Armanda Legros, ABB Client & Community Advocate, testifies before the U.S. Senate HELP Committee

Dear Friend,

Two weeks ago, we honored ABB client Armanda Legros from Queens, NY for her inspiring advocacy on behalf of working families. By sharing her own story of pregnancy discrimination and speaking out for others like her, Armanda has become a powerful voice in the fight for fairness in the workplace.

Today, Armanda brought her message to Washington D.C., where she testified in a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions in support of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and other protections for working families. We are excited by this movement in the Committee, but we need your help to make the PWFA a reality. Armanda also spoke about the importance of paid sick time and paid family leave. ABB will continue to fight for the PWFA and paid leave, so that no worker has to face the impossible choice between their economic security and taking care of their family.

“If you truly value families, and children,” Armanda told the Committee, “then you have to make sure that the women who bear those children and raise them can earn the fair and equal wages we need to support them.”

We are so proud to work with such a dedicated activist and would like to thank Armanda for her courage and leadership. The rest of Armanda’s testimony is available here.

Thank you for all that you do,

Sherry, Dina, Phoebe, Jared, Liz, Elizabeth, Risha, Rachel, Morenike & Meredith

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Today’s cute cat picture (from the Amazon)

11/20/2014 Nativegrl77

Português | Español | Deutsch | [+]carmen –The jaguar, a mystical and magical creature, has long been a symbol of power and strength to many indigenous cultures. Today, jaguars face growing danger from deforestation and resource extraction; they are literally disappearing from our planet, with only 15,000 estimated to still roam the wild. But there is hope. Their last remaining stronghold is in the Amazon basin. That’s why it’s so important to protect this region. Please donate today to protect their home.The web of life on Earth depends upon biodiversity, and many animals in the Amazon depend upon the jaguar. The range and habitat requirements of a single jaguar is broad and thus when preserved, many other species are also protected. The survival of jaguars is critical to maintaining a delicate balance within the rainforest ecosystem.As jaguars and other creatures of the Amazon are interconnected, so is our work to protect them. One of the strongest populations of jaguars is currently found in Mato Grosso, Brazil – a region now at risk due to planned construction of mega-dams including the notorious Belo Monte Dam Complex. Another example, is the Yasuní National Park in Ecuador, where we continue to fight to prevent the government of Ecuador from drilling for oil which would put the jaguar – and all life – in danger in the Amazon.

Our ability to thrive as a species on Earth is dependent upon the peoples, plants and animals of the Amazon for the Amazon is a key component of our global life support system. With your support, we have increased our efforts each year to stop the expansion of massive dams, oil and gas development and roads – the primary cause of deforestation and the ultimate threat to the home of the jaguar. Join us now, support the jaguar, its children and our collective futures.

Thank you!

Leila Salazar-Lopez
Program Director

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#MakingProgress

11/20/2014 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Wednesday progressive leaders from across the country came together for the 2nd annual Center for American Progress Policy Conference: #MakingProgress. The day focused on efforts to expand economic opportunity, quell inequality, confront climate change, detail the dynamics of our changing nation and the rising American electorate, and how progressive leadership from Mayors and Governors are impacting positive change from the East Coast to the West. We heard from inspiring leaders like, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Attorney General Kamala Harris, Venture Capitalist Nick Hanauer and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. See below for a roundup of the ideas shared today:

MakingProgress1

CAP’s President, Neera Tanden laid out the day for us…

MakingProgress2

Sen. Warren showed us the way forward…

MakingProgress3

EPA Director Gina McCarthy explained the urgency of now…

MakingProgress4

Sec. Castro shared the importance of economic mobility…

Mayor DeBlasio highlighted the importance of state and local progress…

Gov. Hickenlooper has seen firsthand what change can bring…

MakingProgress7

BOTTOM LINE:: Everyday the Center for American Progress works to improve the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action. As Gov. Ted Strickland reminded us:

Like CAP Action on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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They’re smuggling pregnant women

11/20/2014 Nativegrl77

Dear friends,

Thousands of East Africans have been kidnapped by sadistic gangs, and tortured in Egypt’s Sinai until their families pay huge ransoms for their freedom. If we show Egypt’s leaders that this dirty secret is out and damaging the Sinai’s tourism reputation, we can force them to end the horror. Sign now:

Nine months pregnant and in chains, Haben’s* torturers beat her ruthlessly demanding a $35,000 ransom from her husband. She gave birth in shackles, beside other terrified captives, with only rusty metal to cut the umbilical cord. It’s unbelievable that this is happening in 2014!
Amazingly Haben survived — but she is one of thousands of East Africans who have been abducted by criminal trafficking rings, and tortured in Egypt’s Sinai until their desperate families pay huge ransoms for their freedom. If we can show Egypt’s leaders that this dirty secret is out and damaging the Sinai’s tourism reputation as the ‘Red Sea Riviera’, they could break the trafficking rings, and free these slaves.
Every hour these men, women and children are in captivity is an hour too long. Sign the urgent petition now and forward it to everyone. When we reach 1 million signers, Avaaz will raise a massive media storm to pressure Egypt to act:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Interim_Egyptian_President_Adly_Mansour_Torture_camps_in_the_desert_stop_the_horror_2/?biEWLbb&v=35815
If we can stop human smuggling in the Sinai — one of the most notorious routes for human trafficking in the world — we can strike a blow against a trade that imprisons nearly one million people a year.
And it’s possible. The Egyptian government has the power and the local resources already deployed to shut the traffickers down for good. Here are a few of the ways we could help:

Join with elected officials from Egypt’s major donor countries to press Egypt to act;
Run hard-hitting ads targeting Egypt’s prized tourism industry;
Expose the names of the key traffickers in a series of national Avaaz campaigns in the region;
Help journalists get access to torture camps to investigate which officials are complicit.

Let’s start it all with a million person movement to end this horrific trade in human suffering. Sign now and share with others:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Interim_Egyptian_President_Adly_Mansour_Torture_camps_in_the_desert_stop_the_horror_2/?biEWLbb&v=35815
Our community has stepped in repeatedly to help those trapped in terrible conditions. Last year, we helped rescue migrant Indian labourers trapped in Bahrain. And we’ve helped provide food and medicine to those trapped in Syria. Now let’s help liberate those being tortured in Egypt.
With hope and determination, Ian, Nick, Ari, Bissan, Alice, Wissam, Ricken and the entire Avaaz team
*Haben is a pseudonym, but her story is real.
SOURCES
Egypt/Sudan: Traffickers Who Torture (Human Rights Watch) http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/11/egyptsudan-traffickers-who-torture
Extortionists, smugglers preying on Eritrean refugees, report says (Globe and Mail) http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/extortionists-smugglers-preying-on-eritrean-refugees-report-…
Egypt/Sudan: Refugees face kidnapping for ransom, brutal treatment and human trafficking (Amnesty International) http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/egyptsudan-refugees-face-kidnapping-for-ransom-brutal-tre…
The Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond (EEPA Report) http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/Small_HumanTrafficking-Sinai2-web-3.pdf
Thousands of Eritreans ‘abducted to Sinai for ransom’ (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25222336
Egypt’s Sinai: Trafficking, torture and fear (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/egypt-sinai-trafficking-torture-fear-201312682516380563.html
Human Trafficking Statistics (Polaris Project) http://www.cicatelli.org/titlex/downloadable/human%20trafficking%20statistics.pdf

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Pregnant and pink-slipped?

11/20/2014 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Emily J. Martin, National Women’s Law CenterWe get calls all the time.

Calls from pregnant workers whose employers have given them an impossible choice: They can either lose their jobs or endanger their pregnancies.
Why is this still happening? Well, when it comes to pregnant workers, employers and courts are misunderstanding the law.
Enough is enough. Tell the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue strong and clear guidance on reasonable job accommodations for the pregnant workers who need them.
Without clear guidance, pregnant workers who need a temporary change on the job are often treated worse than employees with similar limitations arising out of disability or injury. For example, many workplaces give a worker with a back injury a temporary reprieve from having to lift heavy objects — but if a pregnant worker asks for the same accommodation, she could be fired.
The consequences for pregnant workers can be devastating. Here are just three examples of women featured in a new report issued today by NWLC and A Better Balance:

A pregnant fast-food worker in Washington, D.C., was fired after her employer refused to let her drink water on the job.
A pregnant cashier at a Dollar Tree store wasn’t allowed to sit on a stool, even though workers in other Dollar Tree stores did. Instead, she was required to stand for 8 to 10 hours at a stretch — which landed her in the emergency room.
When a pregnant truck driver in Maryland asked for help with occasional heavy lifting, she was forced onto unpaid leave — and she lost her health insurance.

These stories didn’t have to have a bad ending. These women just needed temporary adjustments to their jobs to continue working — the same sorts of adjustments their employers routinely provided to co-workers with disabilities or injuries.
Pregnant workers can’t wait. It’s time for the EEOC to issue strong and clear guidance on employers’ legal obligation to accommodate pregnant workers.
Send your message now.
Thanks again for all of your support.
Sincerely,

Emily J. Martin Vice President and General Counsel National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Want to read more? Check out NWLC and A Better Balance’s new report featuring personal accounts of women who lost their jobs, health insurance and more — and women who had no choice but to keep working and risk their health.