A video has surfaced showing the president of the Berkeley Teachers' Union dropping off his two-year-old daughter at an in-person preschool, after saying Berkeley schools should only reopen to in-person learning when faculty are vaccinated, among other stipulations.
Meet Matt Meyer. White man with dreads and president of the local teachers' union. He's been saying it is unsafe for *your kid* to be back at school, all the while dropping his kid off at private school:https://t.co/BAIR5xH8LY#OpenSchoolsNow
— guerillaMomz (@GuerillaMomz) February 28, 2021
Matt Meyer, president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, has advocated for what he referred to as the 'gold standard' for the teachers in the union which he said included, "Social distancing, mask-wearing, and vaccinations for adults will create the safest environment for in-person education for the end of this year."
A tentative plan between the Berkeley Unified School District and Berkeley Federation of Teachers would have had preschoolers through second grade returning to class March 29 and other grades coming back to in-person learning throughout April.
However, "The dates are contingent upon district employees getting the first dose of the Moderna vaccine the week of February 22nd. If there is a delay in distribution, reopening will also be delayed. If district employees are able to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which requires fewer days between inoculations, schools will reopen one week sooner," according to Berkeleyside.
BREAKING: @BerkeleyUnified union pres. Matt Meyer who has led efforts keeping Berkeley schools closed nearly a year because it’s “unsafe” caught dropping daughter off at private in-person school. Why is it safe for him but not the rest of BUSD families??? Credit @GuerillaMomz
— Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) February 28, 2021
1/3 pic.twitter.com/TRA0Hyx1jS
Parents in the district have claimed that the union is not moving fast enough and are citing the Center For Disease Controls and Prevention guidelines which said that schools are safe to reopen without vaccinations for teachers.
The @guerillaMomz group followed Meyer and his daughter to her preschool and were able to video Meyer dropping her off. Meyer told PBS affiliate KQED that his job is to advocate for the teachers in his union, and where he sends his own children is a "personal choice."
