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| President's
Perspective October 8 , 2003 
Help make strides against breast cancer This year more than 200,000 Americans - predominantly women - will learn they have breast cancer. The disease will claim more than 40,000 lives. The odds are that someone in your family, a friend or someone you work with has battled or is now fighting this disease. NYSUT, once again a proud flagship sponsor of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, is honoring Sandy Feldman, president of the American Federation of Teachers, who underwent successful treatment for breast cancer recently (see article, pages 12-13). And Sandy will be participating as well, joining us in the walk held in New York City. As former president of the United Federation of Teachers, Sandy is looking forward to joining the UFT contingent for this important fund-raising event. You, too, can participate in honor of someone you love. Or like many of us, you can walk for all the women and men whose lives are touched by this disease. The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk sponsored by the American Cancer Society gives us a way to help. We can heighten awareness, foster camaraderie and raise money for breast cancer research. Why not enlist a friend or relative, and sign up to walk this month? These non-competitive, fun walks will take place in more than one dozen locations Oct. 19, including Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica. Binghamton and Buffalo held their walks Oct. 5. NYSUT regional offices are helping to organize thousands of members from locals across the state. Last year, some 7,500 NYSUT members participated, helping to raise nearly $500,000. We hope to do even better this year. You can get more information about this vital community service program - and sign up to participate - on the NYSUT Web site, www.nysut.org/makingstrides. For shame: 12 million children in poverty New statistics shed a harsh light on why the job of public education is becoming harder and why success is sometimes so elusive. They suggest a reason why academic gains are more difficult to come by in some areas than in others. The U.S. Census Bureau reported recently that roughly 17.2 percent of our nation's children - some 12.2 million - were living in poverty in 2002. Some 700,000 more children slipped below the poverty line last year alone. In fact, the latest statistics reveal that nearly 35 million Americans now live in poverty. Not surprisingly, most of the poor are concentrated in our nation's inner cities and rural areas. Poor children who do without heat in the winter or who miss breakfast in the morning face many more obstacles on the road to higher academic standards. They need extra assistance to succeed. Our government at both the state and federal level should be providing this extra help, from job training to additional tax credits and public assistance. Expanding Title I, providing additional funding for free- and reduced-price lunches, lowering class size and hiring more remedial teachers are ways our leaders can give our most challenged children a better chance to succeed. Instead, too often we see these programs first on the list to be cut. What does it say about us as a nation when the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange gets a $140 million compensation package, but so many of our children live in poverty? What does it say about politicians who actually want to cut funding for programs that help poor children succeed in school? Most importantly, when we go to the polls on Election Day, will we remember that 12.2 million children are living in poverty - and vote with our minds and our hearts? Uniting behind immigrant workers More than 40 years ago, busloads of student activists and others rode into the Deep South to challenge segregation. Their successful journey - known collectively as the freedom rides - helped to launch the civil rights movement in this country. Now that idea has inspired another kind of freedom ride. On Sept. 20, hundreds of immigrant workers boarded buses in 10 major U.S. cities, bound for New York City and our nation's capital. In more than 100 stops along the way - including places like Selma, Ala., but also Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany - these modern- day freedom riders rallied to raise awareness about the plight of immigrant workers. Before arriving at their final destinations on Oct. 4, they advocated for a clear road to citizenship for immigrants; family reunification; workers' rights to form a union; and full civil rights protections. NYSUT supports their goals. Immigrant workers - who make up more than one-tenth of the nation's labor force and pay an estimated $133 billion in taxes - deserve good jobs, access to health care and rights on the job. They deserve what all American workers deserve, especially as they toil in some of the toughest, most stressful and dangerous jobs. Immigrant workers should have every opportunity to share in the American dream, without having to worry about being deported - or unfairly fired - if they stand up against injustice in the workplace. NYSUT is a proud supporter of the Immigrant Worker Freedom Rides. In 2003, just as in 1961, the most vulnerable deserve protections as they fight for the fruits of their contribution to the American economy.
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NEWS TEAM RESULTS
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