Green Career Training for Women

My name is Pamela Pigford, I am a 56-year-old African-American lesbian and my dream is to become an Electrician.

After working as a telecommunications technician for 20 years in LA, I moved back to my hometown of Denver knowing that these skills would soon be obsolete. With the goal of getting into the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 68, Denver Joint Electrical Apprentice and Training Committee Program, I applied, tested and interviewed with Local 68 to become an electrician in June 2010. I scored very successfully and have been on a waiting list for the Apprentice Training Program since.

While waiting for acceptance into the apprenticeship, I discovered that there is free career training available in green jobs through a grant with FRESC Good Jobs Strong Communities. Last summer, I successfully completed two courses, became a Certified Energy Auditor, and obtained my BPI certification.

Since I chose to quit my job in California to pursue career training, I have not been eligible for Unemployment Insurance (UI) in Colorado, and have been living off credit cards and family support. Had I been able to receive any UI benefits, I would not be as deep in debt as I am now.

Being underemployed has dramatically impacted my lifestyle and my ability to reach economic security in any real way. Last year I explored Denver, trying to learn my way around the city and took advantage of Free Day events. Now I only leave to house to job search, interview, drug test and work at temporary jobs. I continue to use free job search resources like the Workforce Center and the Public Library, and I am anxious to find something steady to support myself. My only hope is that once given the opportunity, I will prove my determination to become a valuable employee to a truly inclusive and equal opportunity organization, and succeed in my goal of becoming an Electrician or Technician in a Green Career.

Denver Paid Sick Days Initiative: Are the costs too high to offer paid sick days to all employees?

On Monday, May 9th Campaign for a Healthier Denver launched their campaign to win Paid Sick Days for Denverites. If you would like to stay up to date with this campaign check out their website, or if you have facebook "like" the page. We had great media coverage, here is one of the best articles explaining why Paid Sick Days is necessary. The original article can be seen by clicking here.

Yesterday, Campaign for a Healthy Denver launched what it's calling the 2011 Denver Paid Sick Days Initiative, which would mandate paid sick days for all non-governmental workers in Denver, be they full-time or part-time employees. But given the state of the economy, isn't this a terrible time to introduce such a measure? Hardly, says one backer.

"The economy is actually one of the reasons why it's the right time to be doing this," argues Erin Bennett, Colorado director of 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, who spoke at a 16th Street Mall rally that launched the initiative drive. "We know working families have been especially hurt by the economy. To worry about losing a day's pay or not being able to make a month's rent just because you're sick is something working families can't afford."

Campaign for a Healthy Denver

​What about businesses already griping about additional financial obligations from federal health-care regulations?

"We have a number of business owners in our coalition," Bennett points out. "Yes, there is some administrative cost, and there's the cost of offering sick days for employees. But the benefits of not having sick workers on the job, of increased work-force productivity and decreased turnover from not having to replace employees far outweighs the cost. Any business owner who offers sick days will tell you that."

Such folks represent the majority here, but barely. The campaign estimates that nearly 40 percent of Denverites receive no paid sick days, and that number skyrockets for toilers in the restaurant industry. Approximately 72 percent of such workers in Denver don't get paid sick days, according to the campaign -- a little better than the national average of 80 percent, but still problematic considering the incentive for people handling food to punch the clock whether they're sick or not.

Not that Bennett expects every business organization to get behind the campaign's proposal. But she believes "most of the business organizations that oppose paid sick days are the ones that oppose any mandates on business whatsoever" -- and they can be won over by positive experiences. She references San Francisco, "where the policy has been in place the longest," she allows. "The restaurant association there was opposed to the initiative as it was moving forward, but since then, they've come out and said it wasn't a big deal -- that it wasn't hard to implement and it was good for public health and business."

The campaign portrays the initiative as quite modest. Paid sick leave would be capped at nine days per year for full-time workers and pro-rated for part-timers -- and businesses with fewer than ten employees would only have to offer five days of paid sick leave for full-time employees.

Bennett and her crew still have to go through the petition-gathering process in order to place the initiative on the ballot. But she's confident voters will back it. In San Francisco, the paid-sick-leave measure garnered 61 percent support, while a similar initiative passed in Milwaukee with 69 percent of the vote -- and that makes sense to Bennett. "In the long run," she says, "people realize this clearly pays off."

Popular Milwaukee Law Continues to Serve as an Example for Paid Sick Day Legislation Nationwide

Madison, WI—In the latest attack on Wisconsin families, Governor Walker signed a bill today that seeks to undermine local control statewide and attempts to nullify the Milwaukee paid sick days law, approved by nearly 70% of city voters in 2008. Just a few weeks ago, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued a decision to uphold the law.

“The override of the Milwaukee sick days aw is an assault on democracy, local control, and working families,” said Dana Schultz, Lead Organizer for 9to5, National Association of Working Women. “Voters can see that the Governor and State Legislature are more committed to paying back their corporate donors than creating good jobs for Wisconsin.

Despite the actions by Walker and state lawmakers, advocates pointed to the growing efforts to enact paid sick days bills in other cities and states, efforts that were inspired by the groundbreaking Milwaukee law. In Philadelphia, a paid sick days bill was passed out of a City Council committee a few weeks ago, and in Connecticut, the state legislature is moving forward on a bill with bipartisan support. Paid sick days legislation in New York City has 35 City Council sponsors, legislation is about to be introduced in Seattle, and more than a dozen states have coalitions advocating actively for paid sick days and paid family leave policies. San Francisco and Washington, DC have already implemented paid sick days laws.

“Across the country, cities and states are passing paid sick day laws to protect working people and public health and help strengthen local economies,” said Schultz. “We’re proud that Milwaukee’s win helped spur those campaigns. The anti-worker majority in Madison may try to stop Milwaukee’s victory, but they can’t stop this movement.”

Schultz also pointed to continued work by the coalition supporting national paid sick days legislation. And 9to5 is working with small businesses in Milwaukee to promote voluntary adoption of family-friendly policies.

The bill (AB41/SB 23) signed by Governor Walker is designed to steal the Milwaukee victory and preempt local governments and voters from enacting similar legislation. The bill passed the Assembly in a near party-line vote of 59 to 35; the state Senate passed it with no debate when the Democratic senators were still absent in early March.

“Wisconsinites need a government that works for the people that elected them, not for a narrow group of corporate interests,” said Sheila Cochran, Milwaukee Area Labor Council President. “The Governor and his associates have disregarded the will of the voters, the decision of the court and opened the door to reverse local control wherever they see fit.”

Wisconsin has a rich history of local governance, in which municipalities enact legislation that addresses the needs of their communities. In 2008, nearly 70% of Milwaukee voters approved a law to provide paid sick days for workers in the city. A few weeks ago, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued a decision to uphold the law, which would provide 120,000 Milwaukee families who do not have paid sick days of the freedom to take care of ill family members without fear of losing their jobs or a paycheck.

As the Court of Appeals said in its ruling upholding the ordinance, “With respect to paid versus unpaid sick leave, it is reasonable to conclude that paid sick leave will induce more employees to take time off work when necessary for their health and the health of their families.”
New research on similar laws in other cities shows significant benefits for workers and minimal impact on businesses. A study last month of San Francisco’s paid sick days law shows business concerns about job loss were unfounded, with six in seven employers saying that paid sick days have had no negative effect on profitability and two-thirds of employers surveyed supporting the law. Other studies have shown that employees are healthier and more productive when they have access to paid sick days.

Proponents of AB 41 claim the bill provides a uniform statewide family and medical leave policy (FMLA), but sponsors made clear the measure was designed explicitly to overturn the Milwaukee paid sick day law. The state and federal FMLA laws that have been in effect since 1988 and 1993, respectively, provide a policy for longer-term sick leave, but do not cover time off for routine illness or medical needs related to diagnosis, preventative care, or to seek services to deal with the horror of domestic or sexual assault. FMLA also applies only to companies of 50 or more; half the workforce is not covered. And the time is unpaid.

The large and diverse Paid Sick Days Coalition, led by 9to5, includes labor groups, health groups, civil rights and faith organizations, advocates for children and jobs and an end to domestic violence.

Unemployment Rate Hits Middle Class Hard

By: Susan B

In July 2010, I lost my job with the Denver Public School District due to budget cuts and restructuring in the district, but I was fortunate to apply and receive unemployment benefits without issues. In October 2010, I accepted a temporary part-time position with a home delivery service. My real problems began once my job with the home delivery service ended in December 2010.

In January when the Colorado unemployment rate hit a then all time high of 9.1%, currently it’s at 9.3%, my claim got lost in the CO Dpt. of Labor and Employment. I later found out that this issue is not uncommon when there are 4,400 new UI claims made every week. Even after speaking with a UI representative at my local workforce center multiple times, it has now been over two months and I have had $0 income since February. I’m a single woman with no other income and have already used my entire savings to maintain my credit only to end up facing financial disaster.

Without UI payments I am now facing the hard reality that I will have to start defaulting on my credit card. I won’t be able to make my modest mortgage payment in a neighborhood already hit hard by mortgage defaults making my house dangerously close to being worth less than the mortgage anyway. I have payments remaining on my car and I’m not sure how I will manage to make ends meet.

It seems to me that people are being forced into financial crises regardless of how responsible they have strived to be in the past, and this makes me extremely concerned about the future for the people in Colorado. At a time when the middle class is shrinking and the unemployment rate is not projected to improve much over the next few years, the discussion of national and state budget debates should be focused on policy that will help strengthen the middle class, create good jobs, and reinvest in our social infrastructures so that we can once again be competitive in a worldwide economy.

Are you a 9to5 member yet ?!?

February 1st marked the kickoff of 9to5’s Nationwide Membership Drive! Over the next four months, 9to5 members across the country will be telling family, friends, and coworkers why they care about working women’s issues – and inviting them to join our movement by becoming a member of 9to5.

On average, women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. If there was ever a time to join the movement to improve women’s lives at work, it’s now!

When you become a member of 9to5, your contribution supports our grassroots organizing efforts to win change on issues such as paid sick days and family-friendly workplace policies, as well as help continue the work of programs like our Job Survival Helpline and our leadership training workshops for low-wage working women.

Becoming a member of 9to5 connects you to a nationwide network of women and activists who care about working women’s issues. It also empowers you to become an agent of change on the issues that directly impact your life.

As a member of 9to5, you will:

• Be invited to local, regional, and national leadership conferences
• Participate in trainings to develop your leadership, organizing, advocacy and fundraising skills
• Receive action alerts on state and national legislation to expand workplace rights and family-friendly policies
• Be connected with working women, activists, and resources across the country

Ways to join:

• $15 reduced membership rate during the drive
• $25 membership plus a 9to5 t-shirt ( featured in the picture)
• Give an additional scholarship membership donation to help low-wage working women become members

How to join:

• Click here to visit the membership page on the 9to5 website.
• Visit our Facebook Causes page to join and donate – it couldn’t be easier!

Attacking Wisconsin’s Middle Class

Media coverage of Madison’s thousands of demonstrators has focused on Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights. Members of 9to5, Association of Working Women have stood with those calling for fairness for working families. But it’s clear that governor and conservative state legislators’ agenda is bigger than just union busting. To benefit their corporate masters, they are determined to deny the American Dream to the vast majority of Wisconsinites.

Public workers don’t make big bucks but they are the backbone of the middle class. They are teachers who tutor struggling students so they’re prepared for college, vocational school or a trade. They are police and firefighters who protect us when the unthinkable happens. They are nurses who vaccinate children so we no longer have polio and diphtheria epidemics. They are $9.00/hour home health care workers helping individuals live in their homes with dignity. They keep the economy humming by paying their mortgages, buying groceries and purchasing clothes items that keep our Main Street small businesses afloat.

Throughout the years, public employees and their unions have accepted lower paychecks to defer money to their pensions and health care. Despite this, they’ve agreed to wage and benefit concessions to help do their share in balancing the state budget.

In sharp contrast to their “jobs, jobs, jobs” campaign promises, Wisconsin Republicans are pushing tax breaks to corporations and the rich that will decimate the state’s budget revenue. To pay for their millionaire friends’ favors, they propose to cut already stretched-thin funding for education, police, firefighters and human services, all provided by public employees.

In a now-public recorded call to Gov. Walker in which a journalist pretended to be anti-union billionaire David Koch, the men discuss plans to threaten public workers with layoffs, attempts to divide public and private sector unions, and their hope that their anti-union efforts could spread nationwide.

Let’s be clear: This showdown is NOT about balancing the state budget. It’s about union busting, pure and simple. The upshot of these efforts is to take away power and family-supporting jobs from working families.

Meanwhile, Gov. Walker and allied legislators have launched other attacks on all working families in both the public and private sectors. Their budget gives themselves the power to slash health care – a key middle class support – for the 1.1 million Wisconsinites relying on Medicaid.

They’ve proposed rolling back Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act. Employees working less than 25 hours per week would no longer be eligible for family leave, and employers could deny the use of accrued sick time to cover lost pay. Many would be forced to take unpaid leave for emergencies, putting their homes, families and even their jobs at risk.

In an end run around Milwaukee’s paid sick days policy, passed by 70% of that city’s voters in 2008, these legislators have introduced a bill to prevent municipalities from enacting paid sick days laws.

Proponents of these measures suggest they’re needed to boost industry and jobs but Wisconsin’s biggest companies are thriving, even through the recession. Mercury Marine reported profits of $1.1 billion between 2000-2007 while paying nothing in state corporate income taxes. Harley-Davidson’s profits have increased – profits The New York Timesdocumented as “…mostly going to shareholders instead of the broader economy.” Nevertheless, hearing the mantra of “you’re lucky to have jobs,” Harley workers were forced to take pay cuts.

The Governor and allied legislators are pulling the rug out from under middle class families because they want to bust unions and strip hard-won protections like health care, family leave and paid sick days from workers to enrich their corporate campaign contributors.

It’s time for people across Wisconsin and the nation to stand up for working families against policies that would degrade their pay and security.

About the Author: Linda Meric is the Executive Director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women, a national membership-based organization of low-income women working to improve policies on issues that directly affect them.

Job Discrimination & Sexual Harassment Workshops

When: Every second Tuesday from 6-8pm

Location:

Denver Office, 655 Broadway, Suite 800, Denver, CO 80203

Attend these free and confidential workshops to learn what you can do at work and through the legal system if you have experienced sexual harassment or other forms of discrimination in the workplace. Each will be facilitated by a 9to5 organizer and an employment lawyer.

*A five person minimum will be required to hold these meetings.

Parking is available at the building.

Childcare and translation provided upon advance request.

RSVP REQUIRED: Bridget Kaminetsky at 303-628-0925 or bridget@9to5.org

Welcome 9to5 Colorado's New ARRA Organizer: Jenny Santos!

9to5 Colorado Organizer Jenny Santos was born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents -- Severa Casillas of La Noria de Molinos, Zacatecas and Juan Santos Acosta of El Refugio, Aguascalientes, México.

She comes to 9to5 with an open heart to help protect women’s rights in the workplace and to help bring economic justice to all people. Jenny’s desire to help struggling families comes from her own experiences. Her mother relocated to Denver, CO in the 1980s and suffered social and economic hardship as a recent immigrant. As early as age 5, Jenny was conscious that her purpose in life was to protect her people and the Earth from oppressive powers through the strength of God. She has worked to create systemic change to empower communities of color and believes that the people directly impacted by issues should be leading the efforts to create social justice.

Six years ago, Jenny and Michael Miera founded La Raza Youth Leadership, a program that empowers Latino youth to continue their education and build leadership skills. She is on the board of COLOR, (Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights) an organization for Latinas and their families focused on providing education and advocacy for reproductive rights and quality healthcare. Jenny is also a danzante with Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca and believes in preserving the cultural traditions of her ancestors.

As a new organizer leading 9to5’s ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) efforts, Jenny will work to ensure that ARRA information reaches all communities and that women and people of color are well-represented in efforts to make ARRA and the new economy more inclusive.

Jenny can be reached at jenny [@] 9to5 [dot] org or (303) 628-0925.

9to5 Colorado Seeks Communications and Public Relations Intern

9to5, National Association of Working Women, in its fourth decade of strengthening women’s ability to win economic justice, is seeking a volunteer Communications and Public Relations Intern to augment its national media and new media work. Intern would work under the direction of the National Public Relations Coordinator and work collaboratively with other staff.

Position is based in 9to5’s Denver office.

Minimum requirement is 10-20 hours per week.

Tasks may include:

• Compiling and updating media lists
• Phone and email pitch work
• Exploring effective and appropriate social media to enhance organizing work
• Writing online content
• Other administrative tasks related to media outreach and social networking work

Required skills:

• Basic understanding of traditional and new media
• Competent writer
• Familiarity with Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Flickr, blogging, etc.
• Good communicator
• Evidence of strong interest in women’s rights, policy issues, civil rights, social and economic justice
• Demonstrated ability to work well with diverse populations

Women of color, lesbian/bisexual/transgender women, women with disabilities and older women are encouraged to apply. Please send a letter of interest and/or resume to Rosemaryh [@] 9to5 [dot] org.

9to5 Colorado Needs Board Members!

9to5 Colorado needs a couple new board members! Please read the information below.

If you are interested in applying to be a board member, email a cover letter and resume to 9to5colorado [@] 9to5 [dot] org.

9to5, National Association of Working Women – Colorado Chapter

In 1973, a group of office workers in Boston got together to talk about issues which had no names: sexual harassment, work/family challenges, and pay equity. From this beginning, 9to5 emerged as the national organization dedicated to putting working women's issues on the public agenda. 9to5's constituents are low-wage women, women in traditionally female jobs, and those who've experienced any form of discrimination.

9to5's Colorado chapter was founded in 1996 and is dedicated to the issues that directly affect women in the workplace. We work to involve women in improving policies addressing pay equity, work/family issues, sexual harassment, discrimination, welfare, unemployment and protections for temporary and part-time workers.

Our mission is to build a movement to achieve economic justice, by engaging directly affected women to improve working conditions.

Our vision is an economically just world where poverty and discrimination have been eliminated, the contributions of women are recognized and valued, and all women and their families thrive.

9to5 is committed to:

• Winning family-friendly policies to help working people balance responsibilities at home and on the job.
• Making nonstandard jobs voluntary and equitable so that those who work part-time or as temps receive fair pay and benefits.
• Eliminating workplace discrimination through educating about legal rights on the job, monitoring enforcement agencies, and expanding anti-discrimination laws.
• Opposing punitive welfare policies and backing those that allow women to be self sufficient while supporting their families.
  

Board Members’ Responsibilities:

• All Board members should be familiar and agree with the purpose and goals of the organization, and fairly and accurately represent them to the public.
• Make every effort to attend and participate in regular Board meetings each month, emergency Board meetings, chapter events, activities and campaigns. If unable to attend a Board meeting, Board members should notify a Co-Chairwoman or staff member prior to the meeting if possible.
• Be familiar with issues that will come before the Board, and upon which you will be expected to make decisions for the organization. Read all material sent out by the chapter chair. Prepare reports on area of responsibility when assigned.
• Actively participate in fundraising activities and be responsible for reviewing fiscal policy.
• Participate in Board planning retreat and set goals and timelines for organization’s programs and activities.
• Be as visible as possible. Help build the organization by actively recruiting new members and training new leadership.
• Agree to abide by the Code of Ethics.

Code of Ethics For Chapter Members:

• Each Member is equally important. All opinions are welcome.
• Disagreement is healthy. We agree to express concerns or anger directly with each other and are willing to accept the feedback. We seek to do this in a caring, non-destructive way, avoiding generalizations, accusations, and abusive language. If necessary, the Co-Chairwomen of the Board and/or other Board Members may facilitate the discussion.
• We seek to create an atmosphere where everyone can contribute, where quiet members are encouraged and involved by others, where opinions and feelings are shared openly, and where no one person dominates the meeting.

9to5 Annual Leadership Conference a Success!

by Helen Bushnell, 9to5 member and activist

From April 24-27, I had the great opportunity to travel with the 9to5 Colorado Chapter to Washington, D.C. for the 9to5 Annual Leadership Conference and the Making it Work Conference, sponsored by the Family Values at Work Consortium and the National Partnership for Women and Families. The Making it Work Conference brought together activists from around the country, all working to pass workplace flexibility policies, like paid sick days, in their individual states and at the federal level.

All the events at both conferences were engaging, especially the small group activities at the 9to5 Annual Leadership Conference on Sunday. I met people from all over the country. Some of them are facing some of the same difficulties that I am. Avis Williams, a member from California, retired early a few years ago. Like me, she is now trying to get back into the US workforce after having been away from it for a while. Like me, she is not finding it easy.

Other people have different challenges. Christina DeHaro, a member from California, is a single mother who struggles with a climate that is hostile to children. She know helps single mothers speak to California’s legislators about the support that they and their children need.

Probably the most empowering part of the conference came at the end on Tuesday when all of Colorado’s members were filling the conference room in Senator Bennet’s office to talk with a staff member about work-family balance and passing legislation that helps working families. Through the Making It Work Conference, we were joined by other organizations from the Paid Sick Days Colorado Coalition. Both Bridget Kaminetsky, 9to5 staff member, and LaTerrell Bradford, 9to5 board member, talked about their personal experiences. They compared the benefits of having paid sick days with the fear that comes from being sick and not having them.

One of the participants at Monday’s Making It Work Conference mentioned that the biggest benefit to having paid sick days is not having to worry about losing her job.

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to meet people from all over the country and hear their stories, and I look forward to continued work with the 9to5 Colorado Chapter to pass paid sick days for all workers!

More Than Cards and Flowers, Mom Needs Paid Time Off

Gloria Dennis had been employed by a college in the Midwest for three years when she became pregnant. She took leave after the birth of her daughter Alicia Rae — 12 weeks, unpaid. Her co-workers showered the family with welcoming gifts. But as a new mom, what she really wanted was paid time off to care for her baby.

“My greatest joy would’ve been to stay home for a year. But there’s just no way we could have afforded that.” Instead, she took the 12 weeks unpaid leave and pieced together a total of 14 weeks by using sick days and vacation time, hoping all the while that the family had no emergencies and that no one got sick.

The predicament they faced is all too common for American families.

Most countries provide at least 10 weeks of paid leave for new mothers. Some countries provide up to a year. Only four provide no paid parental leave at all — and the United States is one of them.

But all moms should be able to stay home to care for a new baby and there is no time like the season that celebrates mothers to push paid family leave to the front burner.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 was a significant step forward for working families because it granted workers the right to take up to 12 weeks off to care for a new child or take care of a sick family member. Unfortunately, it also had several limitations. It applies only to workplaces with 50 or more employees, there are lots of restrictions on its use, and, worst of all, it provides only for unpaid leave. Many families cannot afford to take FMLA leave because they cannot afford the loss of income that would result.

Even for those workers who get some compensation during maternity leave — and about 16% of companies provide it — the norm tends to be a patchwork of unused sick or vacation days and a significant chunk of time unpaid, despite the obvious benefits of paid leave.

Paid family leave improves infant health. Babies have more bonding time during the period of critical early development and their mothers are more able to breastfeed, reducing childhood illness and the risk of childhood obesity. Paid family leave and time off before returning to work is also healthier for mothers.

There are benefits of paid leave beyond even motherhood. Paid family leave allows seniors and the chronically ill to be independent longer, recover faster, and stay out of nursing homes. Studies show that businesses also benefit from paid leave because it reduces turnover costs and helps workers stay attached to their jobs.

In these tough economic times, everyone is compromised by the lack of paid family leave in the U.S.

But there’s hope.

The legislatures of five states are currently exploring the possibility of employee-funded arrangements that would provide compensation to take time off to care for an ill family member or to bond with a new child. In addition, President Obama’s 2011 budget would establish a $50 million State Paid Leave Fund within the Department of Labor that would provide competitive grants to help states cover start-up costs. The Budget also provides resources to improve the collection of data related to the intersection of work and family responsibilities. It must be approved.

We get mixed messages about women, work, and family. We believe it’s in a child’s best interest to be with mother when they’re very young and we also believe it’s the responsibility of both parents to contribute to the economic well being of families. Still, we continue to hold back from putting policies in place that allow women like Gloria Dennis, who now has a second child on the way, to succeed in both the workplace and at home.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, isn’t it time to enact policies that provide support for mothers – and fathers – who want to be both good parents and effective family breadwinners?

Isn’t it time America had a paid parental leave policy?

Linda Meric is Executive Director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women.

Closing the wage gap

Today, April 20, people across Colorado, and the nation, will observe Equal Pay Day 2010 - representing the point when women's wages finally catch up to men's wages from last year.

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, women who work in full-time, year-round jobs earn, on average, 77 cents to every $1 earned by men working in full-time, year-round jobs.

For women of color, the wage gap is even wider. In 2008, the earnings for African American women were 67.9 percent of men's earnings and Latinas" earnings were 58 percent of men's.

In Colorado, women's earnings generally exceed the national average by a penny or so. But this is no great cause for celebration - especially in these tough times when every penny counts. As those lost pennies add up, women and their families are being shortchanged thousands of dollars a year and hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

Reaching pay equity means more now than ever before.

According to the Center for American Progress report, "A Woman's Nation Changes Everything," women are now the breadwinner or co-breadwinner in two-thirds of all American families. With more women in the workforce, and more families reliant upon women's paychecks to make ends meet, it's clear to see how all of us - women and men - have such a huge stake in eliminating the wage gap.

The good news is that there are pending state and federal actions that would positively impact the pay gap now.

In Colorado, we're working to establish a permanent state Pay Equity Commission. Nationally, we are hopeful for the Paycheck Fairness Act.

The statewide effort grows from the nonpartisan Colorado Pay Equity Commission, created in 2007. That Commission brought a diverse group of stakeholders together to analyze the pay gap and identify solutions. One of the key recommendations was to create a permanent Pay Equity Commission to further focus on the problem, monitor pay equity progress and work toward solutions in the state. It's anticipated that a proposal to do so will be introduced this year.

Nationally, women were earning a mere 59 cents for every $1 a man earned when the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963. Enforcement of the Equal Pay Act, and other civil rights laws, has helped narrow the wage gap, but huge disparities remained. In 2009, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act was signed into law, helping ensure that victims of discrimination have fair access to the courts. But we're not there yet.

Additional steps are needed.

One such step, the Paycheck Fairness Act, would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, enhance remedies, prohibit retaliation against workers who share wage information, and provide the government with new tools to monitor and address pay inequities. Passage is critical -- particularly in these economically perilous times when the self-sufficiency of women and their families is so at risk.

LaTerrell Bradford - a Denver woman who testified about pay inequity before the Colorado Legislature - calls equal pay a "non-negotiable." She was working as part of an all-female support team when a man was hired in the same job classification. Her supervisor - a woman - discovered that he was to earn much more than any of the women were presently earning. She went to human resources and the company agreed to pay everyone at that higher rate. "It would not have been fair," Bradford says, "nor legal, to sit next to him, do the exact same work and have him be paid more."

Are women workers really worth less than men? Any American of good conscience would say "no." We must ensure that our laws and workplace practices say "no" as well by ensuring family-flexible workplace policies, basic labor standards like paid sick days and, yes, an end to the wage gap.

Women and their families just cannot afford to wait any longer. We must tighten wage disparity laws now to ensure equity for every worker.

Linda A. Meric is National Director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women.

Paid Sick Days Podcast

Check out this great podcast about the paid sick days effort in Colorado!

9to5 Colorado Board Member Rev. Dawn Riley Duval and 9to5 Colorado Organizer Erin Bennett talk about the need for paid sick days in Colorado and how guaranteeing paid sick days for all workers will ensure healthy communities, healthy families and healthy workplaces.

Why Join the Movement?

Discrimination still exists. Poverty still haunts us. Racism confronts us everyday. We still struggle for equality and justice. These and many more reasons are why we must build a movement to strengthen the lives of working families.

Members have joined 9to5 because harassment and discrimination has existed in our personal lives, and we are now looking for justice. Many people first enter 9to5’s office seeking resources in the way of a lawyer for a sexual harassment charge or are seeking advice on how to file a claim of unemployment insurance. 9to5’s staff and members can provide these resources to individuals but many are not satisfied with this answer—they want change that will last beyond the individual.

Join 9to5 today to work towards systemic change and to start to build power with others—right in your own community. We can build a movement together.

International Women's Day -- How does America Compare?

by Helen Bushnell, 9to5 member and volunteer

A couple of years ago, I was teaching English at a middle school in a small town in Korea. After I had been there a year and a half, I had to leave because my mother broke her leg. Now, if I had been Korean, I would not have lost my job because I had to go back to the US to take care of my mother for a few weeks. In Korea, family is very important, and taking off to take care of family problems is often encouraged.

In Korea, maternity leave is paid, and people can seek help through the Labor Board if they are not paid correctly, loose out on a promotion or are even fired. There is currently a greater pay gap between men and women in Korea than in the US, but there is no difference in the wages that mothers and women without children make. A Korean woman with young children is on average closer in salary to her male coworkers than an American woman.

Like most developed countries, Korea offers health care to all its citizens. This makes it easier to handle illnesses since people can see a doctor the same day they get sick without having to go to the Emergency Room.

Most European countries offer even more benefits. Many countries offer paid leave to both men and women to take care of a newborn.

Yesterday was International Women's Day -- we should all take this week to reflect on the policies in America that affect women and families and on the disparities between other countries and our own. In America, it should not be the sole responsibility of women to care for their families; men also need to step up and share in this responsibility.

In the following video, one of 9to5's members in Atlanta speaks about her efforts to get her male employees to take care of their family responsibilities.

Why is the U.S. so far behind?

by Erin Bennett, Colorado Organizer for 9to5

Today, on International Women’s Day, I’ve thought a lot about the issues we work on at 9to5, especially compared to how the rest of the developed world operates. Two particular stories come to mind…

In February of 2009, 9to5 Colorado was fortunate enough to have three visitors from a women’s organization in Osaka, Japan. They were so interested to hear about all of our work, especially around paid leave. They informed us that in Japan, women can take 3 PAID days off a month for menstruation, if they wish – so they were obviously shocked that we don’t even have a standard of paid sick days for all. They told us that not many women take advantage of this opportunity, but it is there if needed.

Paid sick days are very much the same in our own country. On average, workers who do have access to paid sick days use only a couple days a year – much less than the amount they accrue. So, why accrue so many days? Just in case, like a rainy day fund. You never know when you might get sick and need to be in the hospital, or when you might get H1N1 flu and be out of work for two weeks, or when your kids get sick and you have to stay home with them.

At the very beginning of 2010, we started a Facebook group called “Support Paid Sick Days Colorado.” A man from Germany, Karl Mund, joined our group and posted his story on our wall:

As a shop-steward for most of my work-life in Germany (East and West), I never had to argue about questions like sick leave. My father's generation already succeeded in that fight, when West Germany got a law securing fully paid sick leave for 6 weeks per year with job security.

In this respect, I consider it a shame for the State of Colorado (and similarly other US-states) if such an ultra-modest demand as yours is not met with immediate approval.

Anyway, a healthy workforce is in the own interest of employers. Were they really smart, they would put pressure on State legislature even more than you folks do in order to get a decent legislation for healthy workers in healthy workplaces!

Keep up your fight, and be sure, you have my solidarity!

As the 2010 Legislative session began, this support from someone half-way around the world was much-needed motivation! An issue that Paid Sick Days is a no-brainer for the women from Osaka and for Karl. Why can’t it be for businesses and legislators in Colorado?

Why is the U.S. the only country in the developed world without Paid Sick Days? On International Women’s Day this year, we need to look to other countries and examine why we are so behind and what we can do to catch up.