Glass Ceiling Shattering for Women in France

by Stacy Sheets
9to5 Atlanta Member

I couldn’t be more excited and proud of France as I am this morning. Their government just passed a bill which requires companies’ board members to consist of at least 40% women. Currently, the presence of women on corporate boards in France is less than 8% - amongst the lowest in Europe. The bill was passed to help with compensation and career advancement for women. Here’s the greatest part too - their government chamber who passed this bill was mostly men. Females are only 17% of this voting chamber.

Requiring a larger number of women on corporate boards isn’t just good news for highly skilled, advanced working women eager to grab one of these seats. It’s also likely to change how companies look at maternity and family/work life.

Other successful countries who have passed similar bills are Norway, Spain and the Netherlands. Other countries thinking of passing similar bills are Belgium, Britain, and Germany. I’d love to see the United States be added to that list. In corporate American, women constitute 15% of Fortune 500 companies’ board members.

For more coverage on this topic and to learn about how French company L’Oreal incorporates family and maternity benefits, check out this story on NPR:
http://tinyurl.com/yc3mfp3

Let's start talking about work/ family balance

When I think about my friend and 9to5 Atlanta Chapter member Leslie Hudson I recall a comment she made one day in reference to her then current employer. We were talking about the challenges we faced as single mothers. Leslie expressed frustration over the long hours she was forced to maintain at her job as a chef in a local restaurant. Leslie worked long hours to meet the financial needs of her household because she was paid an hourly wage. Leslie was often unable to take time off from work when she or her son was ill because she could not afford to lose the daily pay. When she was forced to take time off because her son was had an issue at school, her employer told her that her lifestyle did not work [for the employer] and she should consider finding new employment.

Leslie is one of many women in my personal life who have shared this type of experience with me. During my experience as an organizer with 9to5 Atlanta I have met many more women who share the experience of feeling marginalized by an employer because they struggle to balance family responsibilities with work obligations. Before I became an organizer at 9to5 my friends and I would complain about the lack of time available to focus on the needs of our families while pursuing our careers. At that time my friends and were not aware of the impact public policy had on our issue. We were complaining about the emotional and physical fatigue we were experiencing trying to “do it all”. We discussed the impact on our relationships with our partners, children and each other. We expressed anxiety over the upward mobility of our careers, and agonized over the possibility that a glass ceiling does exists. Could it be that our commitment to our families could be the very reason we were no longer viable candidates for the promotions and the professional accolades our childless peers seemed to be enjoying?

As an organizer I have become aware of the need to engage more working individuals with family care responsibilities in the dialog to craft workplace policies that provide access to family supportive benefits. During the month of February you can participate in a series of radio blogs on the subject by visitinghttp://www.fem2pt0.com/2010-wake-up-camp. You can also learn more about bringing family values to work by visiting www.9to5.org or by calling 404.222.0037. You do not have to feel isolated or guilty anymore. Do something about it today and join the movement to bring raises, rights and respect to the modern workplace.

To learn more about Leslie's story please click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkC9SEPnm48

Our next Minimum Wage Committee meeting is:

Thursday, Jan. 14th at 6:30 pm.
location - 9to5 Atlanta office (IBEW Building)
501 Pulliam St., Atlanta 30312

We wil be planning our upcoming February event Show Your Server Some Love - $2.13 Is Not Enough! to raise awareness about efforts to raise the tipped worker minimum wage here in Georgia.

We hope you can make it - we need your input to make this event a success!

Moms Lobby Isakson for Healtcare Reform

Yesterday morning Caitlin and I met up with the online organizing group MomsRising.org at Senator Isakson's district office to join them in their effort to lobby senators across the nation for healthcare reform. While it was certainly a novel experience to sit in the plush conference room of a Congressional office and watch the national healthcare debate played out between the well-informed women of MomsRising and one of the Senator's top legislative aides, what I will remember most about the meeting is stories the mothers shared.

Each of the four women arrived on a mission to make sure the Senator heard the story of how the healthcare system had failed their family. As soon as we sat down their heartbreaking stories began pouring out. Michelle Law, whose son has cerebral palsy among a host of other medical problems, explained that even when her son is covered by both private insurance and Medicaid, their family goes into tens of thousands of dollars of debt each year to pay for the cost of simply keeping him alive. Kathie McClure, who started the non-profit votehealthcare.org, told how her daughter can never receive coverage from a private insurer because her Type 1 diabetes is considered a pre-exisiting condition. Another mother, Barbara Souter, spent two years googling her daughters symptoms to try and diagnose her disease as the family continued to pay out of pocket for every test and procedure she underwent.

These mothers not only spoke of the failing system from the perspective of personal experience, but with a formidable amount of knowledge of the ins and outs of healthcare legislation, state and federal policies, and insurance procedure. Their resounding message was ultimately one of universal coverage and care for all. Caitlin and I both left in awe of the commitment these mothers have made to being engaged in the political process (Barbara told us she had both Georgia senators on speed dial!) I am both grateful that they are making sure the voices of working families and mothers are being heard in this debate, and hopeful that their efforts will make a difference.

What a working woman needs....?

Soon, in late October (which will be here before I can blink), I'll have been a parent for 13 years! The trials and tribulations of parenthood have shaped me and the lessons learned in the aftermath of many dangers averted and survived have secured my seat at the "Council of Sages" once my body catches up with the fatigue of my battle ridden professional identity. I learned two things very early as a working woman the 1st was that opportunities for advancement were limited and the competition was fierce 2nd the workplace is hostile towards working parents. I love being a woman, I feel honored to be a mom, but parenthood sucks!

For almost thirteen years I have struggled to provide a quality life for my children and myself. I have been working since I was 9 years old. I started out emptying trash cans in a neighborhood in home childcare,and have worked a collage of part and full time jobs to support myself throughout college well into my parenthood experience. The jobs ( cashier, waitress, inn keeper, front desk agent, customer service rep, program assistant,and bank teller) required long hours in multiple shifts in order to meet the minimum financial obligations connected to my household. And no matter how many hours I seemed to work, the hourly pay rate inhibited my ability meet 100% of my obligations 100% of the time.

I exchanged a living wage for flexible schedule that allowed me the time to balance my family responsibilities. I was able to work odd shifts that allowed me to be available to my children daughter most days after school and in the early evenings. I did have to sacrifice weekend time with my family as I often worked 3 out of 4 weekends a month. If I could get a weekend off it was usually a single day [Friday,Saturday or Sunday] but rarely two weekend days in a row. Working weekend shifts meant that quality time with my family was a prized event so I looked forward to our full Saturday or Sunday together once a month. Though I appreciated being able to pick my children up from school, helping with homework, and preparing meals; I felt constant anxiety about my income and our expenses. I often worked when sick as I could never afford to take a sick day for myself and often sent my children to child care and school in poor health because I was unable to take time off from work to care for them.

I have, since becoming an adult, been employed. My part time jobs offered me the flexibility I needed, but the pay was very scarce. Full time positions often presented other challenges such as a rigid schedule or exempted positions that again required long hours that were compensated in an accrual of comp-time that I could never find the time to take off. The benefit packages such as health, life and dental that covered me and my children offered some cushion to my anxiety when the often compromised net pay was deposited into my often negative bank account. But still I felt like I could never get ahead and was doomed to be stuck in a cycle of poverty that kept me living just below a descent standard of living.

I began to find myself waking in the middle of the evening in sweats concerned about the future of my family and my professional options. I had no college degree, two children and a non traditional career path. Was I ever going to be able to find work that not only payed me a "fair" wage but also satisfied my thirst for professional development. I needed employment that helped me to build a pathway to economic self sufficiency, not a job that leached my talents and potential with dead end prospects. I was often overlooked for promotions and scrutinized for every off day I may have taken, though as I stated I days off were rare and only taken when absolutely required by a doctor.

I have experienced many accomplishments in my professional and personal life. But the lows have been completely derailing. I have survived 3 (independent) company lay-offs, been forced to live on unemployment insurance and food stamps while trying to reenter the workplace, evicted from 2 apartments, been homeless with my children and had 1 car repossessed while trying to keep my life with children in tow afloat. when I was not able to work a traditional job, I created wealth for myself my accepting a string non-traditional service jobs such as nanny, house keeper or day laborer. I have, as many adults will empathize, always had to work to support myself. My children required me to stretch a $28k salary to cover the needs of 3 people this included covering the exorbitant cost of quality childcare/ aftercare, housing and transportation expenses. I list those three expenses as the primaries because we survived with a roof over our heads but often went without utilities and ate meager rations. Childcare and after care were a support that must be afforded if I was t o be able to work at all. Without transportation (including MARTA tokens) movement was compromised and travel to and from work or schools was impossible.

Maybe some of you would list other expenses, but my children and I have always lived on a scarce budget, and this working mom often finds herself asking "What do I need to survive?" or "What do we need to make it out of this mess?" Well my work in the area of workplace advocacy has helped me to define with more clarity and confidence what this working mom needs. I need health benefits that cover my family and myself with a low co-pay and options in coverage. I need pay that supports a quality life. I don't want to go from a 2004 Malibu classic to a 2009 Bentley, I'm not trying to buy more house than I can afford to care for, I want to be able to take my children to the Georgia Aquarium just once without having to compromise the utility bill or blowing the food budget for the month. I need to work for an employer that has compassion for the family unit and accepts that whether physically present or not, support of the family is why most adults maintain employment. We all want to retire with a good work history, financial security and life insurance benefits that will provide for our loved ones after our transition; as a single working mom I want to believe that I too can strive for these American ideals. But I often feel stuck and uncertain in this southern "Right to Work" state whose electorate seems to be committed to continuing this disenchanting waltz that perpetuates my and many others downward spiral into abject poverty. I need my elected officials to hear my well articulated appeal to pass laws that provide paid sick time, life supporting wages and advancement opportunities for all employees in all fields of work. All work in unique and necessary on some level; men/ women, young/ old, college educated or not, regardless of ethnicity or sexual identity need to know with security and confidence a quality life is obtainable and that the American workplace is a vehicle to deliver on promise of internationally popularized American ideals.

As a working woman, I need an intentional effort made to level the playing field in the workplace, so that it can become a viable means to lift mine and many families like mine out of poverty and push us further from its clutches.

posted by Shyria Coleman.... please offer your comments, feed back, concerns or rebuttals on this discussion board. I want to know... What do other working women need?

looking for childcare?

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning Introduces Statewide Child Care Referral Service

link to this press release: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-01-2009/0005035862&EDATE=

ATLANTA, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Beginning today, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is introducing a new service to help families locate accessible, affordable, quality child care. By calling toll-free - 1-877-ALL GA KIDS - families can learn about licensed child care in one of Georgia's approximately 3,000 child care learning centers, 250 group day care homes, and 5,300 family day care homes all across the state.

Callers to 1-877-ALL GA KIDS will speak to trained staff from Quality Care for Children, an independent, not-for-profit organization with whom Bright from the Start has contracted to consolidate information about child care providers in all 159 counties and to oversee the new referral service. Quality Care for Children representatives will help families connect with child care providers in their area who are licensed, convenient to work or home, and within the family budget. They will also provide information and advice on how to select a qualified child care provider. A searchable database will also be available at www.allgakids.org.

"Our goal is to equip parents with as much information as possible in order for them to make the best decisions for their families," said Dr. Holly Robinson, commissioner of Bright from the Start. "1-877-ALL GA KIDS is Georgia's source for parents to locate quality child care whether they are north in Fannin County or at the southern tip of the state in Lowndes County."

An estimated 64% of families in Georgia use child care, and demand is growing as more family members work outside the home. Quality Care for Children CEO Pam Tatum said as tough economic conditions put an additional strain on the child care services families use, more parents are turning to unlicensed providers who might cost less but aren't always safe or properly trained.

"In the 30 years Quality Care for Children has been operating, this may prove to be the most challenging time yet for the families we serve," Tatum said. "Many are overwhelmed by what's happened with the economy, and they're struggling to make difficult financial choices, so this referral program could not have come at a better time."

About Bright from the Start

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia's children and their families. It administers the nationally recognized Georgia's Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers federal nutrition programs, and manages voluntary quality enhancement programs.

The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education. For more information, go to www.decal.ga.gov.

About Quality Care for Children

Quality Care for Children is Georgia's leader in equipping parents and child care providers with the tools they need to receive and provide high quality, affordable child care so that all children have access to superior early learning experiences and are ready for school. For more information, go to www.qualitycareforchildren.org.

Note: Quality Care for Children partners with 9to5 on the Georgia Minimum Wage Coalition! Check out their website above.

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!

Why is it worth know knowing what you plan to teach?

By Leslie Hudson:

Take out a sheet of paper and write on it –democracy “for the people and by the people” and the word power; place your pencils down and let us begin....

Good morning and welcome to Introduction to Political Science 101. In this class we will learn about the different political theories and how they helped shape governments around the world; we will compare and contrast these world governments with the United States government and learn about the US democratic process. Also it is my great hope that each and everyone of you will leave this class valuing your selves more as US Citizens and Residents and use the knowledge gained here to improve upon how you see your American dreams and how you intend to live in it[this country].

In the syllabus is a layout of homework assignments, tests and projects that will facilitate two objectives. First, with your successful completion of these various assignments you will demonstrate what you have learned in this class and second, you will be fulfilling the Georgia performance standards for this class. In addition, by the end of this class I hope you will realize how great a country you live in and how your voices can be heard in the United States’ democratic process.

Now as you sit back in your desks with arms folded wondering why is this stuff so important outside of reaching educational standards, I want to share a quote with you from a wonderful professor, Dr. Finley, respectfully, “ The purpose of high school is to enculturate its students with how society works and the democratic concepts of all people having a voice in how they are governed and in understanding how they are governed and how to communicate such a way to be heard.”

In other words , I want you to walk away with the working knowledge of your role in the US democratic process on a local, state and national level and how to exercise your rights to vote, to lobby, to speak to your elected officials with concerns, to petition, and to organized in order to be heard.

Whether you realize it or not you are all unique US citizens. It is the way you walk , talk, dress , your political views, and where your live that determine your uniqueness and this is what shapes your voices in this democratic society. In the beginning of class I had you write on a sheet of paper the words, democracy “for the people and by the people” and the word power, you all are “the people” and your uniqueness is your POWER. Let me explain further, in the 2008 Presidential election “ for the people and by the people” is how Obama was elected to office. Whether some of you voted, made phone calls, had conversations about and/or wore t-shirts supporting the President- all of this could only take place in America. You class are “the people”, that possess exercisable power and voices that deserve to be heard and in this class I will give you the tools that will ensure they are heard collectively and individually.

Also in this class I want you to understand outside of your textbooks and notebooks that your social economic status in your communities is also your power to determine what in your communities you want to change or improve upon to enrich your American dreams and your quality of leisure time. An example an American’s Dream realized was your roles in the 2008 presidential election of Obama. How your leisure time can be maintained or improve upon by using the concepts and tools learned in this class about the democratic process is through petitioning for safer streets to skateboard on; or calling your local representatives about clean and safe parks to play tennis; or voting for street lights so you can play night ball may all be activities that are part of your leisure time, respectfully.

Now that Class is almost over take that sheet of paper and tape it to your notebook to remind you of the value of this class, and that you are the next generation who will have a significant say in how your government is to run, and you will be introduced to what and how democracy is and what your powers are in the democratic process in your lives and communities .

What I mean by power is your voices, each of you has a voice that deserves to heard individually and collectively around your concerns about your life, your community, your workplace and this country we share.

Comments by Leslie Hudson
9to5 Atlanta Chapter Member since 2008
Candidate for Master Degree in Secondary Education Social Science @ Mercer University
She looks forward to becoming a High School Political Science Teacher

Our Vote, Our Voice!

I recently spent the afternoon with a fellow 9to5 member and activist on the streets of Atlanta near the Capitol, talking to women (and some men!) about 9to5 and the policies we support. I have to admit, as we approached women we did not know, I was nervous! I expected that people would not be receptive and tell me they don’t have the time, but as we talked about the Parent Protection Act, paid sick days, and the Healthy Families Act, we discovered that many women agree with our policies. They are frustrated with the cost of childcare, the lack of health coverage for themselves and their families, and how difficult it has been to find a job.

We met very little opposition, but a few women said they already had paid sick leave and that our issues don’t pertain to them. They are fortunate to benefit from their company policies, but many don’t offer paid sick time or even a few hours to attend a school conference or doctor’s appointment. People assume that we all have the same work privileges but we don’t. It is up to our companies to decide, which is why we support statewide or federal policies. Sometimes a woman has to choose between a sick child and her job and it happens more often than we would like to admit.

Every day we wander the streets, unaware of the concerns and frustrations we share with the strangers we pass. Many of us forget that others love their children and want the very best for them, just as we do. Or like them, we spent down to the last dollar of our last paycheck, waiting impatiently for payday to help cover our waiting expenses. Or that a day that is free of worry or stress may not be shared by a neighbor or friend - that even though we might be doing well, others aren’t.

We asked these women to show support by signing purple cards that state "Our Vote, Our Voice!", which we share with our elected officials. We got 31 cards signed that day, but more important, my friend and I were able to connect with other women with whom we normally would not have spoken to. Next time you are waiting in a line and or riding the train, instead of ignoring the person next to you, strike up a conversation and find out just how similar you may be. Better yet, call our office at 404-227-0037 and make plans to pick up your own set of purple cards. It will give you a reason to reach out to others and show our elected officials that we care in numbers.

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?

Can Georgia do more for working families?

9to5 is a leading member of the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative -- a statewide coalition of organizations working to pass the Parent Protection Act (HB 37). This act would give Georgia workers 24-hours each year of unpaid leave to take care of family obligations, such as registering children for school and taking children, a spouse, or an elderly relative to routine medical appointments. Sounds simple enough, right? But currently in Georgia, which is an at-will employment state, many workers could face penalties at work (including termination!) if they take off work for these reasons.

Take 9to5 member Vickie, for example. After working for more than 20 years at the same printing plant in Atlanta, she lost her job because she refused to work three hours of "mandatory overtime" after completing her regular eight hour shift. Vickie refused overtime because that was the only day she could register her children for the upcoming school year and for the after-school program they attended until she got off work.

If the Parent Protection Act becomes law, working mothers like Vickie would be guaranteed time off -- at no cost to employers! -- to take care of necessary family responsibilities.


TAKE ACTION NOW!
Tell your state representative to support working families by passing HB 37! Tell them your story! Find contact information for your legislator here. (Just enter your zip code in the box on the left and then click on "current officials." This bill is currently in the Georgia House of Representatives, so contact your Georgia Representative.)


To find out more about the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative, to join the coalition, or to see a sample letter to send to your legislator, please visit our website or send us an email at gajobfamily@yahoo.com.

The minimum wage - is it enough?

When I was born in 1968, the minimum wage was $1.68. Doesn’t seem like much, but its value in today’s dollar is equal to $10.26! At my first job as a housekeeper at a hotel, I earned the minimum wage. I was still in high school, but I maintained this job on weekends and throughout the summers in order to save for college and pay for gas. This was in 1985 and the minimum wage was $3.35. At the time, the purchasing power of my hourly wage was the equivalence of $6.61 today, which is on par with the current Federal minimum wage of $6.55. Since the time of my birth to my first job, the purchasing power of working Americans has decreased significantly, but since the time of my first job, another 20 years has passed and the value of the minimum wage has basically remained unchanged.

Let’s do more math. (C'mon, it's not so bad!) A full-time worker making $6.55 an hour takes in $262 a week, before taxes - for an annual salary of $13,000! Let me type that again - $13,000!!!!!! Add to this that the majority of minimum wage earners do not have access to healthcare benefits at work, or even paid sick days. The sad fact remains that a large percentage of minimum wage workers are no longer teenagers at their first job, but are heads of households, many of them single mothers. Kind of makes you wonder how, on one hand, we can see so much progress within our nation, and on the other, we are frozen in time, if not moving backwards. How do you feel about this?

Share with us your first job, first hourly wage, and what you think the minimum wage should be at this point in time for a working member of society to take care of herself and a family?

a working mom in the White House!

A few weeks before the election, Michelle Obama wrote in a U.S. News & World Report editorial that her top priority as first lady would be to advocate for working families and military families. For years, Michelle was a working mom and, once on the campaign trail, she talked to working parents across the country to find out they need from Washington.

Michelle discovered that working mothers in all 50 states have the same needs: affordable child care, paid sick days, pay equity, and more time to care for their children.

Read Michelle's full article here.

She said, "As first lady, I'd continue these conversations with working women and military spouses, and I'd take their stories back to Washington to make sure that the people who run our country know how their policies touch their constituents' lives."



What are you waiting for? Tell Michelle your story! Michelle understands the struggles that come when you have to balance your job and your family. Tell her your story so she can be YOUR advocate in Washington. Take the first step to create the kind of change YOU need!

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.

One working mom weighs in…

As I sit here at my desk, eyes burning red from strain of staring at this computer, fall allergies causing my head to swell and ache, 3 moderately well tempered children entertaining themselves in the other room, I’m thinking and feeling like I’ve some how lost myself in all this election craze. I have with colleagues from work, fellow community organizers, activists and varieties of “concerned citizens” participated in a range of Election Connection Outreach activities. I have registered voters, trained numerous volunteers to do the same. I have passed out voter education materials explaining everything from voter ID laws to how to find and understand a sample ballot. I have called more folks than I ever would want to be in touch with, (as I am really not a phone person, I’m still riddled over the fact that you can get cancer right in your cranium for talking on the darned cell for too long, Not to mention my own family is lucky to hear from me every blue moon, my voice live and in person for them to choke a surprised “hey to” out of their throats, anyway I digress)… encouraging the masses to go vote; vote early, vote absentee, vote on the 4th, vote in advance, but for God’s love GO VOTE!

Today I’m trying to figure out if I have done myself and you, the beloved object of my Election Connection obsession, any good deed. Did I even help to make a change in this “historic” election season? Will my efforts be counted as “part of history”? Well you see it’s not that I’m looking to have my name recorded in the history books, though I think my home schooled daughter would find that rather kool, she certainly made enough of a personal contribution of time, paper cut fingers and unwanted guest appearances at every pro-vote activity in Metro Atlanta. But like I said it’s not the recognition I seek, it’s really knowing my efforts made a difference in the life of a disenfranchised person. Then I thought, do I even need to look outside of myself to evaluate my own effectiveness?

When have my issues been uplifted in any of the debates promoted more heavily and in quite the same fashion as the MTV or BET Awards shows I don’t have the time and can’t afford the cable (bill) to watch? I have heard no one, NO ONE speak about the need for family flexibility policies so that this hard working, civically involved mom can take time from a hectic schedule of organizing the disenfranchised, on behalf of the electoral process to actually go and vote! Yes, yes, I know I have 2 hours with which to “make my voice known” and I am blessed (not lucky, BLESSED) to have a job that informs and educates me about my rights, but what about the masses of other women out there, blessed only to be alive during these “historic times”? Sure my efforts have touched many, but I dare say luck has not made a long term visit at their crib for many a moon. What about them? They are registered, with polling places confirmed, rides to the polls set up, and not a clue about who to vote for or why? Not one tangible piece of evidence that their vote will insure the passing of crucial (local) legislation such as the Georgia Minimum Wage Bill or the Parent Protection Act or uplift the need for national recognition of issues surrounding workplace equality, and social-economic equity. Who are the candidates really and why aren’t they talking about what they are really going to do to positively and productively enhance my life, my financial outlook and guarantee the promise of a healthy future for my children? Certainly they (my children) gave enough (of me) to have me wonder why aren’t the issues really being discussed. And I don’t mean discussed amongst the “enfranchised” voting elite, but why aren’t those in power calling me at home between 5pm – 9pm begging for my opinion on this catastrophe of and economy they created and I work like a slave (yes I said it) to bail out! When will someone stop trying to make me feel like its all too complicated for me to understand, while ensuring me that they are acting now (have always) and have every intentions to act after November 4th on my best behalf. They need to be asking me about “how I can pay a car note, pay rent, purchase food and buy gas every month, not to mention household items, seasonal clothing for both of my children, and even rent a movie every once in a while. I manage to take my children to culturally engaging events and activities, support a variety of social justice causes with time (&YES money), and visit my mother twice a month in a nursing home in Macon (not by my choice, that’s our great Healthcare system not working for working families such as mine) where she convalesces from a massive stroke and aneurism that devastated her, my brother, myself and my two small children almost 3 years ago now. How do I do it? What’s my secret, and am I willing to accept a cabinet post to help the rest of the country do it, balance their damn checkbooks and live within their means?

Well, that may be going too far, I like my job, my little townhouse and my life here in Atlanta, Georgia, but my point is until I see, hear, taste and smell more [dialogs] that reflect my reality, I’m not really moved. I’m not at all inspired. I haven’t yet, but will go vote. I intended to go today, but I had work to do. And I will continue to motivate the masses, but I am hoping many will join me and say “WHAT ABOUT US REALLY?” And the only reason why any of this election stuff matters is because I matter. I am working like a slave (again, if I wanna claim that ancestral heritage bond I feel deep in my soul and see reflected in every face in my community) and now you greedy massa’s want the chitt’lins for yourselves too!

www.votesmart.org

In solidarity,

Shyria C.

Blog Action Day 2008: Vote to end poverty on November 4th!

The 2008 election is shaping up to be one of the most important in this nation's history. The candidates are talking about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rising fuel costs, education, healthcare, and a stagnating economy. The decisions that will be made to solve these and many other problems will directly affect America's low wage workers -- those living paycheck to paycheck, those struggling to put gas in their cars, and those who want to make sure that their kids stay in school, but who can't take time off work to take them to the doctor or even to enroll them in classes.

That's why it's essential that working women head to the polls and cast their ballots this November 4th. Your opinions matter!

During the last few months, 9to5 staff and volunteers have been distributing Election Connection Voter Guides, helping working women learn more about the issues that are important to them in this election. While the candidates are out debating and campaigning, you can use this guide to help you determine where the candidates stand on these crucial issues. If you would like to download a copy of this voter guide, please click here.

By acting together, working women have the power to determine the outcome of elections -- and to forge new public and workplace policies. Let the candidates know how you feel about the following issues!

What do working women value?

We value work-family flexibility and vote for politicians who support basic labor standards to ensure a family-friendly workplace. Working women need more accessible and affordable family and medical leave, including paid family leave insurance.

We value equal opportunity. We vote for politicians who support an end to all forms of discrimination in the workplace. Low-wage women will never be able to pull themselves out of poverty until they earn a fair wage for the work they do.

We value family-supporting jobs and an end to poverty. We vote for politicians who recognize the dignity of all people and the right to a higher quality of life for working families. Working women deserve strong safety net policies that support families as they transition from poverty to economic self-sufficiency.

Tell us: What issues matter most to you as a working woman in this election?