Activists Protest GAP Opposition to Pre-School Initiative

“The Gap makes over a billion dollars by selling products to children,” San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin told the crowd, many of whom were armed with signs decrying Gap as “Gazillionaires Against Preschool.” “Don’t you think they could give back to the children they make money off of?” added Peskin.

The protest was the final of six demonstrations throughout the state in the “Expose the Gap Tour,” which aimed to rally support for the proposition and push for a boycott of Gap until the June election. Organizers of the San Francisco event included the Service Employees International Union, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and the Say Yes to Children Network.

“Universal preschool would create a model that everyone would have a right to preschool,” said Sandra-Juanita Cooper, a member of the state board of ACORN and Bayview resident. “If they’re not getting the education they need, we’re creating a universal underclass.”

The proposition would tax Californians who make over $400,000 a year to fund a state-regulated, one-year preschool program for all four-year-olds whose parents choose to enroll them. Proposition 82 has been endorsed by both Democratic candidates for governor, Steve Westly and Phil Angelides, as well as celebrities including preschool advocate Rob Reiner, but faces significant opposition from the business community.

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