Tag Archives: Washington

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Kendra Obom, a young worker, asks Candidate Rob Mckenna about his stance on the Reproductive Parity Act … he says, “Get a Job”


“Why don’t you go get a job?”

That’s what Republican Rob McKenna said to Kendra Obom when she asked him for his position on the Reproductive Parity Act. Not only was McKenna’s reaction callous and insulting, his stereotype was wrong.

Kendra Obom works with youth at the YMCA.

Right now, more than 288,000 Washingtonians are unemployed. They are construction workers, educators, and manufacturers. They are friends, family, and neighbors. They are women and men.

Our new video, “288,000” asks the question McKenna created with his response: if McKenna will ignore people he thinks are unemployed, will he answer questions from those who have jobs?

Watch “288,000,” then send in your questions for Rob McKenna.

With more than 288,000 Washingtonians out of work, we are looking to our elected official and candidates to present a real plan to create jobs in Washington. McKenna’s response won’t put anyone back to work.

Thankfully, Jay Inslee has a plan to build a working Washington – through innovation and clean energy – that will help rebuild the middle class. We need our next governor to listen to the unemployed, and focus on their priorities, if they are going to have a chance to “go get a job.”

When given the opportunity to show remorse for his treatment of Kendra Obom, McKenna doubled down on his attack, calling her “demeaning.” The only person who was demeaning was Rob McKenna; his comments were demeaning to women and the unemployed workers of Washington.

Help keep Rob McKenna honest by sending in your questions and telling him to stand up for middle class families:

http://www.wa-democrats.org/askrob

Sincerely,

Benton Strong
Communications Director
Washington State Democrats

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Seattle’s new sick leave … effective September 1, 2012


Share your input on implementing Seattle’s new sick leave

Last year, the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to enact legislation that mandates paid sick leave for employers with five or more employees. This ordinance, which applies to all employees who perform more than 240 hours of work in Seattle within a calendar year, takes effect on September 1, 2012.
The City of Seattle‘s Office for Civil Rights will enforce the new law, and has proposed administrative rules that cover aspects of implementation such as how sick time will accrue, notice requirements for employers, notice requirements for employees, and employee documentation.
The Seattle Metro Chamber, along with the Northwest Grocery Association and the Northwest Grocery Association, expressed several concerns upon the bill’s passage. The Chamber encourages you to share your thoughts about these proposed rules with City of Seattle officials to ensure that employer input is appropriately represented during this important time.

What you can do :

Comment online or call (206) 684-4507 to share your thoughts. The Office for Civil Rights is accepting public comment through April 30.

Resources :

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Support Jay Inslee for Governor of Washington State


 This week, when asked by a young woman to take a position on the Reproductive Parity Act, Republican Rob McKenna said: “My position is that I’m a lawyer for the state.” He then told her curtly to “go get a job.”

That’s unacceptable. A serious candidate for governor should have the courage to say whether or not he believes women deserve equal health care access, and arrogantly dismissing a hard-working Washingtonian for asking a fair and relevant question makes his lack of conviction even worse.

It just goes to show that when Republican Rob McKenna can’t have it both ways, we get a sense of who he really is — and the real Rob McKenna isn’t pretty. We need to hold him accountable.

Click here to contribute $3 to Jay Inslee’s campaign today to help us hold Republican Rob McKenna accountable.

You’ll never have to ask where Jay Inslee stands on women’s health care or reproductive rights. Jay has always stood up for women’s health and won’t allow politics or ideology to take precedence over common sense and science.

That’s why he unequivocally supports the Reproductive Parity Act and efforts to ensure that the partisan battles over women’s health care in “the other Washington” don’t endanger equal access here.

That’s also why both Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington have endorsed Jay, calling him a “steadfast champion for a woman’s right to choose.” It’s also one of the reasons I work for him.

Washington deserves a governor who will stand up for women’s health care. Jay Inslee will, but Republican Rob McKenna can’t be trusted.

Join us today, and show that you’re standing with the candidate who will stand with you.

Click here to contribute $3 to Jay Inslee’s campaign today to help us hold Republican Rob McKenna accountable.

If McKenna refuses to take a stand one way or the other on women’s health care, then maybe he’s the one who should “go get a job” —  not the young woman he insulted, who, by the way, DOES have a job leading youth empowerment programs.

We can fight back against McKenna’s political ploys and half-truths, and we can make sure there’s no way he’s elected as our next governor — but only by standing together.

Click here to contribute $3 to Jay Inslee’s campaign today to help us hold Republican Rob McKenna accountable.

Thank you for standing with Jay, and for showing your support for women’s health care and reproductive rights.

Sincerely,

Joby Shimomura Campaign Manager Jay Inslee for Washington

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Washington – Defend Marriage Equality – Approve REF.74


Sunday, April 22
Spokane Marriage Equality Canvass
12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 28
Washington State Legislative District Caucuses
Various locations around Washington
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Donate Today

Contribute to HRC Washington Protecting Families PAC, which directs 100% of your contribution to defending marriage equality in Washington State. Contribute Now

HRC Community
in your Area

For the latest news and events in your area, be sure to check out your local steering committee!

Stay Connected with HRC

By now, you’ve probably seen the reports that our opponents are disorganized, and not collecting many signatures or much money to overturn marriage equality in Washington State. Don’t believe the hype – not even for one second.

They only need 120,577 valid signatures to place Referendum 74 on the November ballot, and we expect them to easily succeed. In fact, the opposition – led by the National Organization for Marriage – has pledged $1,000,000 to ensure this happens.

Below are two things you can do this month to help protect marriage in Washington State.

Pledge to Approve Referendum 74


Take the Pledge to Approve Referendum 74 and protect marriage equality in Washington State this November 6. As we continue to ramp up our operations in the state, we’re going to need all hands on deck to ensure that our efforts are successful. Your pledge will help HRC and Washington United for Marriage identify hundreds of thousands of supporters needed to win.

Volunteer to Approve Referendum 74

To defend marriage equality in Washington State, we need you to volunteer with our efforts to Approve R-74. While the election may not be until November 6th, the hard work of identifying supporters has begun and must continue to grow over the next seven months. We need to identify 1.5 million voters to cast their ballots in our favor – and we need your help to do it.
Ongoing Events in Your Area


Ongoing Weekly Events –
Phone Banks
Seattle: Monday through Thursday 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Tacoma: Tuesday 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Spokane: Tuesday through Thursday 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Phone From Home Program
If you have a phone line and computer with internet access, you can help us make calls from anywhere in Washington State. Phone From Home Training: Every Tuesday 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Door to Door Canvassing
Help us collect postcards pledging to Approve Referendum 74.
Seattle: Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

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-Just the facts – What the Obama2012 Campaign is doing and a reminder of what President Obama has done –


First Lady Michelle Obama: “Join me in standing up for all those who have served.”

“The beginning of the Iraq war was a moment that no American will ever forget. Nine years later, we remember those who gave their lives, and honor the sacrifice of all the brave women and men who have served our country. In 2008, Barack made a promise that as President, he would bring the Iraq War to a responsible end—he kept his word. When he took the oath of office, more than 140,000 troops were stationed in Iraq. This past December, the last of our soldiers came home.
Now that our service members are home, we are doing everything we can to support our veterans and their families in the challenging transition to civilian life.
Barack expanded the Veterans Affairs budget and made it possible for more than 500,000 veterans previously denied care to become eligible for VA health care. And he streamlined the claims process to ensure that our veterans can get the high quality benefits and services they’ve earned — and get those services more quickly.
Barack helped pass tax credits to encourage small businesses to hire our wounded warriors
We also know that when our men and women in uniform are called to serve, their families serve right along side them. That’s why we’ve been working to expand employment opportunities, job training programs, and wellness services for military spouses and families — the folks who bear the greatest burden of their loved one’s deployment.
In the end, we all have an obligation to support those who have served our country so selflessly—from our veterans with special health needs, to all those seeking to join the civilian workforce, to families coping with the grief of losing a loved one. So I hope you’ll join me in standing up for all those who have served.
Visit BarackObama.com/Veterans to get involved, and to learn about all the ways your President is working to support our veterans and military families.
Thank you.”

Uploaded by on Mar 18, 2012

Help build this campaign: https://my.barackobama.com/feb2012resultsvid
We wanted to take a moment to share what volunteers across the country have been up to:
-Opened five new field offices in Pennsylvania -Opened seven new field offices in Ohio -Recruited 65 new team leaders in Nevada -Registered 5,000 new voters in North Carolina -Made 28,000 calls in Washington state -More that 2,414 students attended the Greater Together summits
Overall, we’ve been able to raise more than $45 million in February. More than 1,552,000 people have donated to Obama for America from April 2011 to February 2012. More than 348,000 grassroots donors gave in February alone, of those donors, more than 105,000 were first time donors.
This campaign continues to be funded by folks in all 50 states giving what they can. That’s why the average donation was $59.04. Also 97.7% of donations were $250 or less.
Thank you for all the hard work done so far, and for all the hard work yet to come.

by on Mar 18, 2012

Leave a note for the troops: https://my.barackobama.com/sharonpottervid
Sharon Potter is the first female in the state of Nevada to receive a purple heart by way of serving in Iraq. She stands with President Obama because of his continuing fight to ensure that our nation’s veterans and military families are taken care of.
In Sharon’s words:
“As veterans we’re the ones that sign on the dotted line with our lives and no veteran should have to come home and fight for their benefits.”

At 18-months old Jackson’s insurance company listed him with a pre-existing condition: ear infections. Starting in 2010 insurance company’s were banned from denying coverage to children for pre-existing conditions. As Jackson’s mom says:
“The Affordable Care Act makes it so that I know that my children are covered and that is an amazing thing.”

When Liam was five-months old his insurance premiums went up by 100 dollars a month. As Liam’s mom Rebecca says:
“It was completely unbelievable that insurance for a five month old could be that expensive. I called them and what I was told was: ‘You can change your plan or go somewhere else'”.
Since the Affordable Care Act passed, the insurance commissioner in Rebecca’s state has been reviewing the rates to make sure families get a fair deal. Because of this, Rebecca and her family received a refund.
In 2012, Liam got a insurance renewal notice in the mail, this time, his premium was reduced. As Rebecca says:
“Before the Affordable Care Act I felt totally helpless and I now I feel like there’s somebody looking out for us. I’m very grateful that the President has fought for health care reform.”