I have ETO days. It really irritates me when I have to use them when sick. If I have a choice I take off on Mondays or Fridays or before and after holidays. I don't get the no school days that teachers get though.
First, this issue was raised by the parents...not the teachers, not the administration, not the union...
Some of the parents apparently care about the quality of teaching when so many substitutes are trying to cover for so many teachers being absent so often.
Not only it this a huge additional expense on the taxpayers, but a quality issue of the educational experience.
So many parents do not care about their kids education, it is good to see that some, finally, apparently do care.
It seems that the teachers and their unions do not care enough about the students education.
The second point : if one is really sick, then one should stay home or go to the hospital to get well.
That is apparently not the case here. The sick days are just another industrial union benefit...like three months off in the summer, every major and minor holiday off, two weeks paid at Christmas...
I don't get days off before or after holidays either (unless it's the holiday season). But teachers shouldn't complain too much--we do get ample time off (though many would tell you not all of them are "off" days).