Tag Archives: card check

Dear Friend,

Yesterday was a thrilling day for working families, A Better Balance, and the entire paid leave movement in the United States! In the past few months, we have shared with you an incredible number of work-family victories, including the passage of 4 new paid sick time laws (which A Better Balance worked on) in November’s election. The momentum is clearly continuing into 2015! In his State of the Union address, President Obama featured the need for paid leave laws in the United States and pointed to the success of the issue in the November election.

A Better Balance is currently drafting and providing legal support on paid sick time bills and paid family leave bills in dozens of states across the country. The President’s call for a nationwide paid sick time law, his pledge to provide support through his budget for state paid family leave programs, and his spotlight on the need for workplace leave will provide an incredible boost to these campaigns and our organization’s work.

"Today, we’re the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers. . . . So I’ll be taking new action to help states adopt paid leave laws of their own. And since paid sick leave won where it was on the ballot last November, let’s put it to a vote right here in Washington."

A Better Balance’s Co-Presidents, Sherry Leiwant and Dina Bakst, released the following statement last night on the President’s remarks:

“A Better Balance applauds President Barack Obama for shining a national spotlight on paid family leave – and the idea that Americans cannot be financially secure unless our public policies support their ability to care for their children and families – in tonight’s State of the Union address.

Ten years ago, A Better Balance was founded as a legal advocacy organization to address the problems caused by the failure of our public policies to keep up with the changing workforce and the needs of families. The proliferation of new laws we have written in states and cities around the country guaranteeing workers paid sick time for themselves and their families, paid family leave and an end to pregnancy discrimination are proof that better policies are possible and will work.

Tonight the President makes it clear that this is a national problem that requires national solutions – so that families are not left with impossible choices between caring for their loved ones and meeting their basic financial needs. And we pledge to work harder than ever to ensure that those policies become a reality for all American families.”

On our blog, we provide more information on the President’s specific proposals. To learn more about the paid sick time wins that President Obama referenced last night, check out our webpage on the issue and our comparison chart of paid sick time laws in the United States.

As we continue to fight for paid leave laws and policies, you can help! Stories are crucial to informing public officials of the need for paid leave. If you have a story about your need for paid sick time or paid family leave, or if having paid time off to care for your family (especially if it is leave provided under one of the laws we’ve helped pass) has made a difference for you, please share your story with us! And if you work in New York State and would like to support our ongoing campaign to pass a paid family leave insurance law, please add your name to our petition.

Thanks for all you do to support our work.

The A Better Balance Team,

Sherry, Dina, Phoebe, Jared, Elizabeth, Risha, Morenike, Rachel, Jake, Molly & Lynn

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

In the Newsroom with Gov.Inslee ~~

05/17/2015 Nativegrl77

Bill Action

May

Governor declares statewide drought emergency

Governor Inslee announces appointment of Brian Coughenour to the Clallam County Superior Court
Statement by Gov. Jay Inslee on signing of bill to create a health care database for patients and providers

April

Inslee announces hire of Alex Alben as state’s first Chief Privacy Officer

March

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

My son Travis died in Iraq: Lynn Bradach via Change.org

05/12/2015 Nativegrl77

My son Travis was accidentally killed in Iraq by a cluster bomb, which is a type of bomb that can explode months later, like a landmine. I’m calling on JPMorgan to stop funding companies that make these deadly bombs.

Sign Lynn’s petition

C –

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Resistance! Facing Down Goliath Oil Companies

05/12/2015 Nativegrl77

Resistance!

Facing Down Goliath Oil Companies

TheAchuar andU’wa indigenouspeoples have me in awe of the immense power of grassroots resistance in the face of multi-billion dollar corporations. Years after graduating from university, I find myself once again a student. Throughout my tenure at Amazon Watch, Ihave been honored to “informally apprentice” under our wise and humble indigenous partners.Today’s teachers are the Achuar people of the northern Peruvian Amazon and the U’wa people of the Colombian cloud forest. In recent weeks, both have informed the world of important advances in their decades-long struggles to defend their homelands.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Republicans who will retire

05/11/2015 Nativegrl77

by Jaxon

There’s no place for racism in this day and age — especially not in our State Capitol.

Yet on Februrary 26th, at a meeting of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, State Senator Jim Honeyford of Sunnyside said: “The poor are more likely to commit crimes, and colored most likely to be poor.”

Later he doubled down on his offensive language, clarifying “that’s not just the negro.”1

Can you believe it? Not only is this language incredibly offensive, it’s spreading the worst stereotypes about people of color.

And here’s the irony: People of color make up the majority of Jim Honeyford’s district. With attitudes like these, how can he truly understand and fight for the people he’s supposed to represent?

While voters across the state immediately demanded that Honeyford leave office, his Republican leadership remained silent. Not a peep.

Even worse, instead of proving that there is no room for the attitudes of Jim Honeyford in their party, Republicans turned and blocked a vote on the state Voting Rights Act THE VERY NEXT DAY. This simple bill is targeted to address unfair aspects of our elections system — breaking the stereotypes and ignorance perpetuated by people like Jim Honeyford.

Republicans need to understand that it’s 2015, not 1965, and they cannot condone this behavior within their party.

Join us in demanding Republican Majority Leader Mark Schoesler and State Senate leadership ask Senator Jim Honeyford to step down.