Activistas

We Were Right!! Family Leave Act Covers Too Few

I love that there are people who crunch enough numbers to support what we mamas already know, the anecdotal evidence that we discuss on urbanMamas and just about everywhere else. As we know, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) doesn't work for so many mamas because so many new parents work for firms with fewer than 50 employees or have held their job for fewer than a year.  I understand that compromises are needed to pass legislation, but according to a recent analysis by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, FMLA doesn't reach a whole lotta parents - supporting the need for its expansion not only to paid leave, but to workers at small firms, and workers new to their firms.  The holes are so big - as they say  - you could drive a backhoe through 'em.

Here's how these number-crunching wonks summarize this sorry state of affairs:

Two provisions in the Family and Medical Leave Act exclude a significant share of those who need unpaid family and medical leave. First, the requirement of a full year with the current employer to make use of leave excludes many first-time parents from coverage. Second, the requirement of having at least 50 employees also sharply reduces those eligible for leave. Both factors may lead to “job-lock.”

Dine for Darfur on March 4th

From Mercy Corps:

Join us next Tuesday, March 4 for a fun and easy way to support Mercy Corps’ work in Darfur.

More than 100 restaurants, bars and coffee shops throughout Oregon and Washington are teaming up for Dine for Darfur. Order a latte, a meal or a pint at any participating establishment, and 25 percent of your bill will go to Mercy Corps’ relief efforts in Darfur.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner and/or happy hour!

Last year – in Seattle alone – Dine for Darfur raised over $70,000 for Mercy Corps’ work, and brought thousands of people out of their homes to show support. This year, with the participation of restaurants throughout Washington and Oregon, the event is sure to grow exponentially.

Join the effort, and help us show the world what our community can do.  Call your friends and make your reservations now. For an up-to-date list of participants that are being added daily, visit www.dinefordarfur.org

Reminder! Share Your Mamagenda with Pdx Candidates

Now's your chance, mamas, don't miss it! Join us to yuk it up with a few city council candidates about family-friendly policies.  See you there, and bring your ideas!  Or just add 'em in the comments section.  We just know you've got great ideas for ways to make this city an even better place to raise a family.  RSVP in the comments if you're gonna be there.  And remember, this is about family policies, so little family members are very welcome (leave the cat @ home, though).

Can't make it on a Thursday downtown @ Noon?  No worries, there'll be another chance to meet a few others on a Saturday morning in the coming weeks.  We're still scheduling.

Again, a big thanks to council candidate John Branam for getting this ball rolling!

You can do it, New Jersey!! Set a good example!!

Why does New Jersey always get a bad rap?  The accent?  Trenton?  Well, it has the chance to earn my respect mamas, for doing something we Oregonians couldn't swing: establishing a paid family leave program - 6 whole weeks of it!!  It'd have a similar structure to the one proposed here in 2007, and similar drawbacks: it'd funded by employee payroll taxes, apply to businesses with 50+ employees, and was scaled back form 10 to 6 weeks to satisfy businesses (who aren't paying for it -ugh!!).  Though in all fairness, we came really, really close last year thanks to some seriously dedicated state legislators. 

Today's NYT sums up the (seriously) sad state of affiars on paid family leave in this country, and strongly encourages New Jersey to be 3rd in the nation on this important policy change:

Sad state of affiars: Members of Congress and state legislatures talk about family values. But unlike those in other developed countries, they have not done much to help workers with new babies or sick family members.

New Jersery to the rescue: The New Jersey Legislature is in position to become just the third state to address this problem. A bill approved by a Senate committee in Trenton would extend up to six weeks of paid leave to workers to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or a sick child, spouse, domestic partner or parent. The full Senate and Assembly should approve the bill, which Gov. Jon S. Corzine says he would sign.

Babies at work: Would You? Could You? Did You?

Just this weekend the kids and I were dawdling in my favorite bookstore, A Children's Place on NE Fremont.  I really can't get out of there without a book (this time: Scholastic's "If you lived with the Indians of the NW Coast").  The very friendly and knowledgeable woman who rang us up had her two young kids (and curiously her husband, too!) with her at work.  Sure didn't bother me, but then it seemed to fit the type of business - kids in a kids' bookstore, why not?   And on a (not) recent (enough) trip to Mexico, my 5-year old asked several times "how come so many mamas have their kids with them at work?".  An obvious difference compared to the stores we frequent here.

So how come we don't have our babies at work?  Or do we?  I, for one, couldn't get a single thing done with my children in my office (truth is out: it's actually a drab, windowless cube).  I've tried several times on desperate, deadline-driven occasions and it's terrible, stressful, markers flying, paper clips everywhere.  Even a sleeping infant at work stressed me out the few times I did it because I feared they would wake up, like, every five seconds.

But this baby @ work thing has been getting some press lately - in Time magazine and in the Peaceful Revolution blog.  What's your take?  Do-able?  Desirable?  Healthy for the workplace (not all, of course)?  What with all the co-workers cooing (and xeroxing my son's hands!!), who 's getting anything done?  But the Governor of Kansas did it - yup, the Governor!  Have you brought your baby to work?  Been annoyed/pleased when your office mate does?  Is this just a backwards way of dealing with the paltry family leave policies we have in the U.S.? 

Lions, Tigers & Loaded Guns??? Oh My.

OK, so there aren't really lions and tigers in our national parks.  Unless mountain lions count?  And bears, oh yeah.  Kept me awake plenty of nights in my flimsy tent.  But mamas, at least my fears were mostly related to the wild things that rarely cross my path.   Loaded, concealed guns is definitely not on my list of things I need to fret about while camping - with. my. kids.  Oh, but apparently it COULD BE. 

The National Parks Conservation Association (love them!) is working hard to prevent this from happening.  And they need our help to let Congress know that this is so not OK.  Here's what the NPCA says about it:

That's right, if Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has his way, anyone and everyone would be allowed to carry loaded weapons into national parks. After attempting to amend a package of public lands bills he's been holding up for nearly a year - and subsequently being denied the opportunity, Coburn decided to introduce a free-standing bill to allow loaded weapons in parks. Our national parks are no place for loaded, ready-to-fire weapons. This bill is full of untruths: guns aren't actually prohibited in national parks, they just have to be unloaded and put away. And it could forever change visitor experience, threaten already endangered wildlife and further cripple the Park Service for years to come.

Not a fan of loaded guns in national parks?  Me either.  Let your Senators in Congress know that you don't want them to support this nutty bill - it's S.2619.  It's super easy to send an e-mail to Smith & Wyden, thanks to NPCA. If you're interested in learning more about the NPCA's work, or checking out its action center, go to it!

I NEED CHILDCARE: quality, affordable, convenient

Is it too much to ask?  I have been a full-time working parent in all my life as a parent.  I have always worked downtown.  I have always struggled so hard to find quality, affordable childcare in a downtown location.  Perhaps I can find a Kindercare or other corporate-run daycare, and the programs are typically priced for corporate workers.  There is still a dearth of decent affordable childcare downtown.

There are many reasons why it makes sense for me to have my children at daycares in facilites close to the office.  As a nursing mother, I could go nurse during breaks.  I could also drop by during a break to just peak in, say "hi", give a kiss, or just catch a glimpse of the little folk as they nap.  But, here in Portland, there is still a dearth of downtown childcare facilities.

We've previously mentioned that there are efforts underway to elevate issues that affect families in Central Portland and to make them visible to city officials.  Some city folk have really been taken by this concept: is there really a lack of decent childcare for all the working parents in downtown Portland?  Why?  Are you a parent who works downtown?  Where have you found suitable childcare -- is it downtown or perhaps closer to home?

Environmental Health for Families: Take the Pledge!

Did I mention the free groovy tee-shirt for your kid??  Yup.  Take the pledge, get the tee.  Not that that's why we're doing it, though....

Doing What?  Taking the Oregon Environmental Council Family Pledge, natch!  We're gonna make three changes in or around our home, because a healthy and safe environment starts at home!  And don't worry, mamas, you get to choose which three changes to make  - there are 11 to choose from.  No-one's dictating what you have to do differently - except you.  Chinese New Year resolutions!

The Toxic Substances Control Act: Overhaul It!

You probably know about the Healthy Toys database because  - unlike the feds - those folks actually test toys so parents can buy them with confidence.  Plus, we told you about 'em back in December, festive season of toy shopping.  In addition to doing the government's work, the good folks behind all this goodness also have a great online action center.  Their current campaign calls for Congress to overhaul the 30-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act...of 1976.  Yikes, that is old.  Almost as old as this mama. 

Why overhaul it, you ask?  Cuz it's old, mamas.  No really.  The Healthy Toy folks describe it this way:

The ...Toxic Substances Control Act is outdated, according to the non-partisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).  Because children can be exposed to chemicals from many sources, and the effects of some chemicals are cumulative, it's important to look at the whole picture concerning chemicals and children's health.

In 2005, the GAO found: the U.S. EPA has limited data on existing chemicals including toxicity and exposure information; EPA lacks data to ensure that potential health and environmental risks of new chemicals are identified; Chemical companies are not required to develop and submit toxicity information to EPA unless EPA issues a rule; EPA has used its authority to require testing for fewer than 200 or the 62,000 chemicals in commerce since 1979; For "new" chemicals, "EPA estimates that . . . only about 15 percent include health or safety test data"; Only 5 chemical groups out of 62,000 have been restricted by EPA in 29 years.

Ready to sound the call for overhaul? Good.  Send a quick e-mail asking for hearings to update the bill and voila, call sounded.  All in a day's work, mamas, all in a day's work.  Now about that laundry...

Sharing Your Mamagenda ~ 02.28.08

I know, I know, we're all wrapped up in national politics these days. Hard not to be what with all the excitement - even if we've been benched by our May 20th primary (boohoo).  So why not dive in to some elections that we CAN participate in, mamas?  There are loads of local and state elections this Spring (check out our new Elections & Voting sidebar), and thankfully, some of the candidates have got us mamas on their minds.  In the city of Portland alone, there are three important races: one for mayor and two for city council.

It isn't every day that we get the ear of a potential city councilor, especially one who invited us right to the table - and might actually be able to DO something about it.  But it's true, mamas, candidate John Branam did just that.  And there are a few others who followed suit, including Chris Smith, Jeff Bissonnette, and Nick Fish.  Sho Dezono, too - he's running for mayor.  Thanks to John for kicking off a great thing.

What do YOU think the city of Portland should be doing for families?  Not sure exactly what the city of Portland CAN do for families?  To name just a few: there's parks & community centers, affordable housing, urban renewal funds to be spent, and safe streets for walking & cycling. 

Be There:  Meet John Branam, Chris Smith, and Jeff Bissonnette and tell them what the city can do that's important to your family.  Thursday, 02.28.08, Noon to 1:30 at the downtown Stumptown  at 128 SW 3rd, between Ash & Pine.  Kids welcome, natch.  We're still scheduling the others, and plan to post a city candidate Q & A on family issues soon enough.

Can't Make it?  No worries, mamas!  Just share your list in the comments section 'cause we're gonna print it out and give it to them.  So easy.

Calling all candidates!  We mamas will sit down and talk about the mamagenda with any candidate who asks - call us opportunists with a lot to say!  Just e-mail us at activistas [at] gmail [dot] com and we'll get you on our dance card.