LAMPHERE FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
MFT & SRP #1614
Newsletter
December 2004
Shop Union--This holiday season shop union. This is a perfect opportunity for you to help protect union jobs. When preparing for the holidays, buy union-made goods and services. Below is a helpful list of union-made products and services. Keep this list handy when preparing for the holidays.
Holiday Candy Ghirardelli Chocolate, Phone: 888/402-6262, Web site: www.giftprogram.com/ghirardelli Hershey Chocolate U.S.A, Phone: 800/454-7737, Web site: www.hersheygifts.com Russell Stover Candy, Phone: 800/777-4028, Web site: www.russellstover.com See's Candy, Phone: 880/347-7337, Web site: www.sees.com World Candies, Phone: 718/855-5538
Clothing
Union Jean & Apparel Company, Phone: 877/692-8009, Web site:
www.unionjeancompany.com Justice Clothing, Phone: 412/661-0620, Web site:
www.justiceclothing.com/thereis/justice/index.html No Sweat Apparel Company, Phone:
877/992-7827, Web site: www.nosweatapparel.com New Era Cap Company, Phone: 800/989-0445,
Web site: www.neweracap.com Excelled Sheepskin & Leather, Phone: 800/466-6663, Web
site: www.leathercoatsetc.com Weinbrenner USA, Phone: 800/826-0002, Web site:
Artwork, Posters, Books & Gifts
Northland Poster Collective, Phone: 800/627-3082, Web site: www.northlandposter.com
Syracuse Cultural Workers, Phone: 315/474-1132, ext. 2, Web site:
www.syrculturalworkers.com
Powell's Books, Phone: 866/201-7601, Web site: www.powells.com Union Communications
Services (UCS), Phone: 800/321-2545 Really Big Coloring Books, Incorporated, Phone:
800/244-2665 The Union Shop, Phone: 888/864-6625 To view a more complete list of products
including bedding, china, telephone and internet providers, holiday figurines and
ornaments and much more, visit http://www.ShopUnionMade.org.
Shop union and help
keep union jobs strong.
Shop union grocery stores--Meijer, Kroger and Farmer Jack. Avoid Wal Mart. Their
management actively and vigorously opposes unionization.
ED REPORT CONFIRMS UNDERPERFORMANCE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS--A
new U.S. Department
of Education report evaluating public charter schools in a number of states confirms
findings of two separate AFT reports that raise serious doubts about student achievement
in charter schools. The department's report, Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools
Program, finds that in case studies of five states, charter schools are less likely to
meet state performance standards than public schools, even when socioeconomic factors are
considered. The report, released in mid-November in response to a Freedom of Information
Act request by the New York Times, also shows that charter schools are less likely to hire
certified teachers and enroll fewer students with special needs. In August, an AFT
analysis of federal data on charter school students' performance on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed that compared with students in regular
public schools, charter school students had significantly lower achievement in math and
reading at grade 4 and math in grade 8. The Education Department's new report echoes
another AFT report, "Do Charter Schools Measure Up? The Charter School Experiment
After 10 Years," released in 2002,which found that most charter schools failed to
fulfill theirpromise to bring greater achievement and innovation into the classroom. More
details are posted on the AFT's Web site at http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/9d1KNd11AcMu/.
NEW GRANTS AWARDED FOR AFT-AFRICA AIDS CAMPAIGN--The AFT this
month announced new federal grant money to expand groundbreaking union programs to combat
AIDS in South Africa and Kenya. For the past three years, the AFT has provided technical
assistance and funding to help African teacher unions develop training materials and
programs to fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa, where more than 28 million people are
infected with HIV.
The AFT announced the new grants--totaling $3.8 million--on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.
Through the AFT-Africa AIDS Campaign,more than 12,000 African teachers have participated
in training programs and are receiving information and resources to help combat the spread
of AIDS. In South Africa, a two-year, $3.1 million grant, funded by the President's
Emergency Program For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), will help teacher union and education
organizations provide expanded education and treatment to help educators affected by AIDS.
In Kenya, a two-year, $700,000 PEPFAR grant will help support a collaborative project
between the AFT and the Kenyan National Union of Teachers to foster HIV/AIDS prevention.
For details, see the AFT press release at http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/971KNd11AcMj/.
LFT Social--Mark your calendar for January 14th. An LFT Social will be held at the UFCW Hall in Madison Heights across from the high school.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Schram
LFT President