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Letters: Soda tax - Job killer, community school provider

ISSUE | SODA TAX Unions need to stand together against levy Philadelphia unions that are supporting Mayor Kenney's regressive 3-cents-an-ounce sugary-drinks tax don't have all the facts. The Teamsters stand against the tax because we would lose as many as 2,000 members' jobs if it passes, which would be a devastating blow.

Opponents of Mayor Kenney's proposal to add a tax on sugary drinks took their protest to the street, demonstrating outside Philadelphia City Hall.
Opponents of Mayor Kenney's proposal to add a tax on sugary drinks took their protest to the street, demonstrating outside Philadelphia City Hall.Read moreMatt Rourke / AP File

ISSUE | SODA TAX

Unions need to stand together against levy

Philadelphia unions that are supporting Mayor Kenney's regressive 3-cents-an-ounce sugary-drinks tax don't have all the facts. The Teamsters stand against the tax because we would lose as many as 2,000 members' jobs if it passes, which would be a devastating blow.

As president of the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters and vice president of the Eastern Region, I support every union in this state. If any government or corporate entity attacked a core industry of another union the way Philadelphia is attacking the beverage industry - to the Teamsters' detriment - we would be at their side. We are asking other unions to stand with us to oppose this attack on our members.

We support prekindergarten and the other positive programs the mayor wants to fund. There just has to be a more fair and reasonable funding alternative than this destructive tax.

We're not asking fellow unions to fight our fight, just to support our effort.

|William Hamilton, Philadelphia

Community schools would help children

Mayor Kenney's initiative to develop 25 community-based schools in Philadelphia has the power to change lives.

The 18 years I've spent practicing pediatrics in Philadelphia have been an ongoing lesson in the barriers that patients face in accessing care. Providing medical care and social services to children within the neighborhood school setting is an innovative approach that would remove most of these barriers.

Imagine a child getting glasses without missing a day of school. Imagine doctors and teachers collaborating on issues such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities by walking across the hall. Imagine a non-English-speaking parent having her child's asthma checked without needing to make a phone call.

Health and educational outcomes are inextricably linked, and community schools have been documented to improve both.

We should allow a tax on unhealthy beverages, which are harming our city's children every day, to fund this crucial initiative.

|Dr. Dorothy R. Novick, Philadelphia