Judge Declines Injunction to Stop Teacher Sick-Outs

DETROIT, MI – Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Cynthia Stephens on Monday refused to grant an injunction that would have stopped the Detroit Federation of Teachers from organizing teacher sick-outs to protest working conditions, the Detroit Free Press reports.

More than 100 protesters demonstrated outside Cadillac Place, where a hearing was held on Monday on the temporary restraining order Detroit Public Schools had sought to stop the sick-outs, which last week closed 88 of the district’s 104 schools. Earlier sick-outs had also been staged.

On Monday, two Detroit schools — Davison Elementary-Middle School and Diann Banks Williamson Educational Center — were closed due to sick-outs.

George Butler, an attorney for the district, had argued that the sick-outs violate Michigan law, which prohibits strikes. Named in the request for an injunction were the Detroit Federation of Teachers, interim president Ivy Bailey and ousted president Steve Conn.

The district argued the sick-outs have disrupted learning and harmed children, but teachers said the sick-outs seem to be the only avenue they have to get their grievances heard.