A matter of health and safety
Union helps shut down mold-ridden school after staff, students become ill 

Just as school opened this fall in Houston, one of its middle schools came under attack from a problem serious enough to send a stream of staff to the hospital. Seven custodians at Key Middle School were taken to the hospital one day in early September, soon to be followed by many other staffers. And by mid-October, about 300 students had visited the school nurse. The problem? Mold.

Wretha Thomas, president of the AFT-affiliated Houston Educational Support Personnel Union, points to leaky and broken air conditioners as a source of the problem. And Lottie Williams, head custodian at Key, says that private contractors incorrectly installed the air conditioners, causing poor drainage.

After a loud outcry, students and staff at Key won an important battle in September when the school board decided to close the school. About 650 students and more than 100 staff members have been moved to another school while the district investigates. The move was made after intense pressure from the Houston Federation of Teachers, parents, the school's principal, a parade of epidemiologists and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

"The district's been in a little bit of denial," says Houston Federation of Teachers president Gayle Fallon.

About 90 workers' compensation claims have been filed, and 56 staff members have signed a safety grievance.

Within days of the initial incidents, the Houston local distributed guidelines provided by the AFT's health and safety department, including a checklist for symptoms of exposure to mold.

If you suspect a mold problem at your school, ask your local union to get a copy of any written policy on mold prevention and cleanup.

The AFT's fact sheet on mold, "Tips for Investigating Moisture and Mold Problems in Schools," can be found at www.aft.org/topics/health-safety.

Union donations fill New Orleans library

Members of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City collected 5,000 books that were delivered this fall to the library at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in New Orleans. "They asked for books, and we're following through on that commitment," says UFT president Randi Weingarten. The school system's need for basic materials since Hurricane Katrina has been great, notes UFT vice president Michelle Bodden, in white dress above, with school principal Doris Hicks, center, and other UFT and AFT-United Teachers of New Orleans leaders: "We want our brothers and sisters in New Orleans to know that they have our full support as they endeavor to rebuild not only this library but the entire school system and the city as a whole," says Bodden.