Mesothelioma Fears Inspire Philadelphia Teachers’ Protest and Class Action Lawsuit
Asbestos, the carcinogenic material known to cause malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis, is present in many older public buildings, particularly in America’s school buildings. There has been significant media attention on this problem in Philadelphia’s public schools and the threat it poses to teachers in those buildings, and this has recently led to those teachers protesting and subsequently filing a class action First Amendment lawsuit.
First Amendment Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Teachers Who Fear Mesothelioma
While it is public knowledge that asbestos poses health threats to those who are exposed to it, this knowledge is heightened among Philadelphia teachers, who have seen one of their peers diagnosed with mesothelioma after years of working in the city’s asbestos-contaminated structures.
As a result of this painful knowledge of their colleague’s illness and their fears of mesothelioma spurred by their continued exposure to asbestos, several Philadelphia teachers from the city’s Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School protested their unsafe conditions by moving their workstations to an outdoor area. The teachers subsequently had their pay docked. Now the teachers are accusing the school district of violating their First Amendment rights and have filed a class action lawsuit seeking relief from the courts. Their complaint accuses the district of trying to quash the teachers’ objections and silence their voices, despite the concerning presence of over 100 confirmed or assumed sources of asbestos in the building,
School District Faces Billions in Costs to Eliminate Mesothelioma Risk
Philadelphia teachers and students have been greatly impacted by the constant closures of buildings found to be contaminated with asbestos and by the fears that exposure to that asbestos could lead to mesothelioma. Knowing that it will cost upwards of $5 billion to remove the asbestos from the district’s buildings has exacerbated the teachers’ fears that nothing will be done, and led to their protest. They also say that the district’s failure to communicate what steps were being taken to protect them and their students had exacerbated the situation.
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