Detroit Rocked by Teachers' "Sickout" Protesting Dire Conditions Under Emergency Management
On Wednesday, 88 of Detroit’s roughly 100 public schools were closed in the latest mass teacher "sickouts" protesting underfunding, black mold, rat infestations, crumbling buildings and inadequate staffing. Detroit Public Schools are under the control of unelected emergency manager Darnell Earley—none other than the unelected emergency manager who presided over the water contamination in Flint. We discuss the sickout and the state of Detroit’s schools with two guests: Victor Gibson, a retired Detroit public school teacher and active union member, and Russ Bellant, an education advocate and the former education director for the stationary engineers union, where he trained engineers working in the Detroit Public Schools.