BUY UNION/SHIP UNION --Fed-Ex is harassing workers who are trying to form a union. Do not use this company to ship gifts. Ship UPS or the United States Post Office and your gifts will be delivered by a union member.

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: Alden Shoe, Phone: 508/947-3926, Web site: www.aldenshoe.com
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.
AFL-CIO has a variety of gift at the AFL union shop on the web.

Shop union grocery stores--Meijer, Kroger, and Hollywood Supermarket. Avoid Wal Mart. Their management actively and vigorously opposes unionization.

INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE SURVEY OFFERS TROUBLING NEWS
A newly released survey of science knowledge and skills reveals that U.S. students performed below their peers from other developed nations. The disappointing results on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) prompted renewed AFT calls for comprehensive, committed efforts to deepen students' science knowledge rather than simplistic approaches to the problem. The study, released Dec. 4 and sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), focused on science and was conducted in 2006 among 15-year-olds from 57 nations. It showed that students in the United States had an average score of 489 on the combined science literacy scale, lower than the OECD average score of 500. U.S. students scored in the middle of all nations surveyed. Among the world's most developed nations, however, U.S. students scored lower on science literacy than peers in 16 of the other 29 OECD jurisdictions included in the survey. The results "are especially troubling because now, more than ever, American workers need deep knowledge of science and a comprehensive education to compete here and abroad," said AFT president Edward J. McElroy in a statement.

HOUSE APPROVES BILL TO EXTEND TAX BREAK TO K-12 EDUCATORS --The U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 9 approved a bill that includes an extension of a tax break for educators for their out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies. The House voted 216-193 to approve H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, which would prevent more than 23 million families from getting a tax increase under the alternative minimum tax (AMT), while also extending popular tax credits and deductions that expire at the end of the year. At a press conference sponsored by the House Democratic leadership on Nov. 8, AFT member Judy Frumkin, a 35-year veteran teacher at Western High School in Baltimore, spoke up for the more than 3 million educators across the country who routinely spend hundreds of dollars every year for classroom supplies. The bill extends for one year the $250 above-the-line deduction for elementary and secondary school teachers' and other school professionals' expenses paid or incurred for books, supplies, other equipment and supplementary materials used by the educator in the classroom. "I love my profession. I have spent my life teaching kids, but I have also spent thousands of dollars in doing so," said Frumkin at the press conference." Proposals to extend the same benefit to educators are under consideration in the Senate.

NEW ORLEANS SCHOOLS NEED BOOK DONATIONS--The restructured school district in New Orleans is in desperate need of children's books for kindergarten through 12th grade. Send the books directly to: Troy Peloquin, RSD Volunteer Coordinator, 1641 Poland Ave., New Orleans, LA 70117. Contributors are responsible for the postage. For more information on the program, contact Mary Keane at the AFT public affairs department, mkeane@aft.org.

Panel on the Future of Teacher Compensation-- On Nov. 5, 2007, the Center for American Progress convened a panel to discuss the current state of play on teacher compensation reform. The panelists included Joan Baratz-Snowden, former director of the AFT educational issues department; Stacey Hunt, teacher advancement program manager at the Chicago Public Schools; and Brad Jupp, senior academic policy advisor at the Denver Public Schools. One of the takeaways from this panel is that, to be successful, new compensation systems must not be punitive in nature, and they must be designed with teachers as collaborators throughout the entire process. Otherwise, such programs will never be sustainable. To read Baratz-Snowden's paper, click here: http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/fp1KNd11au0r/

New Study on Benefits of Reduced Class Size --Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Virginia Commonwealth University have found that reducing class size at the elementary school level may be more cost-effective than most public health and medical interventions. Their findings will be published in the November issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The researchers examined the health and economic effects of reducing class sizes from 22-25 students to 13-17 students in kindergarten through grade 3 as was done in Project STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio), a large multi-school randomized trial conducted in Tennessee. They found that students graduating from high school after attending smaller-sized classes lived longer and earned more than their counterparts, and that low-income students reaped even higher benefits from this intervention. To read the full press release about the study, please visit: http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/v11KNd11au0f/