On Thanksgiving Day we took a moment to be thankful for our country's Bill of Rights. Today, I stumbled across another Bill of Rights, and just like one of the original 13 states, I signed it. Though not with a quill, I must admit, as they did back in 1787. Since it's electronic, you too can sign this very on-point Bill of Rights. But before you do, check out the very cool organization that created it - Take Care Net. Wow, they've got it covered.
Work & Family Bill of Rights: How needed is this?? Here's how it starts:
Families face a shortfall of time and money for care. A majority of America's children have no one at home full-time to care for them, while others, including the elderly and people with disabilities, increasingly need care. Jobs divide employees into those with high pay, benefits, but long hours and little time for family or leisure, and those with low wages, few benefits, and insufficient flexibility and financial resources to care for their families. We can and should do better. Working families have fundamental rights to financially sustain and to care for themselves and their families. These rights include...
Hear, hear!! Don't be shy, sign it! There are plenty of individuals on the list. We signed on for Activistas today but it hasn't been added yet (let us know when you see us listed so we can see ourselves in with the greats: NOW, National Partnership for Women & Families, Moms Rising, and the list - thankfully - goes on!).
Election '08: They have done what I was dreaming of: asking the Presidential hopefuls to answer our questions! On 10.26 they sent out a survey, and next week on 12.13.07 they'll report out - we'll be sure to share. Survey topics included 'a wide spectrum of issues ranging from child care to various family and medical leave options to flexible work arrangements, wages and tax policies.' It is chock-a-block with just two option: support or oppose. I, for one, can hardly wait to see what they say. There are scorecards for many issues prepared by many advocacy organizations, but this is the one that tops my list this year.
Become a Take Care Net Member: This puts you on their e-mail list and allows you to help! Here's the kind of help they're after:
- Alert us to relevant newspaper op-eds/articles that need a response, write responses, incorporating messages we want to get out, and let us know what gets published. Similarly, we will suggest op-eds that should be written by TCN members.
- Respond to queries from congressional staffers regarding research relevant to pending legislation, and ask for both research citations, reports and op-eds on the topics.
- Provide us with two-page user-friendly descriptions of any research that would be helpful to policy-makers or grassroots activists working on paid leave, expanding early childhood education or other child care options, or wages for caregivers. These will be put on the web page.
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