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Lessons on Latin America
AFT curriculum unit focuses on the struggle for democracy
A curriculum unit aimed at helping secondary students learn more about Latin America is available for free from the AFT. Prepared by the union’s international affairs department, Democracy as a Starting Point: The Civic Journey in Latin America introduces students to the region and its people, history and traditions. It focuses specifically on the political and civic lives of Latin Americans, and is designed to deepen understanding of their struggle for democracy and human rights.
Students will be asked to examine the status of democracy in Latin America and to assess the conditions that support and threaten it there. They also will examine people’s views of democracy in the region and the forces that shape those views.
“These lessons, which are highly interactive and student-centered, encourage students to employ higher-level thinking skills,” an introduction to the curriculum points out.
The teaching unit was developed by the AFT and the Center for Civic Education with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. A panel of social studies teachers put together by the AFT contributed their expertise and ideas to the project.
Free copies can be obtained by writing to the AFT International Affairs Department, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20001 or by e-mailing iad@aft.org.
AFT delegation visits China to support workers' rights, democracy
Chinese workers taking steps to combat low pay, health problems
In what may be the first meeting with an official American labor delegation, workers in mainland China met with AFT representatives in February to discuss the egregious practices at several gem factories that sell their products to Western jewelry companies.
The workers have contracted silicosis, the terminal lung disease caused by conditions at factories owned by Lucky Gems and Jewelry, Ko Ngar Gems, Perfect Gem, and Art’s King Gems. These big companies sell products to major brands like Liz Claiborne.
The Chinese workers grind unfinished gems in unventilated areas and have become ill from inhaling the dust that is a byproduct of this work. Failure to provide protections from this hazard is a violation of Chinese law routinely ignored by government officials and by the government-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).
These workers are among the 200 million migrant workers in China who have moved to the country’s free market zones, leaving their families behind and sending funds home.
In the booming city of Shenzhen near Hong Kong, nearly three-quarters of the 6 million registered workers are migrants who have been there for more than a year. Another 4 million have lived there for a shorter time. They live in overcrowded dormitories, sharing small beds and tiny rooms. The AFT delegation met the jewelry workers in one of these dorms so as not to attract the attention of police or others who might try to stop the discussions.
The workers strongly criticized the Chinese government for failing to enforce health and safety laws, and for participating in the corrupt practice of payoffs that result in the dismissal of workers’ complaints in court. The ACFTU, they charged, has rebuffed their pleas for help.
Shortly after the delegation toured the grounds of a local factory, one of the sick workers, Yang Ren Ping, received a call from the personnel manager demanding, “What has happened? Who are these people? What organizations are they from and what do they want?” His answer was, “They are Americans and they are supporting us. They want to know about our situation, which is very unfair.”
The AFT delegation promised to publicize the efforts of these workers to get adequate compensation for their work-related disabilities and to change working conditions in their former factories (all were fired after being diagnosed with silicosis). The delegation also met with democracy advocates in Hong Kong’s legislative council, leaders of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union, the Democracy Alliance, and representatives of other labor and nonprofit groups concerned about democracy in Hong Kong and worker rights in China.
The AFT delegation traveled to mainland China during a weeklong visit to Hong Kong. Led by AFT secretary-treasurer Nat LaCour, the group included AFT vice presidents Louis Malfaro, president of Education Austin (Texas), and Judy Schaubach, president of Education Minnesota. Also in the delegation was Helen Toth, an associate director in the AFT’s international affairs department, and Albert Shanker Institute executive director Eugenia Kemble.
