By Cecelia De La Torre
The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) National Executive Board meeting was held in Baltimore, MD in March 2011. Anna Bayless, Chris Habecker, Jennifer Gray and I were appointed to represent IBEW 1245.
We started our first day by lobbying lawmakers at our nation’s capitol in Washington DC. Appointments were made, we separated into groups by area and started our trek up to Congressional Hill.
We met with Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-11) to ask him to sponsor the Healthy Families Act, S.984/H.R. 1876. The Healthy Families Act would allow workers to earn 7 paid sick days so that they can address the health needs of their families and themselves. It would also provide paid leave for workers to recover from the trauma of domestic violence, seek treatment and pursue legal options.
Our group explained that this affects all people–men, women, families, the economy and local communities. We also thanked him for his support on his sponsorship with the Postal Service Reform Bill.
Representative McNerney thanked us for our visit and told us that IBEW is a great organization and that we are always on the right side of the issues. He also advised us he would get back to us while in recess in the upcoming weeks.
Our second visit of the day was with IBEW Local 11 sisters to visit Rep Judy Chu (CA-32). We thanked her for her support and sponsorship. We also spoke to her about legislation coming up for bullying and hazing in the military. (Thank you Jennifer Gray for volunteering to be the note taker for our Lobby Day visits.)
The evening consisted of “The Working Women’s Award Celebration” which recognizes activists, politicians and others who have rendered outstanding service to women and the labor community. Honorees included U.S. Secretary Hilda Solis, Rep Judy Chu (CA-32) as well as Ohio State Senator Nina Turner.
Meetings and events kept us busy as we discussed and were educated on important topics such as:
- The Wages Act, H.R. 631
- Paycheck Fairness Act, S.797?H.R. 1519
- Healthy Families Act, S. 984/H.R. 1876
- The US Postal Service Pension Obligation and Restoration Act of 2011
- Voter Suppression and Voter ID Laws
- The US Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 3596
We had a variety of discussions, panelists and speakers such as Margarida Jorge, National Field Director for Health Care for America Now. Margarida spoke of the benefits that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will bring to all, as well as the attacks that have been made on the law and upcoming challenges that we face.
American women vote and women are the majority voters, yet it seems that women’s issues are the focus of attacks these days. The ACA was passed in March 2010 and the attacks on this law began the very next day after it was signed. The ACA is important to women and most seniors are women. Women usually are the ones that handle the medical insurance and deal with the insurance companies. Women make and keep appointments for children and/or parents.
The final day was focused on voter registration, education and awareness. We broke out into smaller groups to brainstorm an action plan to bring back to our local CLUW chapters, also making sure to partner with the Central Labor Councils. 2012 is an important year for us all.
Cecelia De La Torre is Treasurer for Local 1245.