one.
I think the union should take a stand on this. You could probably enlist the assistance of NYC-based entomologists and perhaps some of the really good Pest Control Operators who would back you up on what a ridiculous policy it is to assume you will see bed bugs, and to assume the families are to blame. Political action may be necessary. Let us know if we can help with that effort.
The city needs to understand that bed bugs can come from home to school with anyone who enters the building (rich or poor, teacher, student, admin, visitor, or staff), or even in “stuff”. And they can go from school to home with all the same types of people.
Of course, the schools will take things seriously when some students’ families, staff, and teachers get bed bugs from school and start to sue. Few have this within their means, I know, but a class action is always a possibility. The BoE should deal with this more proactively and avoid such a situation.
Of course, the city is pretending the problem does not really exist anywhere. As I’ve said many times, they keep producing this number of 4600-some complaints between summer 2005 and summer 2006, of which 1/3 were legit bed bug cases. The owner of Pest Away, meanwhile, told the Village Voice he got 85 legitimate bed bug calls from customers per day (and 15 false alarms).
Mayor Bloomberg, are you listening?
That 85 x 5 days a week x 52 weeks a year = 22,100. Perhaps my math teachers did a better job than those of the city’s officials, or perhaps they’d like to ignore the fact that one PCO is getting 22,100 calls in a year. There are hundreds of PCOs serving the 5-borough area. The city is in the midst of a genuine epidemic, and the bugs are excellent hitchhikers. Nevertheless, they are also excellent at infesting a place.
Anyone who claims they are not can explain why so many Bedbuggers have sofas that are infested. Why we have infested mattresses when we never took in a used one, and why our cars get infested if we’re not careful. Friends and relatives have become infested after we visit them for one night. Bed bugs spread easily.
It stands to reason that the schools will get bed bugs from some people and give them to many others, in the space of time it takes for a teacher to spot one, catch it, and bag it for identification.
content rss
nobugsonme | Feb 5, 2007 | Reply
Some early responses (moved here):
Bugalina // Feb 5th 2007 at 9:05 am
The Board of Education is in denial..because the bed bug situation is not easily solved with a “lice shampoo”, so they know they have a problem on their hands. A big problem. Head lice come from home , as to all communicable diseases, or in this case, communicable bug, that should not allow the Bd. of Ed. to put their heads in the sand, so to speak. I suggest you get professional advice ie. a labor law attorney. Ms. Friedman’s Op. Ed. speaks to the reality that bed bug extermination is very costly, both mentally and financially, and until someone finds a solution, running the risk of reinfestation is a terrible weight to bear. There must be an attorney who can help. You need to know your rights.
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parakeets // Feb 5th 2007 at 1:13 pm
Bedbugs are a blame game. Landlords blame tenants. Tenants blame hotels. Hotels blame guests. It goes on and on. So I’m not surprised that parents blame the schools and schools blame the homes. While the city, and the schools, and parents and boards of health are passing the buck, children are being bitten. When it comes to our children, the buck stops here. Who stands up for the child being bitten?
If there are bedbugs in the greater school community, why isn’t the school a conduit for information and a child-centered advocate? Shame on our schools. Shame on our cities. In some ways, bedbugs are just a slower, more insidious Katrina-type governmental failure of leadership. Where are our leaders? If our schools are silent, we have failed as a society.
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jessinchicago // Feb 5th 2007 at 8:56 pm
I have a (sad) feeling that once the teachers, then prinicpals, then nurses and social workers and then, eventually, BOE members themselves start taking the bedbugs home with them and dealing with their own infestations, things will begin to change.
I think you all have a big reason to be upset, because you’re ALL at risk. Even you, Ellie! Thing is, it doesn’t really matter who’s bringing them into the schools- Bonnie Friedman is a perfect example of a PROFESSOR who had bedbugs. How does anyone know the teachers aren’t harboring them in coats and bags they bring from home? It could be teachers, it could be students- it could be both. Doesn’t matter. With the size of the epidemic, we’re never going to know who brought bedbugs anywhere, ever. No, what matters is education and carefully planned and coordinated extermination efforts in schools and in affected homes.
We’re all going to have to work together in the end to stop this epidemic. It’s going to take a city-wide (and eventually, federal) government regulated plan- like the one San Francisco has adopted as a code of public health. New York is so behind in this game right now, and I think big groups- like your union, Ellie- need to start making quite a fuss.
I’m with Bugalina- I’d talk with an attorney. Doesn’t your union have attorneys available to you?
Good luck and God bless you for reaching out for help.
Jess
Bugalina | Feb 6, 2007 | Reply
Ms. Engler, I don’t know if you were looking for any practical advice on what you could do personally. You could start to put your handbag into a large ziplock, the new ones have double zippers, you should advoid hanging your coat with others, you could also put it into a large ziplock. You could keep a spray bottle of Kleen Free in your car, and spray down your shoes upon entering your car, this is a contact enzyme killer…imho , preventative measures are a good thing to do, esp. in environments where the finding of bed bugs is documented. But be prepared for setting off alarms….remember, bed bugs can be transported on the personal belongings of employees and students…obviously if a student is showing up with bites on the exposed parts of their skin ie faces, and arms, there should be protocols to follow. Bottom line is that the schools are going to have to deal with this issue soon…they cannot go on pretending that it will not negatively effect the entire school environment. Bugalina
michelle | Mar 15, 2007 | Reply
My school nurse calls them “insect bites” and “let’s leave it at that” My principal is trying to tell me they might be flea bites. Yea right! I’ve had two kids in my class tell me they have had to throw out their mattresses and have had to get their homes treated. Yet, the rest of the parents in the class are told NOTHING. They should be outraged their kids are sitting in a room where at least two kids have infested homes. But, because one can’t be “bagged” in school - THEY DON’T EXIST, RIGHT - isn’t that what we’re being brainwashed into believing?
nobugsonme | Mar 16, 2007 | Reply
Michelle,
This is a serious problem. Parents’ associations and teachers need to organize, or schools are just going to be a conduit for spreading more and more infestations.
Let us know if we can help you.
hopelessnomo' | Mar 16, 2007 | Reply
Schools should be spreading information to parents on what to do, what to look for, they are perfect for that role. Why are they covering this up instead?