Blog: March 2008

Fair Trade in the Classroom: Empowering Youth as Global Citizens

But how can students begin to relate to people half way
across the world, to have an inkling of what it is like to work on a cocoa
farm, at a t-shirt factory, a banana plantation?

ANNOUNCING TRANSFAIR’S K-12 CURRICULUM: FOCUS ON FAIR TRADE

The Focus
on Fair Trade Curriculum
offers an accessible way to introduce
students of all ages to the concept of global interdependence through an
exploration of familiar foods produced outside the USA: chocolate, bananas and
coffee; and an introduction to Fair Trade.

Sweatshop workers from the DR Speak at U of Maryland

However, USAS decided to arrange a speaking tour with Julio and Manuel
to bring their stories to the college students who buy the clothes they
make. Educating the students, who then put pressure on their
university, who put pressure on the apparel companies, is a way to
change the conditions at TOS Dominicana and sweatshops elsewhere. Once
Hanes heard about the speaking tour and started receiving responses
from students, the company decided to meet with the union organizers at
TOS.

What Should We Do About Wal-Mart?

Here is a snippet that was written yesterday by Reuters entitled Wal-Mart pushing Chinese suppliers to go green:

 

Wal-Mart Stores Inc will meet with its thousands of Chinese suppliers
this fall as part of a big push to reduce waste and emissions at
factories that make its products, Chief Executive Lee Scott said on
Thursday.

The company's top priorities in China will be to address the
appropriate disposal of waste as well as to make reductions in both
waste and greenhouse gas emissions. It will also work on reducing
packaging and boosting energy efficiency, much as it has in its U.S.
business, Scott said.

No Irish Need Apply

So, as you may head out to the bar this St. Patrick’s Day to raise a
Guinness to the old country, you may want to think more about your
ancestors’ journey and how that journey relates to the current
situation for Latino immigrants in the United States. Below are some
things to think over.

Read the below passage about Irish immigrants at the turn of the century:

Ralph Nader Remains a Friend of Labor

Still, Nader remains unique to the Democratic contenders for the
labor issues he is persistent about addressing – issues that seem to be
off-limits for the Democratic Party. For example, none of the other
candidates will talk about repealing anti-union laws like Taft-Hartley,
instituting a tax on Wall Street securities speculation and cracking
down on corporate welfare. These often marginalized issues should be
seen as critical to the interests of the labor movement and the fact
that only a candidate outside of the Republican-Democratic fold will
raise these issues should give some pause about the limits of the
Democrats’ labor rights credentials. There is something systemic about

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