Tag Archives: ~ Culture & History

A Better Balance the work and family legal center.

Paid Sick Time Ballot Initiatives Win Big in Tuesday’s Election

On Tuesday, paid sick time was on the ballot in 4 elections, and we won all of them! Massachusetts is now the 3rd state to guarantee paid sick time statewide, which is wonderful news for the nearly 1 million workers in the state who currently lack paid sick time. Two cities in NJ, Montclair and Trenton, passed paid sick time laws, bringing the total number of cities in NJ with such laws to 8 (all passed in the last year!). And in California, voters in Oakland passed an expansive paid sick time ballot measure. We’re especially thrilled with the huge margins of support for each ballot initiative: approximately 60% of the vote in Massachusetts, 85% in Montclair, 75% in Trenton, and 81% in Oakland.

A Better Balance has provided legal research, bill drafting, and other technical support to all of these campaigns and can’t wait to build on the incredible momentum from these wins. But we couldn’t do it without such incredible supporters and campaign partners! For background and to learn more about these 4 paid sick time ballot initiatives, check out our recent blog post.

The Pregnancy Penalty: How Motherhood Drives Inequality & Poverty in New York City

In Case You Missed It

October was also an exciting and busy month for ABB’s efforts on behalf of pregnant workers. The New York Times’ Rachel Swarns featured our client, Angelica Valencia, in “The Working Life Column,” which garnered over 800 reader comments and an offer from Angelica’s employer to reinstate her. Our latest report—The Pregnancy Penalty: How Motherhood Drives Inequality and Poverty in New York City—was featured, along with ABB Co-President Dina Bakst and ABB Community Advocate Award recipient, Armanda Legros, on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show on MSNBC. And our new website resource for pregnant and parenting workers was highlighted in the New York Times and Washington Post. We’re thrilled to see the media focusing on this issue and expect the coverage to continue next month as the Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of Peggy Young v. UPS. Stay tuned!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a list of some bills Republicans filibustered to try and make Obama look bad

11/20/2014 Nativegrl77

Here is a partial list of the bills
that the Republicans filibustered to try and make Obama look bad while hurting
Americans and the economic recovery of our country:

Correct me if this list is wrong

H.R. 12 – Paycheck Fairness Act

H.R. 448 — Elder Abuse Victims Act

H.R. 466 – Wounded Veteran Job Security Act

H.R. 515 – Radioactive Import Deterrence Act

H.R. 549 — National Bombing Prevention Act

H.R. 577 – Vision Care for Kids Act

H.R. 626 – Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act

H.R. 1029 – Alien Smuggling and Terrorism Prevention Act

H.R. 1168 — Veterans Retraining Act

H.R. 1171 – Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization

H.R. 1293 — Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant
Increase Act

H.R. 1429 — Stop AIDS in Prison Act

H.R.5281 — DREAM Act

S.3985 — Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act

S.3816 — Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act

S.3369 — A bill to provide for additional disclosure requirements for
corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs and other entities

S.2237 — Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act

S.2343 — Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act

S.1660 — American Jobs Act of 2011

S.3457 — Veterans Jobs Corps Act

S. 2569 — Bring Jobs Home
Act

Source: CB_In_Colorado … comment board

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

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.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

at least 12 Emoji you’re probably using wrong = fun

11/18/2014 Nativegrl77

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

12 Emoji That You’re Probably Using Wrong

Allie Jones

Filed to: emoji meanings

28 minutes ago

New York‘s cover story this week proclaims, “Smile, You’re Speaking Emoji.” But are you? Do you understand the difference between the tongue-out emoji and the winking tongue-out emoji? Today’s children communicate almost exclusively in these little smileys, and soon the weak emoji-illiterates in our society will be left behind.

As Adam Sternbergh writes in New York, the “elasticity of meaning is a large part of the appeal and, perhaps, the genius of emoji. … These seemingly infantile cartoons are instantly recognizable, which makes them understandable even across linguistic barriers. Yet the implications of emoji—their secret meanings—are constantly in flux.”

Good news: We know the secret meanings of emoji. Before you find that you’re unable to express your feelings to anyone, familiarize yourself with the true meanings of the 12 most confusing emoji faces.

The Grimace

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

Emojipedia classifies this one as a “grinning face with smiling eyes,” but it’s a grimace. There are shades of anxiety in there as well, as in I get my LSAT scores in 2 days :grimace emoji:

The Whistle

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

While this is technically a “kissing face,” it is never used that way. The whistle emoji is appropriate to use when someone asks you if you ate the last of the Skittles, and you have no good answer because you did. Not me :whistle emoji:

Flirty Blush vs. Pillsbury Dough Boy

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

Two blushing emojis, two different meanings. First is the flirty blush emoji, which is appropriate to use when you are flirting. (?? I’ve heard.)

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

Next is the creepier cousin of the flirty blush, the Pillsbury dough boy emoji. It tickles! :Pillsbury dough boy emoji: Don’t use this.

The Shrug

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

This is the closest emoji to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, but it’s imbued with slightly more sadness. It’s Jim Halpert looking at the camera. Your friend: Did you hear The Newsroom got a third season? You: :shrug emoji:

Neutral

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

This signifies an inability to relate to the subject at hand.

The Overexertion

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

Technically, this emoji is classified as “triumph,” which couldn’t be more wrong. You could reasonably interpret it to mean “mad” or “steaming mad,” but its true meaning is “I’m struggling on a treadmill rn.”

Panting vs. Silly Wink vs. Poison Control

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

The three tongue-out emojis are easy to get confused. First is the simple tongue-out face, which signifies panting. It comes off as creepy in most situations and should be avoided.

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

Next is the silly wink emoji, which means “hey I just made a slightly off-color joke, don’t be mad” or “I’m on poppers!”

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

Last is the poison control emoji, which signifies extreme distaste with the subject at hand. Your friend: Fucking DEREK booty called me last night. You: :poison control emoji:

The Sweaty Smile

12 Emoji That You're Probably Using Wrong

This is not Singin’ In the Rain. This is the nervous, sweaty smile—the *tugs collar* emoji. Off to dinner with my girlfriend’s parents! :sweaty smile emoji: