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Starving early childhood education
EPI study backs union's call for higher pay and benefits

The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., reports that low salaries and benefits are a major culprit behind the long-term drop in qualifications among early childhood educators.

“Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education,” which the EPI released in September, reveals that the average annual salary for early childhood teachers with a college education is only about $28,000, and only a third of all center-based teaching staff receive healthcare through their jobs.

That consistently poor compensation has led to an alarming decline in qualifications: Only 30 percent of all center-based teachers and administrators had four-year college degrees in 2004, compared to 43 percent in 1985. The situation is even worse in the home-based sector, with fewer than half of these providers possessing any education beyond high school.

The study underscores the need for changes that the AFT and its affiliated nonprofit organization, the Center for the Child Care Workforce, have long advocated. “The EPI report echoes a very clear message,” says CCW director Marci Young. “The number of highly qualified early childhood professionals will continue to decline if compensation and access to education are not addressed .”

“We know that a high-quality early childhood education better prepares students for school, and it’s also no secret that quality staff is a crucial component of high-quality education,” says AFT president Edward J. McElroy.

In 2002-04, female college graduates earned $19.23 an hour on average; center-based teachers and administrators (more than 95 percent of whom are women) earned only about $10 an hour. The share of center-based teachers and administrators with a high school education or less rose from under 25 percent in 1983 to 30 percent in recent years.

“Although some states have high-quality preschool, we’re losing ground in center-based” programs,  warns co-author Stephen Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg, Pa.

Training and protection are key for a safe
hurricane cleanup
AFT develops set of guidelines for avoiding health risks

Even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas—with their tropical temperatures and humidity to match—were prone to mold problems. Since the storms, those problems are considerably worse, and any school staff working to clean up their buildings (and their houses) need to take adequate precautions to limit health risks.

Following Hurricane Katrina, the AFT’s health and safety program quickly put together some guidelines to help school staff at a time when there is an understandable desire to reopen schools and resume normal life as quickly as possible. “It’s not clear that anyone who is being asked to clean up schools is being given the proper training, personal protective equipment and other equipment to do the job correctly,” says Darryl Alexander, who directs the national union’s health and safety program.

If the cleanup is not done properly, she adds, it can make the health hazards worse for staff as well as students. Mold is a very strong irritant even for healthy people; those with existing conditions such as asthma or mold allergies should not be involved in cleaning. One problem, Alexander explains, is that the people doing the cleaning or directing the effort often try to salvage items that really should be thrown away. Most building and personal materials, including books, papers and carpeting, should be discarded if they were saturated for more than 48 hours. When in doubt, throw it out, the AFT recommends.

Personal protective equipment should be used by anyone who is cleaning—even if the job is small. That means goggles, disposable respirators, gloves, and long-sleeve shirts and long pants. Mold is harmful on its own, and the problem may be exacerbated by floodwater that is contaminated with chemicals and other toxic materials. If that’s the case, regular school staff should not be doing the cleanup, Alexander cautions.

Once a school or home has been cleaned and is reoccupied, it’s important to monitor adults and children for sickness, allergy and other sensitivities. A high rate of health complaints, the AFT notes, “should trigger a reassessment and cleaning of the building.”

An AFT health and safety fact sheet, “Cleaning Up After Katrina,” is available online at www.aft.org.

Poverty level rises for fourth year in a row
The number of working poor increased by 500,000

Not since the first George Bush was in the White House have poverty rates risen as much as they have in the past four years, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. What’s even more alarming is that the growing poverty rate has come during a time of economic recovery.

The Census Bureau data paint a troubling picture in several areas. For 2004, the most current data in the report, the number of Americans living in poverty rose by 1.1 million, to 37 million people—or 12.7 percent of the population. Since 2001, when the nation was just coming out of a recession, more than 4 million people have joined the ranks of the poor. The number of working poor—those who have jobs but still live below the poverty level—increased by about 500,000 between 2003 and 2004.

While the news was bad for those at the lower income levels, good times got better for those at the top. In a statistical milestone that speaks volumes about growing income gaps, the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans for the first time account for more than half of all household income.

Times also remain challenging for those in the middle, as real median earnings for male workers fell by 2.3 percent, from $41,761 to $40,798. Earnings fell less for female workers—about 1 percent—but at $31,223, their wages remain well below those of men.

Declining health insurance coverage is another continuing trend during the Bush administration. Between 2001 and 2004, the number of uninsured Americans rose by 4.6 million, to 45.8 million. Contributing to the increase is a shrinking number of people covered by employer-based insurance. The report indicates that the figures for the uninsured would have been even higher if not for an increase in the number covered by public health insurance, such as Medicaid.