VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE!
PLEASE HELP SUPPORT!
"In unity there is strength. We can move mountains when we're united. Without unity, we are victims" - Bill Bailey
CLUW Members and Friends,
During the State of the Union, President Obama issued a compelling call for a nation that is more family friendly and fair. We know you agree and we were pretty happy to hear him endorse the principle that CLUW and our coalition partners have been working toward!
America needs the FAMILY Act to guarantee that people have paid leave when they need to care for new children, recover from serious illness, or care for seriously ill family members. We need the Healthy Families Act so workers throughout this country can earn the paid sick days they need to recover from illness and care for sick children and family members. CLUW adopted a resolution supporting the FAMILY Act at our recent convention.
The President said it’s time to leave ‘Mad Men’<https://nationalpartnership.secure.force.com/track/apex/sbm__sbx_emaillinktracking?id=a1bA0000000UXIt&cmid=00vA000000aFAclIAG> attitudes and policies behind and adopt programs that allow people to hold jobs and care for their families. And today presents a great opportunity to take action.
FMLA anniversary plans for Today, Wednesday, February 5th Today is the FMLA’s “coming of age” 21st anniversary. Buoyed by the President’s call to Congress and the successful Telephone Town Hall last week (see the P.S. at the bottom for more on that!), let’s take this opportunity to call for passage of the FAMILY Act. Some groups will be doing local events, and below are activities suggested by the FAMILY Act Media/Research Working Group.
1. Tweet about it – The theme of this tweet storm is “Share Your Story.” In 140 characters, share a story about you, a constituent, member or friend who has seen the impact of not having paid family leave or the benefits of having it.
o What: #FMLA21 Tweet Storm
o When: Wednesday, February 5th, 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET o Hashtags: #FMLA21, #FAMILYAct, #paidleave o Sample Promo Tweet: The FMLA is turning 21! Join us for a #FMLA21 tweet storm on 2/5 from 3-4pm ET to call for the crucial next step: the #FAMILYAct.
o See more sample tweets here!<https://nationalpartnership.secure.force.com/track/apex/sbm__sbx_emaillinktracking?id=a1bA0000000UXKa&cmid=00vA000000aFAclIAG>
2. Share one of these shareable images.<https://nationalpartnership.secure.force.com/track/apex/sbm__sbx_emaillinktracking?id=a1bA0000000UXIj&cmid=00vA000000aFAclIAG>
Let everyone know what you have planned. Click here<https://nationalpartnership.secure.force.com/track/apex/sbm__sbx_emaillinktracking?id=a1bA0000000UXJI&cmid=00vA000000aFAclIAG> to see what’s going on around the country and on social media.
If you are not a social media whiz – here is a great resource guide from IATSE to get you started:
http://www.iatse-intl.org/member-resources/social-media-guide
P.S. The Let’s Talk About It: Advancing Women and Families in 2014 National Telephone Town Hall on January 29th was an unqualified success<http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2014/01/31/democratic-women-want-equal-pay-for-valentines-day>! Nearly 16,000 people were on the call and 1700 people were talking about it on Twitter. You can listen to the whole event here<http://www.cwfny.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Cynthia-Nixon-Nancy-Pelosi-Telephone-Town-Hall-Recording-1-30-14.mp3>. We know that CLUW’s National Vice President, Vicki Sawicki (NALC) got an opportunity to ask a question. So if you did not have a chance to hear her and the rest of the event now is your opportunity to listen in.
Here are the participating organizations for the Town Hall Call: 9to5, A Better Balance, AAUW, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Alliance for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union, Campaign for Community Change, Caring Across Generations, Caring Economy Campaign, Center for Law and Social Policy, Center for Popular Democracy, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Crittenton Women’s Union, CT Women's Education and Legal Fund, Direct Care Alliance, Economic Opportunity Institute, Economic Policy Institute, Equal Pay Coalition NYC, Equal Rights Advocates, Family Equality Council, Family Forward Oregon, Family Values @ Work, Feminist Majority, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Healthy Tacoma, Institute for Science and Human Values, Inc., Interfaith Worker Justice, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Labor Project for Working Families, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, Maine Women’s Policy Center, MomsRising, Montana Equal Pay for Equal Work Task Force, National Alliance for Caregiving, National Association of Mothers' Centers, National Association of Social Workers, National Committee on Pay Equity, National Consumers League, National Council of Jewish Women, National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Action Fund, National Organization for Women, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women's Law Center, NC Families Care, New Jersey Citizen Action, New Jersey Time to Care Coalition, New York Paid Leave Coalition, Organizing for Action, OWL-The Voice of Midlife and Older Women, PathWays PA, Progressive States Network, Restaurant Opportunities Center, RESULTS, RI Women's Fund, Rockefeller Family Fund, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), TakeAction Minnesota, The Voter Participation Center, UltraViolet, USAction, Washington Work and Family Coalition, Women AdvaNCe, Women Employed, and Working Families.
Thank you
Carol S. Rosenblatt
Executive Director
Coalition of Labor Union Women
815 16th St. NW 2nd floor south
Washington, DC 20006
phone: 202-508-6951
fax: 202-508-6968
www.cluw.org<http://www.cluw.org/>
csrosenblatt@cluw.org<mailto:csrosenblatt@cluw.org>