Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Paid Sick Time Ballot Initiative​s Win Big in Tuesday’s Election


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


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

NY Times Features ABB Clients and Cites New Report on Pregnancy Penalty


Dear Friend,
A Better Balance is pleased to present our latest report, The Pregnancy Penalty: How Motherhood Drives Inequality and Poverty in New York City.
Despite advances in gender equality over the past 40 years, women continue to jeopardize their livelihoods simply by having children. One such woman, a client of A Better Balance, is featured  in “The Working Life” column by Rachel Swarns in today’s New York Times. The story highlights how Angelica was pushed out of her job when pregnant because she needed temporarily to avoid working overtime to stay healthy and employed. She and her family lost critical income as a result. This is precisely the kind of situation the New York City Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is designed to address, and ABB is using the law to help Angelica.

ABB client, Sonica Smith, is now being accommodated at work.
But Angelica’s story is just one of many we have heard showing how mothers are regularly penalized in the workplace, resulting in economic harm to them and their families. As explained in the Times:
We know that the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can make a difference. Talk to Sonica Smith, a pregnant sales associate at Zara, a clothing store, who recently negotiated regular breaks to rest and go to the bathroom. Talk to Floralba Fernandez Espinal, who was reinstated after being forced out of her job at a thrift shop. Both women were represented by Dina Bakst, the co-president of A Better Balance, the legal advocacy group that now represents Ms. Valencia, who hopes to recoup the wages she lost.
Our report names, explains and offers solutions to the pregnancy penalty: bias and inflexibility towards women in the workplace that starts when they become pregnant and snowballs into lasting economic disadvantages. Informed by the latest research and by the experiences of our hotline callers, we offer a set of proposals to address the pregnancy penalty in New York City, and encourage the city to set an example for others in the fight against income inequality and the gender wage gap.
How can you help?

Thanks for all you do to support our work.
The A Better Balance Team,
Sherry, Dina, Phoebe, Jared, Elizabeth, Risha, Morenike, Rachel, Jake & Molly
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ABB Client Armanda Legros Testifies Before U.S. Senate Subcommitt​ee!


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
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Today’s cute cat picture (from the Amazon)
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