Trying times call for the Healthy Families Act

By Linda Meric
WeNews correspondent

Three cities have paid sick leave laws and many states are moving in that direction. With millions of workers lacking paid sick leave or care-taking time, Linda Meric says federal lawmakers need to act now.

Editor's Note: The following is a commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the views of Women's eNews.



(WOMENSENEWS)--These are challenging times for America's families. One in 4 Americans, or about 23 percent of those surveyed in a recent Gallup Poll, report that they are "very worried" about keeping up with their monthly bills over the next six months. That's up from 19 percent a year ago and 15 percent in March 2007.

And while many of us are working harder than ever to keep pace under the current economic pressure, workplace duties are not the only duties we have.

Family responsibilities await us at home. That is why we must pass the Healthy Families Act, introduced in the 111th Congress on May 18 by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut, and Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, also a Democrat.

Workers still get sick. Children still get fevers and runny noses. Mom or Dad still needs to take them to the doctor or just stay by their bedside to nurse them back to health. No matter how dedicated workers are to hanging on to their jobs at all cost, the need to occasionally take time away from work never goes away--not even in a tough recession, not even when jobs are this hard to come by.

Unfortunately, nearly half of private sector workers in the United States don't have a single paid sick day to care for themselves. Additionally, nearly 100 million Americans get no paid time off to care for an ailing child or an aging parent.

Fewer "Wives" at Home

While this is an issue for all workers, the reality is that women, or "wives," have historically been tasked with the family care-giving responsibilities--and most families do not have a "wife" at home these days.

The numbers speak for themselves. According to a 2007 report by the Multi-State Working Families Consortium, "Valuing Families: It's About Time," less than 6 percent of all women in the U.S. were in the work force at the turn of the century. By 1950, that number had climbed to 24 percent; by 2000 to 60 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of single parents--mostly women--has also mushroomed and single mothers are working many more hours than they have in past years. Why? The Valuing Families report attributes this to pent-up demand among women for career opportunity and economic independence--and economic necessity. Simply put, over the last 35 years women's increased work and earnings has been the only avenue for many families to attain or maintain economic self-sufficiency.

Though the flood of women into the work force has been beneficial, it has raised an obvious question for families: how to provide all the care, support and supervision that children need without jeopardizing family economic self-sufficiency. For working women without paid sick days, occasionally staying home when a child is ill could mean the loss of a day's pay, or worse, the loss of a job.

It's a terrible choice that strikes fear in the hearts of all workers; a fear grounded in workplace reality.

Consequences of Time Off

In a 2006 survey, conducted by the Center on Work Life Law at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law, 1 in 6 workers said they or a family member had been fired, suspended, punished or threatened by an employer for taking time off to care for themselves or a family member when ill.

This is all highly counterproductive.

Healthy workers are key to a healthy national economy.

Paid sick days reduce the business costs of turnover, absenteeism and lack of productivity when workers are sick on the job. In fact, if workers were provided just seven paid sick days annually, according to information released by the National Partnership for Women and Families in 2008, our national economy would enjoy an annual net savings of more than $8 billion.

Healthy workers also contribute to a healthy public. As public health experts and our own government have repeatedly warned as we contend with H1N1 swine flu, sick workers can protect public health by staying home. But they shouldn't have to pay the awful price of job loss and family financial instability to do so.

For all these reasons we need to pass the Healthy Families Act.

It would allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days a year to recover from their own illness, to care for a sick family member, or for diagnostic and preventative care. Equally important, it would allow workers time to recover from domestic violence or sexual assault. Just as no worker should have to choose between pay and health, no worker should have to choose between pay and safety.
Need for Federal Policy

In the last three years, paid sick days legislation has passed in three cities: San Francisco, the District of Columbia and Milwaukee, where implementation is being held up by legal challenges.

This year, there are 15 active paid sick-days state campaigns. But what America needs most in these tough economic times is federal policy like the Healthy Families Act.

A broad coalition of women's, civil rights, health, children's, faith-based and labor organizations supports the act. It has more than 100 co-sponsors in the U.S. House, strong leadership from Ted Kennedy in the Senate and the steadfast support of the White House.

In accepting his party's nomination last August, President Obama said, "We measure the strength of our economy by whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off and look after a sick kid without losing her job." Later he reiterated, "Now is the time to help families with paid sick days, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their job and caring for a sick child or an ailing parent."

Congress must pass the Healthy Families Act. The President must sign it.

We must ensure that all families have the tools to be as healthy and as economically self-sufficient as possible as we move toward recovery in the days ahead.


Linda Meric, a nationally-known speaker on family-friendly workplace policy, is executive director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women. A diverse, grassroots, membership-based nonprofit that helps strengthen women's ability to win economic justice, 9to5 has staffed offices in Milwaukee, Denver, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Jose.

Originally posted online HERE.

See how you can TAKE ACTION for the Healthy Families Act HERE! Just scroll down to the bottom of the page for a sample letter and contact information for your US Senators and Representatives!

Who is Sonia Sotomayor?

Today, President Obama announced his nominee for the Supreme Court: Sonia Sotomayor. Of Puerto Rican descent, she was raised in a housing project in the South Bronx before going to college at Princeton and to law school at Yale. Her father died when she was nine years old and her mom worked full-time as a nurse, while raising her two children.

I don't know about you, but I'm really excited about this nomination for a few reasons: First, between Michelle and Barack Obama, Kathleen Sebelius, and Sonia Sotomayor, working moms -- or people raised by single, working moms -- are in positions of power in never before seen numbers! Secondly, for the past three years, there's only been one woman (one woman!) serving on the Supreme Court. And, if confirmed, Sotomayor will be only the third (the third!) woman to serve on the Supreme Court. And, third, Sotomayor will be the first Latina (the first!) to serve on the Court in United States history.

The National Women's Law Center released a statement after Sotomayor's nomination, detailing the importance of this nomination for women everywhere. Check it out here.

Later this summer, the US Senate will be voting on whether or not to confirm Sotomayor as a Supreme Court Justice. When that time comes, check back here for information about contacting your Senators. Remember, your opinion counts!!

Prevent a Swine Flu Pandemic by Supporting Paid Sick Days Nationwide!

Hello, Atlanta 9to5 members!

I'm writing this from Washington DC (if I turned around, I could literally see the Capitol building out the hotel window!), where nearly 50 members and staff of 9to5 have come together for our 2009 Annual Leadership Conference. Tomorrow, we'll be going to Capitol Hill to meet with our Senators and Representatives, asking them to support family-friendly workplace policies, like the Healthy Families Act.

The Healthy Families Act, which would give workers nationwide seven paid sick days each year, has always been an important bill. But now, with our nation facing a potentially pandemic flu, we are in a unique position to ask our legislators to support this bill. President Obama, hoping to stop the spread of the swine flu, has been joined by governors and mayors across the country urging parents to keep their kids out of school if they become ill, and to stay home from work if they themselves feel sick. However, without paid sick days, many working moms and dads cannot afford to take time off work to care for their sick children or to stay in bed for a day or two while they regain their own health.

Even if you are not in Washington with us, you can still let your Congressmen and women know that you support the Healthy Families Act! Read 9to5's press release on the Swine Flu and the Healthy Families Act here. Then, send a letter to your US Representative, asking that he or she co-sponsor the Healthy Families Act. That letter can be found online here.

Thanks for taking action, and I'll see you back in Atlanta next week!

Ask the President...

Have you ever wished that the president would answer your personal questions at a press conference? Through the "Ask the President" project, he just might!

On the project's website, you can upload a video of your question or type it out (on the "submit an entry" page). Then, people who view the site can vote on their favorite questions. One of the most popular questions will be asked at every press conference the president holds! So, if you'd like to ask President Obama a question, make sure to send an email to all of your friends to vote for it, then wait to see if it gets answered.

The "Ask the President" Project is sponsored by the Nation, the Washington Times, and the Personal Democracy Forum.

Click the link below to get started.


What are you waiting for? Ask the President your questions!

And let us know if we need to vote for your submissions online!

Celebrate Women's History Month!

In the United States, March is Women's History Month. This month, Americans celebrate women, everything we've accomplished, and the work we still have to do. This wasn't just an excuse for the Atlanta 9to5 office to be closed last week in honor of International Women's Day... at events nationwide, women are being honored, celebrated, and acknowledged for their good works!


In honor of this month, President Obama last week created a White House Panel on Women and Girls. This panel will work with every cabinet agency and department of the government to ensure that women have access to the same opportunities as men. In his official statements about the panel's creation, President Obama made several references to the many working women who have touched his life -- his grandmother, his mother, and his wife, Michelle -- as well as his desire to make the world a better place for working women before his daughters, Malia and Sasha, enter the workforce. President Obama's personal advisor, Valerie Jarrett (who is herself a single mother), will head the White House Panel on Women and Girls.

The San Francisco Chronicle had a great article about the White House Council on Women and Girls. Read it here.

• How do you feel about President Obama's actions?

• What do you hope this council will accomplish?

• What further action steps do you think he should take to protect the interests of women and girls?

How do you feel about the new stimulus plan??

Our U.S. Congress is working on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The House has already passed the stimulus plan and the Senate will soon be voting. If passed, some of the money will come to the state of Georgia, to some of our cities and also some school districts.

Locally, ten cities in Georgia have requested almost 3 billion dollars from the plan, including Atlanta, Alpharetta, Marietta, Acworth, and Athens. Proposed projects would put money into repairing old infrastructure and building new that could possibly add 30,000-40,000 jobs in Atlanta region alone. Also a priority to Atlanta is public safety, including hiring more police officers. Mayor Shirley Franklin states that “this is important to the city, to the state and important to the national economy.”

Meanwhile, Rep. John Lewis, who supports the stimulus plan, states on his website that the bill offers tax cuts to 95% of Americans and that the funds will go to increasing Pell grants, infrastructure, lowered healthcare costs thru technology upgrade as well as many other programs. His website shows as much as $8 billion as being requested to aid in projects such as Head Start; employment training for adults, youth and dislocated workers; Low-Income Home Energy Assistance; elderly services; the Food Stamps Program; and Medicaid.

Critics, however, look at this as increased government spending and increasing to our debt, rather than helping it. They urge for continued stimulus to the private sector rather than government programs. Adding to public criticism is the failure to pay taxes by several of President Obama’s administration choices including Tom Daschle.

Meanwhile, the news reports today that employers have slashed another 598,000 jobs in January - pushing the unemployment rate up to 7.6 percent!! According to CNNMoney, the latest job loss is the worst since December 1974, and brings job losses to 1.8 million in just the last three months. Economists project continued losses and economic downturn in 2009.
President Obama has said that the American people called for change in November and “that's what we're going to deliver”. How do you feel about the new stimulus package? Do you support it or oppose it? Have you contacted your legislators about your views? Share with us, but also don’t forget to share with your US Senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, as well as your district House and Senate reps. You can find how to contact them at www.votesmart.org.

A day after the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed, the New York Times ran a column about the many working women who have taken a stand for their rights. In need of inspiration for the work that we're doing? Take a look...

Lilly’s Big Day

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times By GAIL COLLINS
Gail Collins Published: January 28, 2009

President Obama is scheduled to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law today.

“I’m so excited I can hardly stand it,” Ledbetter said recently after the bill passed the Senate.

Obama told her story over and over when he campaigned for president: How Ledbetter, now 70, spent years working as a plant supervisor at a tire factory in Alabama. How, when she neared retirement, someone slipped her a pay schedule that showed her male colleagues were making much more money than she was. A jury found her employer, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, to be really, really guilty of pay discrimination. But the Supreme Court, in a 5-to-4 decision led by the Bush appointees, threw out Ledbetter’s case, ruling that she should have filed her suit within 180 days of the first time Goodyear paid her less than her peers.

(Let us pause briefly to contemplate the chances of figuring out your co-workers’ salaries within the first six months on the job.)

Until the Supreme Court stepped in, courts generally presumed that the 180-day time limit began the last time an employee got a discriminatory pay check, not the first. In an attempt at bipartisan comity, the Senate decided to simply restore the status quo, rejecting House efforts to make the law tougher. Even then, only five Republican senators voted for it — four women and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who is currently the most threatened of the deeply endangered species known as moderate Republicans.

Ledbetter, who was widowed in December, won’t get any restitution of her lost wages; her case can’t be retried. She’s now part of a long line of working women who went to court and changed a little bit of the world in fights that often brought them minimal personal benefit.

Another was Eulalie Cooper, a flight attendant who sued Delta Air Lines in the mid-’60s when she was fired for being married. Not only did a Louisiana judge uphold the airline industry’s bizarre rules requiring stewardesses to be young and single, Cooper was denied unemployment benefits on the grounds that by getting married she left her job “voluntarily.”

But she began a pattern of litigation that eventually ended the industry’s insistence that women needed to look like sex objects in order to properly care for passengers on airplanes. Next time you talk about US Airways Flight 1549’s spectacular landing on the Hudson River, remember that the three flight attendants who kept calm in the ditched plane were all women in their 50s and give a nod to people like Eulalie Cooper.

Patricia Lorance, an Illinois factory worker, went to court after her union and employer secretly agreed to new seniority rules that discriminated against the women who had been promoted in the post-Civil Rights Act era of the 1970s. Like Ledbetter, she lost her court fight because of a ridiculous ruling about timing, which had to be fixed by Congress.

Working at a series of lower-paying jobs after the factory closed, and then disabled by physical ailments, Lorance lost track of her case long before it finally wound its way through the Supreme Court. “But to this day, I am rather proud of myself because I was not a dumb person. I believe in just standing up and fighting for your own rights,” she said in a phone interview.

Ledbetter’s real soul sister is Lorena Weeks of Wadley, Ga. Weeks, now 80, had worked two jobs to support her orphaned siblings, then struggled with her husband to set enough money aside to assure their children would be able to go to college. A longtime telephone employee, she applied for a higher-paying job overseeing equipment at the central office. Both her union and the management said the job was unsuitable for a woman because it involved pushing 30-pound equipment on a dolly, even though Weeks regularly toted around a 34-pound typewriter at her clerical job.

Weeks v. Southern Bell helped smash employers’ old dodge of keeping women out of higher-paying positions by claiming that they required qualifications only men could fulfill. But it was a long, painful fight during which Weeks was terrified that she might lose her job entirely. “I felt like I was so alone, and yet I knew I was doing what God wanted me to do. Going back to the fact my momma had died working so hard. And I knew women worked and needed a place in the world,” she said.

It’s a good day for the feisty working women who went to court to demand their rights and the frequently underpaid lawyers who championed them. They’re strangers to one another; most of them made their stands and then returned to their ordinary lives. But they’re a special sorority all the same. And Lilly Ledbetter got to go to the inauguration and dance with the new president.

“Tell her congratulations,” said Lorena Weeks.



To see the original article online, please click here.

Breaking News!

Today, president Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act -- which overturns a 2007 Supreme Court decision that put a strict statute of limitations on the filing of lawsuits over pay inequities. Prior to today, these lawsuits had to be filed within 180 days of the first time the pay discrepancy took place. In Ledbetter's case, she was unaware that she was being paid less than a male counterpart for nearly 20 years! Now, with each paycheck that is unjust, the statute of limitations is extended 180 days further, meaning that women like Lilly, who don't realize they're not being paid an equal wage, can sue when it comes to their attention -- regardless of how long it's been happening.

What a great victory for working women!! To read about the bill, please click see the Associated Press article or the CNN article.


And... here's a peek into Obama's statement's as he signed the bill:

"...While this bill bears her name, Lilly knows this story isn't just about her. It's the story of women across this country still earning just 78 cents for every dollar men earn - women of color, even less - which means that today, in the year 2009, countless women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime.

But equal pay is by no means just a women's issue - it's a family issue. It's about parents who find themselves with less money for tuition or child care; couples who wind up with less to retire on; households where, when one breadwinner is paid less than she deserves, that's the difference between affording the mortgage - or not; between keeping the heat on, or paying the doctor's bills - or not. And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple discrimination.

So in signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal - but bad for business - to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability. And that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory, or footnote in a casebook - it's about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives: their ability to make a living and care for their families and achieve their goals."

Inauguration 2009

Unless you live under a rock, you must know that the inauguration of President Barack Obama happened this week, on Tuesday, January 20th. A record-breaking 1.8 million people turned out to witness this event at the nation's capitol. Millions of others from all over the world tuned in to watch him take oath and give his first address to the nation as President, including me!

President Obama has been very busy in his first few days of office, but let's take a moment to savor the his inauguration before we move onto business. I attempted to watch the ceremony from the Internet on the campus of Georgia State, but everyone else was doing the same. The picture would leave, the sound and image would freeze. Lucky for me, I have Tivo and that evening I watched again, after a long day. Earlier, I was emotional and feeling the rush of adrenaline, but later, I felt a sense of calmness and peace that I have not felt in quite some time. I wish I could say my experience was more exciting. I have friends who spent the day in D.C. Yes, I was jealous. No matter what, the day was exciting!

How did you spend the day? Where were you when you watched? And how did you feel? Share your memories of this historic day.

Realizing the Promise

Two weeks ago, Atlanta 9to5 staff & members went to Washington DC for the Realizing the Promise forum. Sponsored by the Gamaliel Foundation & the Center for Community Change (two well-known community organizing groups), the forum & the activities in the days around it were focused on what role organizers can play in bringing change to the United States.

Check out an article on the Realizing the Promise forum here!

Forum attendees identified several key issues that the Obama administration should focus on to help the American people: healthcare reform, immigration reform, economic recovery, and workers' rights -- which is where 9to5 fit in! We took action, we went to a press conference, we attended the forum, and we lobbied on Capitol Hill, urging our Congressmen and women to pass the Healthy Families Act.

If you'd like to see more information about the forum, please visit their website (there's a really great video at the bottom of the homepage that you should check out!). And if you'd like to become a member of 9to5 so you can get involved with activities like this one in the future, please visit OUR website!


Stay tuned for feedback, thoughts, & insight from members who went to Washington with us......

Women Spoke Out!

On November 4th, women spoke! Women took the polls and voted for Barack Obama in strong numbers! Nationally, 56% of voting women elected Obama while here in Georgia, 54% of voting women did. Great credit should be given to African American and Latina women, whose HUGE voting percentages, helped him win. 96% of African American and 68% of Latina women voted for Obama-Biden.

How many of you studied the agendas of both candidates before voting? Now that we have spoken, hopefully President-Elect Obama and Vice-President Elect Joe Biden will listen. We can’t forget that we need help from Congress to pass their agenda. Let’s contact our local and national representatives to tell them that our vote counts and we want to see changes like these! Call on 9to5 Atlanta if you need any help in contacting your legislator.

Obama and Biden have outlined an agenda of issues for working women and families that could bring big changes and relief to many working moms. Here are a few items they would like to do, taken directly from their new website, http://www.change.gov/. Read through them and let us know which items would be most helpful to you, as working mother!

· Provide a Making Work Pay Tax Cut for America's Working Families: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama and Biden will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The Making Work Pay tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.

· Raise the minimum wage: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation, and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

· Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit: As president, Obama will reward work by increasing the number of working parents eligible for EITC benefits, increasing the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments, and reducing the EITC marriage penalty which hurts low-income families. Under the Obama-Biden plan, full-time workers making minimum wage will get an EITC benefit up to $555, more than three times greater than the $175 benefit they get today. If the workers are responsibly supporting their children on child support, the Obama-Biden plan will give those workers a benefit of $1,110.

· Extend Paid Sick Days to All Workers: Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs, where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year.

· Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA covers only certain people who work for employers with 50 or more employees. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will expand the FMLA to cover businesses with 25 or more employees, and to cover more purposes including allowing: leave for workers who provide elder care; 24 hours of leave each year for parents to participate in their children's academic activities at school; leave for workers who care for individuals who reside in their home for 6 months or more; and leave for employees to address domestic violence and sexual assault.

· Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children. They will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.

· Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.

· Expand Flexible Work Arrangements: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will address this concern by creating a program to inform businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules for productivity and establishing positive workplaces; helping businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increasing federal incentives for telecommuting. Obama and Biden will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to petition to request flexible arrangements.