Sign up For DC 37 News

Newsroom

Public Employee Press: PEP Talk

Local 2627 members vital to remote learning

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

As Mayor de Blasio shut down all New York City public schools Nov. 18 to stave off the pandemic’s second wave, Local 2627 members ramped up to connect teachers and students for online learning.

“Our members are essential workers who provide technical support and laptops so children can access remote learning and teachers can teach online. We help everyone, including the administrative offices, connect to the resources, Wi-Fi, and uninterrupted internet service needed for live streaming and online learning,” said Laura Morand, Local 2627 president.

The local represents Computer Aides, Computer Associates, Computer Programmers, Computer Service Technicians, Supervising Computer Technicians, Computer Specialists, and Senior Computer Specialists at the Department of Education (DOE) and other city agencies.

The mayor’s decision to shutter all public schools and switch to full remote learning affects 1.1 million students. In the days leading up to the closings, Local 2627 members were prepared to distribute 320,000 city-issued iPads to students who needed devices.

New York is a city of extremes in wealth and poverty. Half of all students attending public school live in low-income households. An economy crushed under the weight of the massive spread of COVID-19 since March caused record high unemployment. With many families struggling to pay for food and shelter, cable or internet service may be unaffordable or inaccessible.

These dismal circumstances further challenge Local 2627 members as DOE strives to meet students’ educational needs. The municipal Geek Squad of Local 2627 computer whizzes delivered computer access to about 15,000 students who live in homeless shelters and some 60,000 students with no internet access or computers. Connectivity can be a problem, especially for students who live in shelters located in dead zones where there is no wireless service.

“DOE techs equip the iPads with wireless cellular data plans so kids with no Wi-Fi access can get online,” Morand explained.

When computer problems arise, parents, students, DOE administrative office staff, and teachers use DOE’s website to describe their computer problem. IT help desk workers generate a ticket to track the complaint. Techs fan out into school districts across the five boroughs to resolve the problems.

“We’re learning this technology on the fly,” said Murdock Haskins, a Computer Service Technician and Shop Steward. “We have to go through a third party vendor and contact them whenever there’s a problem because we don’t have the rights to update the iPads or make changes. It’s especially frustrating for us, the students, the parents, and the teachers when we can’t resolve these glitches immediately. We sometimes have to wait eight hours or longer to hear back from the vendor.”

“Techs cannot work from home; their job is hands on,” Morand said. “They deliver and install computers and software and troubleshoot to make sure it’s all systems go.”

Health preventives like masks, PPE, handwashing, and social distancing kept infection rates relatively low for months. However, Local 768 NYC Health+Hospitals Contact Tracers recently began detecting COVID upticks in some neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. Community spread in those red zones pushed the City toward the 3% threshold that triggered the November schools shutdown.

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said all learning would proceed remotely “until further notice.” New York City joins many major cities across the U.S. whose school districts are using remote-only learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The workload for Local 2627 technicians to distribute iPads and connectivity to students and teachers is nonstop. With their ranks understaffed, Morand said that DOE has temporarily reassigned Computer Programmers and Developers to the help desk. “The demands on Local 2627 members can be overwhelming. This is all unchartered territory for everyone,” she said.

Some Local 2627 members have reached out to the union when they visit homes where parents or students refuse to wear masks.

“It’s simple: No Masks, No Service!” Morand told members in an online union meeting. “We want to and are doing our jobs. But we cannot put our lives and our families at risk dealing with people who deny the seriousness of this deadly disease.”

X