AFT Website Shows Links Between Good Health and Learning
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If a child comes to school hungry, with a toothache or unable to see the board clearly, his or her learning suffers. Good health is important to enabling children to do their best in school.
AFT has launched a new website, Linking Children’s Health to Education, which provides practical advice to parents on ways to keep their children healthy and at their best in school. Because students’ wellness affects their ability to perform in school, AFT has made available vital information about illnesses affecting kids.
Indiana Unions Provide Food Aid for Jobless Workers
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Jade Mendoza, Indiana AFL-CIO Field Communications director, sends us this report.
Garland Stovall has been helping laid-off and unemployed union members get food on their table for more than five years. Starting with United Way, Garland ran food pantries for the Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) and the United Steelworkers (USW) unions before heading up the food pantry at the Indiana AFL-CIO office for the Carpenters Local 60, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 481, and USW Local 1999 today.
For more than a year, with the help of Gleaners Food Distribution Center, Garland keeps dozens of oversized shelving units stocked with items for every dietary need. From cans of corn to jars of spaghetti sauce, union members sign in and take what they need. Garland puts it this way:
Between 30 and 40 families use it every month. Laid-off or out of work, by no fault of their own, people are struggling to put food on the table and as the labor community, we stand together. It is a sign that the state isn’t doing enough to keep jobs here in Indiana.
Farm Workers Struggle One More Step Toward Democracy in Zimbabwe
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Bernard Pollack, who is taking a leave of absence from the AFL-CIO to travel through Africa, and Danielle Nierenberg send us a report from their journey through Africa. Read more at their blog, Border Jumpers.
Gertrude Hambira doesn’t look like someone who gets arrested regularly. Nor do the other women and men in suits who work with her at the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ). The union was formed in the mid-1980s to protect farm laborers. But arrest, harassment and even torture have been regular occupational hazards for Hambira—who is general secretary of GAPWUZ—and her staff for many years.
Unfortunately, things have not gotten much better since the 2008 elections, when Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe refused to cede power to the democratically elected Morgan Tsvangirai, a former union leader. The resulting power-sharing agreement has left the two sides battling for control as the nation plummets deeper into unemployment and poverty. At least 90 percent of the population is not part of the formal workforce.
Saturday, May 8: Help Letter Carriers ‘Stamp Out Hunger’
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With the U.S. underemployment rate at 16.9 percent in March, the Letter Carriers’ (NALC‘s) annual national food drive next month comes at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to put food on the table. More than 49 million people—including 16.7 million children—live in households that are hungry or risk of hunger, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This represents more than one in seven households in the country (14.6 percent).
You can help “Stamp out Hunger” by collecting canned goods and dry food, such as tuna, canned meat, soups, pasta, rice and cereal, and leaving them in a bag or box by your mailbox on Saturday, May 8. Your letter carrier will pick them up as they deliver your mail. NALC members will deliver the goods to local food banks, pantries and shelters to help needy families in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.
Teacher Survey: Children Coming to School Hungry
Despite programs intended to ensure children have enough to eat in and out of school, teachers across the nation report they are witnessing a growing number of hungry students—which affects their ability to concentrate and learn, according to a new survey.
More than 60 percent of the teachers responding to the survey, Hunger in America’s Classrooms, say most or many of the students at their schools rely on school meals for their primary source of nutrition. But that often is not enough, and teachers are dipping into their wallets to fill the gaps. Elementary teachers reported spending an average of $27 a month to buy snacks and other food items for their students and for middle school teachers, the average is $38.
Letter Carriers Collect Record 73.4 Million Pounds of Food
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Despite an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent in May and tough economic times across the nation, working families responded with amazing generosity by donating a record 73.4 million pounds of non-perishable food in the 17th annual “Stamp Out Hunger” national food drive by the Letter Carriers (NALC) to restock community food banks and pantries.
In more than 10,000 cities and towns, letter carriers collected the food May 9 as they delivered mail along their postal routes. It is the nation’s largest one-day effort to address hunger.
NALC President William Young said:
This is an amazing testimony to the generosity of the American people, even as they themselves struggle to make ends meet in these hard times. Our members take pride in being able to serve their postal customers and help them assist millions of needy Americans, including many working families, children and the elderly.
Last year, letter carriers collected 73.1 million pounds of food. This is the sixth consecutive year that more than 70 million pounds was collected, which brings the total for the drive’s 17 years to more than 982 million pounds of food.
