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ISSUES & FORUMS
Archives – Women's Issues Forum:
Action Needed!
The Department of Labor has asked us to tell them what we think about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and we have a week to tell them:
"Invigorate, do not decimate, the Family and Medical Leave Act".
Send your comments and spread the word.
In response to complaints from the Chamber of Commerce and big business owners, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a request for public comments related to the regulation and administration of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Since this administration is no friend of working families, we know this is an initial step toward blocking even more families from taking the unpaid leave provided by the FMLA. We must show our support of FMLA to ensure that policies for productive workers and healthy families are in place.
Send your comments in support of FMLA before Friday, February 16.
Background:
The Family and Medical Leave Act has helped hard-working people balance their work and family responsibilities. Since 1993, the FMLA has provided essential protections for millions of workers who need time off for their own or a family member's serious illness, or to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. This guaranteed, albeit unpaid, leave is currently available and being used by millions of parents and caregivers.
The majority of U.S. employers covered by the Act [note: all public sector employers are covered and 11% of all private sector businesses are covered by FMLA] report that the FMLA has had little or no impact on their business operations or productivity. However a small group of highly influential big business employers has consistently complained that current FMLA regulations impose unreasonable restrictions and costs on employers and have contributed to a significant rise in unjustified absenteeism.
However, the government's own data does not support these claims. Leading human resource experts contend that problematic leave-taking and productivity loss in some workplaces is more likely to be a product of inept or outdated management practices rather than worker abuse or these family-friendly labor regulations.
Anti-FMLA employers, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are calling for changes to the Act that would reduce the number of covered health conditions and prevent eligible workers from taking unpaid leave in increments of less than four hours. Partly in response to employer complaints, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued this request for public comments related to the regulation and administration of the FMLA. While general comments are invited, the Dept. of Labor's formal Request for Information (RFI) also seeks new and unpublished data on the effects of FMLA leave-taking on business outcomes -- information that potentially could be used to justify the implementation of more restrictive regulations if FMLA opponents have their way. We must counter these business complaints with our own stories and our fervor for this important national workplace policy.
Send your comments now!
Past Events:
Sisters of '77: The Struggles and Triumphs in the Battle for Equal Rights
Tuesday, March 13, 2007, 6:30pm,
Butterworth Center, 1105 8th Avenue, Moline, IL 61265
RSVP with Carol Brown.
About the Movie:
A documentary about the historic weekend in 1977 when twenty thousand women and men traveled to Houston, TX for the first National Women's Conference. Archival footage breathes life into heated debates over controversial issues like the equal rights amendment, reproductive freedom, lesbian rights, sexual preference and minority rights. The video features Gloria Steinem, Ellie Smeal, Ann Richards, Carmen Delgado Votaw, Liz Carpenter, Betty Friedan, Coretta Scott King, Bella Abzug, Barbara Jordan and many other women who made history. 55 minutes, featured on PBS.
Exciting News: We have been invited to participate in a Women's Event entitled, WE WILL, which stands for Women Empowering Women in Leadership. Awards will be presented to notable leaders in Iowa, on Saturday, July 22nd at 9:30am, including a champagne brunch/breakfast. A nationally known keynote speaker is planned and will determine the ticket price. We are looking for individuals to help with planning and organizing. If you are interested in helping out with this event, please contact Elesha Gayman 563-650-6140 eleshag@yahoo.com or qcnow@mchsi.com.
PACG is marching in Bettendorf's 4th of July Parade. Last year, QCNOW and the Women's Issues Forum of the PACG marched with the rest of the PACG forums in the parade; and as it turned out we had the biggest representation there. It was a lot of fun, so we hope you will join us again this year.
The QCNOW 35th Anniversary Party was a big success!
The celebration on Tuesday, May 9th at Mother Jones’ Café was really fun. We all enjoyed a lot of great food and had a drawing for party gifts. The best part of the evening was hearing the stories of some of the veteran members and looking at all the memorabilia they brought. We all gathered for a group picture before cutting the cake. Thank you all for coming and making our celebration a success. We have the potential to keep the momentum of good citizenship going for another 35 years. Pictures from the party went around the room.
Other activities that have taken place since our last meeting:
- Take My Hand: An Unintended Pregnancy Prevention Project planning meeting, sponsored by QCNOW & PACG Women’s Issues Forum, Bettendorf Library, April 15, 10am – 12noon.
- Wal-Mart demonstration, April 15, 12:30pm, corner of Elmore & 53rd Ave, Davenport
- “Show Me the Money” Paycheck Negotiation Workshop, co-sponsored by QCNOW & PACG Women’s Issues Forum among others. April 22, 8:30am – 11:30am, United Way of the Quad Cities Area, Davenport
- Take Back the Night awareness raising/celebration, May 5, 5pm, District of Rock Island. Despite the chilly weather, we all enjoyed the program of passionate stories, music and dance. The evening ended with a candlelight march around the district, chanting. Pictures from the Night were passed around the room.
- Barstow Rd. Hog Slaughterhouse Protest, June 10, 9:30am, corner of 23rd & 41st St., sponsored by the Environmental/Energy Sustainability Forum. This is an important issue that will negatively affect the Quad-Cities community for years to come. We feel the negatives out way the positives.
Show Me The Money – Paycheck Negotiation Workshop
Saturday, April 22
8:30 – 11:30 am
United Way of the Quad Cities Area
3247 East 35th Street Court, Davenport
Congratulations Women! On April 25th, you will have earned as much money as your male counterpart earned by December 31st, 2005!
Statistics show that the majority of women and minorities will accept the first offer from a prospective employer without negotiating for a better salary or benefits. Every $1 more per hour is $2080 per year and $83,200 in a lifetime! Join us for a half-day workshop hosted by a panel of successful women focusing on utilizing negotiation skills to empower you to close the wage gap.
Highlights of workshop include:
1. Discussion of hot skills in the workforce and how to market those skills
2. Interview strategies/wage negotiation
3. Role playing
4. Learn about benefits (worth and risks) and salary packages
To register, please contact Melisa Petersen by email or by phone at 563.355.4310 x233. There is a $5 registration fee for the workshop.
The Meeting Notes
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Participants: Carol Brown, Angelique Duarte, Donna Ericson, Teresa Francis, Laura Jasper, Shirley Johnson, Pat Jones, Greg Moore, Chris Moore, David Stewart, Judith Williamson
Notices of upcoming community events were announced. Several events are being sponsored/co-sponsored by QCNOW & PACG WIF. Take My Hand - An Unintended Pregnancy Prevention Project is being sponsored by our groups and we're co-sponsoring the "Show Me The Money" Paycheck Negotiation Workshop and Take Back the Night. These are worthwhile events that we are proud to be a part of. We would love to see representation from our members, so we hope you will consider attending. Please see below for the details.
In celebration of the Quad-Cities National Organization for Women's 35th Anniversary of activism in this area, we decided to have a Party for next months meeting. The Tuesday, May 9th monthly meeting will take place at Mother Jones Café & intellectual bookstore in the District of Rock Island (Greg & Chris Moore co-owners) at our regular meeting time of 6:30pm. We discussed inviting Veteran QC NOW activist to come and share their stories of the history of our local NOW organization. If you are one of these individuals and would like to take part, we would love to hear from you. Party planning was also discussed and all the meeting participants chipped in a donation that amounted to $65. This will allow us to provide some meat and cheese trays. Thank you for your donations, it is much appreciated.
Some other items are still needed?. Please respond and let us know what you would like to volunteer to bring. Thank you.
- Decorative paper plates and napkins for 30
- Plastic forks, knives, spoons for 30
- A bouquet of colorful balloons
- Three small floral bouquets for table center pieces
- Chips
- Pretzels
- Finger food appetizers (several volunteers needed)
- Wine (several volunteers needed)
- Bring your own beer
- QC NOW will provide coffee, hot/cold tea, a sheet Cake and the meat & cheese trays.
Your help is much appreciated and will make this Party a fun, successful event. Thanks. Party invitations will be mailed soon.
Announcements:
Saturday, April 15
- Take My Hand - An Unintended Pregnancy Prevention Project planning meeting, Bettendorf Library, 10am ? 12noon. Sponsored by QCNOW & PACG Women's Issues Forum
- Working Families Win leadership planning meeting, 10am - 12noon, at the office of Communities United to Strengthen America, 2850 Eastern Ave, Suite 200 (Annie Wittenmeyer)
- Wal-Mart demonstration, 12:30pm, corner of Elmore & 53rd Ave, Davenport
Friday, April 21
- Honor the Women in Your Life, a breakfast event to benefit the Quad Cities Rape/Sexual Assault Counseling & Advocacy Program of Family Resources, Inc., 7am - 9am, Quad-Cities Botanical Center, Rock Island
Saturday, April 22
- "Show Me The Money" Paycheck Negotiation Workshop, co-sponsored by QCNOW & PACG Women's Issues Forum among others. 8:30am - 11:30am, United Way of the Quad Cities Area, 3247 East 35th Street Court, Davenport
Saturday, April 29
- Venus Envy Quad Cities, a celebration of female creativity, empowering women through the arts of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, multimedia installations, written and spoken word. 7pm Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 East 2nd Street, Davenport
Friday, May 5th
- Take Back the Night awareness raising/celebration, 5pm, District of Rock Island.
Your Senators are home for Spring break, this would be a good time to call them and urge them to vote against the President's 2007 Budget Proposal. To learn more about this disgraceful budget go to www.cbpp.org
If you would like more information about any of these events, please contact us.
March - Women's Herstory Month
During the March meeting let's celebrate Women's Herstory Month. Let's each bring in a short paper about a "Notable" woman we admire, living or deceased. Just a few paragraphs and pictures are always nice. Using the web, library or book store would make it really easy. We'll go around the room and share a bit of Women's Herstory with each other. This would be a great way to honor and acknowledged Women's accomplishments and contributions to society.
Tuesday, March 14, 6:30pm
Butterworth Center
1105 8th Ave., Moline IL.
Here are a few helpful websites:
• www.NWHM.org - National Women's History Museum
• www.loc.gov - Library of Congress
• www.now.org - National Organization for Women
Past Activities:
The past few months have been tough for women, with the confirmation of two ultra-conservative justices to the Supreme Court. Active women and men have helped the National Organization of Women to:
- Push through renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which provides vital funding to combat domestic and sexual violence,
- Force the Bush administration to restore collection of statistics about women's employment. Without them, it's harder to prove the extent of the wage gap and other workplace discrimination,
- Pressure DISH Network to restore Lifetime TV, the number one women's cable channel, after they pulled it on December 31, and
- Save Social Security from being eviscerated by greedy brokers on Wall Street and their congressional mouthpieces.
Join the NOW E-list for action alerts - Go to: www.now.org/organization
Subcommittees have been formed to address the following issues:
- Court Watch (Divorce and Domestic Violence)
- Today's Contraceptive Challenge.
- Military family's struggle with aspects of the Soldiers and Sailors Act.
- Love Your Body committee. Creating a program addressing the issues of healthy self esteem & body image for young women and girls.
- Students, please join us with you ideas. We need your energy, you are the future!
You can make a difference in Women?s lives!
Calendar of Events
March: Women's History Month in Iowa
3 ICSW Legislative Lunch and Learn. 12 noon - 1 p.m., Legislative Dining Room, State Capitol, Des Moines. Free and open to the public. ICSW, 800/558-4427, 515/281-4461.
3 Iowa Gender-Specific Services Task Force. 10 a.m.-12 noon, Urbandale Public Library, Urbandale. Kathy Nesteby, ICSW, 515/281-6915, 800/558-4427.
8 Write Women Back Into History Essay Contest Celebration Day.
8 International Women's Day.
10 Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center Women Helping Women Annual Luncheon. 11:30 - 1 p.m., Hotel Fort Des Moines, Des Moines. Speaker: Barbara Robinette Moss. Contact 515/274-4006 to make reservations or for more information.
11 International Women's Day Event -- Transitions: Young Women Bridge the Gap. 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Central Senior Center, Des Moines. Free and open to the public. Sponsored in part by ICSW. Call 515/244-7424 for more information.
14 Iowa Commission on the Status of Women Meeting. 10:30 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. IowaCASA & ICADV Office, Des Moines. Free and open to the public. Call or write for special accommodations, 800/558-4427, 515/281-4461.
21 Women of Excellence Recognition Ceremony and Banquet. 5:30 p.m. Sioux City Convention Center, Sioux City. Silent auction included. Tickets are $30. Contact Women Aware, 712/258-4174 or 800/465-6165.
25 Celebrate Health Ministries: From Wedding Rings to Nose Rings...Generational Differences in the Pews. 8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Ankeny. $35. For more information, contact Kathleen Fleming at 515/263-2206 or fleminka@ihs.org.
25 HerStory: Giving Voice to Girls and Women. 5:30 p.m., State Historical Building, Des Moines. Free and open to the public. RSVP required by March 17. Chrysalis Foundation, 515/255-1853.
30 Iowa Council for International Understanding Cultural Competency Training: It's Not Just About Access, It?s About Success. 8:30 - 12 noon, Hotel Fort Des Moines, Des Moines. Fee varies. Jennifer Smyser, 515/282-8269 ext.15
www.iciu.org/diversity_training.shtml.
Activities in 2005:
- Wal-Mart Action, Saturday, July 2, Elmore Ave., Davenport, IA
- Bettendorf 4th of July Parade, Monday, July 4, Bettendorf, IA
- NOW National Convention, July 1 -3, Nashville, TN
- Departure of two QC Illinois Chapter Officers - Holly Lindsay and Ann Campeau.
- 40th Anniversary of the Iowa Civil Rights Act, Thursday, July 21, Des Moines, IA A Celebration and March will be held at the Capitol.
- PACG Picnic, Saturday, July 23, Middle Park (Pavilion on 23rd next to band shell), Bettendorf, IA 5:30 - 9pm
- Brenda Kole, NARAL Pro-Choice America came from Des Moines to address the group regarding the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court, August 9th.
- On August 26, we celebrated the 85th Anniversary of Women Winning the Right to Vote by showing the HBO movie Iron Jawed Angels.
- Helped support, by purchasing 20 tickets for our members to attend, the Second Annual Social and Economic Justice Conference and Lecture - African Indigenous Women Defending Human Rights at St. Ambrose University, presented by Ambrose Women for Social Justice.
- Meet-Up and tabling at PACG Fall Summit, October 30th
Keep up-to-date on current meetings and events by visiting our website at www.geocities.com/qcnow.