With the decline of union membership in the past few years, it's nice to know that union members are doing what they can to instill union values in their children.

Jim Cichy has taught his daughter well. Amber, a sophomore at Menomonee (Wis.) Falls High School, was recently awarded first place in an essay contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Labor History Society. Amber's winning essay detailed the importance of unions to her family and community.

A psychiatric nurse for Milwaukee County and member of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Local 5001, Jim Cichy encouraged his daughter to write the essay. "We do discuss the benefits of unions at home frequently," he says.

In her essay, Amber noted her parents' different work environments: "One works at a hospital that is unionized, while the other does not. My mother, who works at a major health company as an occupational therapist, does not have the benefit of working with a union. In this case, the emphasis of her job is productivity. My father works at a hospital that is unionized. Workers in a unionized workplace do not have to worry about just meeting their productivity and can focus on giving the best care possible to their patients."

In concluding her essay, Amber wrote: "Whether it is increasing wages, fighting for a better healthcare policy, or working on big ticket issues such as mandatory overtime, unions help to make working conditions better"

Whether you work in a new office or an old vocational school, you may have experienced "sick building syndrome."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, sick building syndrome describes facilities in which "occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in the building."

And as some AFT members are well aware, if the causes of sick building syndrome are not corrected, the health effects can follow them home.

In most cases, indoor air pollution is the culprit. "What You Should Know about Indoor Air Quality," produced by the AFT's health and safety program, is at www.aft.org/topics/health-safety.

GREEN LIGHT GIVEN FOR CHILD CARE UNION DRIVE

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed an executive order in May granting home-based child care providers throughout his state the right to unionize. The order, which covers child care providers who receive payments directly or indirectly through state, city or local government funding, marks a milestone in the United Federation of Teachers' campaign to organize 28,000 workers in New York City.

"This is in keeping with our belief that it is important to extend rights to individuals—to extend the opportunity to negotiate, the opportunity to be heard and the right to complain," Spitzer said.

UFT president and AFT vice president Randi Weingarten called the executive order "just the beginning of the providers' quest to get the respect, recognition and fair wages they deserve'

Family daycare providers in New York City earn $19,000 on average, with few or no benefits. One of them, Bronx provider Melvina Vandross, said that hearing the news was "like a hundred birthday parties all at the same time'

Elections will now be held among the providers to determine if they want union representation. More information on the UFT campaign is available at www. uftproviders.org.

AFT EXPOSES PROBLEM OF AMERICAN CHILD LABOR

To mark World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, the AFT has introduced a new classroom resource developed in cooperation with our members. The Web-based resource "In Our Own Backyard," www.ourownbackyard.org, is intended to spotlight the hidden problem of child farmworkers in America, which affects up to 500,000 children.

"The notion that oppressive child labor occurs legally within the United States shocks us as educators, and will likely shock students as well: says AFT executive vice president Antonia Cortese, who also co-chairs the Child Labor Coalition. "This topic is important for us to address in the classroom and can serve as an effective tool for teaching students about the human impact of public policy and how they can change it."

"In Our Own Backyard" includes a classroom poster and DVD, free with $2 shipping. Go to www.aftstore.org.

HELP OUR UNION PUSH SCHOOL BUILDING LAW

A bipartisan group of 159 members of the U.S. House of Representatives is sponsoring legislation that would provide $25 billion in federally assisted school construction bonds for public schools.

The legislation, H.R. 2470, is a vital component of the AFT's "Building Minds, Minding Buildings" program, a national initiative that supports local AFT efforts to move beyond bond campaigns to active involvement in the design and construction of healthy schools.

In the Senate, our allies are working to include the school construction bonds in an education tax bill.

You are invited to sign a letter supporting the legislation at the AFT's online Legislative Action Center, www.aft.org/betterclassrooms.