California led the way on expanding paid family leave, and is now considering a bill that would make California the only state in the nation to require employers to provide paid sick days to workers. On Wednesday the bill took its first step in the legislature. CA NOW will be keeping a close eye on it, as it is a priority bill for us, and the rest of the country will be watching too.
So, California Assemblymember Chuck DeVore wanted to pass a bill that would deem pregnant women temporarily disabled, and therefor able to use parking spaces reserved for the disabled.
We tend to think--and we told the Sacramento Bee as much--that there are some problems with that. Namely, that it classifies pregnancy as a disability. If pregnancy-- in fact a quite natural state for women--is a disability across the board, then will pregnant women be treated differently in other venues?
The bill died, but it's the second time it's been introduced, and could well be seen again. What do you think about it?
Have you ever wanted to meet the people who represent you in the State Capitol? Most of us don't get the chance to let our legislators know the changes we really want to see.
Join us at the California NOW Legislative Reception on March 25th and meet your legislators in person! 5-7 p.m. in room 125 in the State Capitol building for hors d'oeuvres and a chance to mingle and speak with the people who make the laws that affect you!
We will be presenting State Senator Sheila Kuehl with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and State Assembly Member and Majority Floor Leader Karen Bass will be recognized for her commitment to young women and women of color.
Thanks to the Honorable Friends of California NOW who help to make our legislative work possible:
Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nuñez
State Senator Carole Migden
State Controller John Chiang
State Senator Joe Simitian
List of 2008 sponsors coming soon!
Two years ago my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy and radiation and is now healthy and her prognosis is good. When she got the diagnosis she had so many women in her life to consult for advice, it made me realize just how prevalent the disease really is. Fighting breast cancer is one of the battle's of our lifetime. What will you do to help?
10 million people could die from breast cancer in the next 25 years if we don't find a cure. In California, more than 25,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. More than 4,000 women in California will die of breast cancer this year. The Susan G. Komen Find a Cure has introduced its first Breast Health Package, three legislative bills that will increase access and quality care for women in California. A number of state representatives have joined the fight by authoring the bills and moving them through the legislative process.
One bill would secure additional funding of $12 million in FY09 for the California Department of Health Services’ program, "Every Woman Counts," to provide breast and cervical screening services for California’s underserved women. One of our champions in the Assembly, Fiona Ma, has agreed to author this bill.
Another bill, would (beginning in FY2010) secure funding for the Every Woman Counts program by making it be “case driven” or a per-woman basis. This will help prevent running out of annual “allocated” funds. It would also expand the eligibility age for the Every Woman Counts program to high-risk women aged 38 and older (rather than high-risk women aged 40 and older). Senator Gil Cedillo has agreed to author this bill.
AB2887 would mandate coverage of digital mammography services (in addition to analog) under the Every Woman Counts program. Assembly Member Patty Berg has agreed to author this bill. Co-Sponsors at this time include Assembly Members Anthony Portantino and Mary Salas and State Senators Patricia Wiggins and Jenny Oropeza.
Please take a moment to contact the above California state legislators to let them know you value their commitment to the Komen Breast Health Package, and you urge them to continue to fight to end breast cancer!
AssemblyMember Fiona Ma 916-319-2012 Assemblymember.ma@assembly.ca.gov
Senator Gilbert Cedillo 916-651-4022 Senator.cedillo@sen.ca.gov
AssemblyMember Patty Berg 916-319-2001 Assemblymember.berg@assembly.ca.gov
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved their own version of the House’s economic stimulus package today, offering smaller rebates to more Americans, including 20 million low-income seniors on Social Security who would not have been covered under the House proposal. The Finance Committee’s package looks to give individuals a flat $500 rebate and $1000 for couples, plus $300 per child, bringing the total for the package to a whopping $157 billion. And how do women fare under each proposal? Not as well as they should, says the National Women’s Law Center.
Neither plan specifically targets low-income women and their families, the demographic that’s most in need of timely assistance. Women are hit hardest in times of economic crisis—less earning power, less likely to be able to rely upon the income of a spouse during unemployment, too often struggling with domestic violence, no paid leave—you get the picture. An economic stimulus package should expand unemployment insurance benefits, increase food stamps, and help out states facing budgetary difficulties (hint, hint). Your senators need to hear from you right now! Click here to find contact information for Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and tell them to create a stimulus package that covers low income women and their children! And while your at it, create an economic stimulus package that isn't funded by foreign loans.
<
While California voters had their eyes on the prize, a.k.a. Super Tuesday, two measures sneaked onto the June 3 statewide ballot, both relating to the government's ability to take private property for alternative uses, or eminent domain. One of the measures, the California Property Owners and Farmland Protection Act, has a dirty little hidden secret: it would abolish rent control. Who's behind the measure? According to the LA Times, more than 100 owners and operatorsof apartment buildings and mobile home parks, who spent almost $2 million to put the initiative on the ballot. If passed, about 1.2 million people throughout the state who live in rent-controlled residences would be affected. Seniors who already pay too large a proportion of their monthly social security allowance would be forced to find another place to live. And these are supposed to be the golden years?! Wait a minute--I thought inflated housing costs were bringing the state economy to its knees! Rent control is a critical tool in the fight to keep housing affordable for Californians who live paycheck to paycheck.
The San Francisco Tenants Union does a great job organizing around ensuring rent control for residents of one of the most inflated housing markets in the world. And they've got a free clinic to boot!
I am asked all the time if Mrs. Schlafly is still around. I suppose they mean is she still alive; baking cookies and trimming the tree would be okay but, the reality is, she is still hard at work prohibiting the advancement of gender equality and pay equity. You can find her on campuses (stop inviting her!) and, in particular this season, testifying against the ERA in Florida ~ where it is so close! Here is where she was this last Wednesday.
The California State Assembly voted this afternoon to pass the newest iteration of the Democratic leadership's healthcare plan. The vote split down party lines, but has the support of Governor Schwarzenegger. The bill, AB x1 1, now awaits action in the Senate, most likely coming after the holidays. Senate President Pro Tem Perata has said he's hesitant to move the bill forward with the impending budget crisis. The Democratic leadership within the legislature has made several failed attempts this year to come to consensus with the Governor; affordability and financing have been two key issues upon which the two bodies have disagreed.
Any reform must be affordable and comprehensive. Guaranteed healthcare is an absolute must, but not if it comes at the expense of women and children! Under the current proposal, every citizen in California would be required to purchase coverage if they're not already insured under a government program. The financing for the plan would come from a number of sources, including a significant tobacco tax, as well as employer contributions and a new hospital tax. Stay tuned for further developments and check out the Health Access California blog for frequent updates.
The 2007 California legislative session was one of both victories and set backs for women and girls. California NOW tracked more than 100 bills and actively lobbied, wrote letters, and testified at the Capitol. Several CA NOW-supported bills were signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger. None of the bills we opposed went to the Governor’s desk. We will continue to fight for those bills that were held in committee when the legislature reconvenes in January.
CA NOW achieved legislative success in the arenas of comprehensive sex education, LGBT equality, safeguarding the rights of incarcerated women, strengthening child support and improving healthcare for low-income Californians. There’s still work to be done to expand paid family leave, provide universal healthcare to those in need, end wage discrimination, and secure equal marriage rights for all Californians.
Lead in lipstick ... Carcinogens in baby shampoo ...
How is this possible? Simple. The $50 billion cosmetics industry has
kept itself unregulated for decades. The result: Toxic chemicals are
widespread in beauty products, and in our bodies. It's not just women
who are affected by this chemists' brew. Shampoo, deodorant, face
lotion and other products used daily by men, women and children contain
hazardous chemicals that the industry claims are "within acceptable
limits." But there's nothing acceptable about daily multiple exposures
to carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting chemicals — from products that
are supposed to make us feel healthy and beautiful.
Stacy Malkan is a media strategist for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry (New Society, 2007). The book delves deeply into the dark side of the beauty industry, and looks to hopeful solutions for a healthier future.
Date: Wednesday, November 28
Time: Noon to 1 p.m. (Feel free to bring your lunch)
Place: Herbst Hall at Mt. Zion, 1600 Divisadero Street, 2nd floor
Presenter: Stacy
Malkin is communications director for Health Care Without Harm, a
global coalition working to green the health care industry. Stacy is
also a media strategist for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Her new
book, entitled "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty
Industry" (New Society) will be released in September 2007.
Recent Comments