Saturday, August 17, 2013

Why Teachers' Unions Who Did Their Homework Do Not Support WiFi in Schools


Why Teachers' Unions Who Did Their Homework Do Not Support WiFi in Schools


German Teachers Union advocated Radiation-free Learning Environment 

2003 http://t.co/EQaUodrq7W 
2006 http://t.co/7S0gOWoPkN

UK: Association of Teachers and Lecturers, which represents more than 160,000 staff (2009)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/5125161/Wifi-in-school-should-be-stopped-say-teachers.html

UK: Professional Association of Teachers (PAT), which has 35,000 members (2007)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1549419/Teachers-voice-fears-of-Wi-Fi-health-risk.html

UK: Voice - The Union for Education Professionals

http://www.voicetheunion.org.uk/index.cfm?cid=495 (2009)  

http://blog.voicetheunion.org.uk/?p=1097 (2013)

“In the last few years there has been a great weight of evidence from around the world which suggests that exposure to electromagnetic radiation can have long-term health impacts, particularly on children, and that exposing young children (from birth to 12) to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) can produce changes in cell formation, genetic changes, and potential cancers. 

Exposure levels are only half the story; length of exposure is crucial too. Long exposures at lower intensity levels may be as damaging as high exposure levels for short periods hence our concern about wireless networks in schools and nurseries. 
It is a considerable concern that in schools we are installing wi-fi systems and we have no clear evidence that they are safe. Our concern is that until they are declared to be safe and proven to be safe we should not be installing them in schools. 

The difficulty is that once installed in schools, they are switched on constantly. Whether the children are using them or not, they are exposed to that level of radiation. 

Voice has advocated that new wi-fi systems should not be installed in schools, that existing systems should be turned off when not required and that schools should consider whether they really need to use wi-fi, which was developed to facilitate Internet access on the move rather than to be used as a convenient alternative to cables in dedicated IT facilities.”

United Teachers of Los Angeles, representing 40,000 teachers and staff (2013)

http://ehtrust.org/la-teachers-union-passes-resolution-to-ensure-safety-from-hazardous-electromagnetic-fields-emf-in-schools-including-emf-emissions-from-wireless-technology/

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the union which represents over 40,000 teachers and other workers in LAUSD, passed the following motion by a sweeping majority: 

“I move that UTLA will abide by current National NEA Policy for Environmentally Safe Schools which states that all employees and stakeholders should be informed when there are changes in their exposure to environmental hazards including electromagnetic radiation and that all stakeholders and the public should be notified of any actual and potential hazards. UTLA will advocate for technological solutions that maintain technology upgrades while not increasing employees exposure to electromagnetic radiation.”

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association representing 37,000 members (2012)

http://www.oecta.on.ca/wps/wcm/connect/6a665c0049fedbee85919db62552ca8d/WiFipositionpaper2.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Greater Victoria Teachers' Association (2010)

http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org/uploads/scribd/Precautionary%20Approach%20to%20WiFi%20Use%20in%20GVSD%2061.pdf

(2013) Members of 5 major unions in France which represented workers of the following large corporations and organizations protested to demand reductionof electromagnetic radiation in their work place.http://www.20minutes.fr/ledirect/1096131/appel-syndicalistes-reduire-ondes-travail

The Bank of France
France Telecom Orange
L'Oréal (Cosmetics giant)
The City of Paris
RATP (Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports - a state-owned public transport operation)
Geodis (A leading Transport and Logistics company in Europe)
The Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France)

EdTech companies keep pushing for MORE wireless in classrooms, saying RF/EMF is safe when official agencies lack long-term data of health impact from exposure on children.

All these unions are informed about the health risks of WiFi and cellphones and are fighting to protect the health of their adult members in the workplace.

Why would we choose to increase the exposure to school children?

http://www.safeinschool.org/2013/03/why-teachers-unions-dont-support-wifi.html

No comments:

Post a Comment