October 2003
Eastern Regional Women's Conference — Register Now!
The department is preparing for the Eastern Regional Women's Conference, which will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, from November 21-23 at the Sheraton Boston. This will be an expanded version of the Western Regional Conference held in San Francisco in June. We are all looking forward to a huge success in Boston. There will be workshops, exciting plenaries, addresses by President Gerald W. McEntee and Secretary/Treasurer William Lucy, panel discussions, a reception, a rally and time to explore Boston. It is a great opportunity for us to expand our skills and to network with other AFSCME women. Registration forms are now available on the AFSCME Women's Rights website and the registration deadline is October 30th.
When We Vote, We Win!
The AFL-CIO recently issued a new report, The Women's Vote, that focuses on working women and the women's vote. Historically, the Democratic Party has relied on women voters to win elections. However, women's support has decreased over the years. In 2002, the Democrats won the women's vote by only two points.
Much is at stake for working women in the 2004 election. Since 2001, unemployment has risen 41% among women and 74% among single mothers. Although 82% of working parents feel "used up at the end of the workday," the Bush Administration wants to take away overtime pay, gut the Fair Labor Standards Act and end the 40-hour workweek. Women also have less in pensions and savings and rely more on Social Security than men. Yet, the Bush Administration is pushing to privatize Social Security. While working women cite affordable health care as their number one concern, the Bush Administration wants to reduce access to health care for low-income women and children.
Union turnout and the women's vote are keys to the outcome of the 2004 election. If you are not registered to vote, visit the AFSCME Women's website and get registered today. We encourage you to get involved locally in registering others in your community and volunteering for an election campaign.
Women's Second Shift
A 2002 study of the changing workplace conducted by the Families and Work Institute showed that women in dual-earner households carry greater responsibility for cleaning and childcare in 70 percent of households, with women spending 15 additional hours per workweek on these activities. Although men's daily participation in household chores and childcare has gone up from 1.3 hours a day in 1977 to 2.0 hours a day currently, long-standing gender-role stereotypes are still affecting dual-earner families. The study also found that both women and men are working longer hours than they did in 1970.
The survey also found that technological advances are also affecting working families. Nearly two-thirds of wage and salaried workers use computers every day on their jobs. This technology has been a mixed blessing for families. Cell-phones, email, pagers and other forms of technology allow some workers to better balance work and family, but the employees who use technology at higher rates, also experience more "job-to-home" spillover.
Women, Families and Poverty
At the end of September, the U.S. Census Bureau released a report on U.S. poverty rates. U.S. household income fell for the third year in a row, down 1.1% to $42,409. The number of people living in severe poverty increased from 13.4 million in 2001 to 14.1 million in 2002. In 2002, a person younger than 65 earning less than $9,359 a year was considered living in poverty. For a family of four, the poverty line was drawn at $18,244 annually.
Women and minorities were the hardest hit. Single mothers' unemployment rate is 8.4%, up from 7.6% last year and 6.2 % in March 2001. This unemployment rate is higher than that of men and married or childless women. With unemployment at its highest level in almost a decade, competition for low paying jobs is fierce. In addition, services such as childcare that have enabled many single mothers to work, are being cut. Women are especially vulnerable to a rise in layoffs because they are less likely to receive unemployment insurance. When they do qualify, their benefits are often less than men's because their wages are typically lower. Currently, women account for 59% of workers making less than $8 per hour.
Women in the Workforce
The National Study of the Changing Workforce conducted by the Families and Work Institute, found that the proportion of men and women in the wage workforce is now nearly equal, 51% men and 49% women. Yet, it was found that two-in-five men still feel that a woman's place is in the home. The study also found that although women have achieved increasingly higher levels of education and have had more success climbing the corporate ladder, women's annual earnings are still significantly less then men's, $36,716 versus $52,908. The study concluded that possible reasons for this difference include women's higher likelihood of working part-time and having greater responsibilities for care of their children and elderly family members.
New Nominee for Courts Bad for Women
President Bush has nominated another right-wing candidate to the bench and the Senate held a hearing on her confirmation on October 22nd. Janice Rogers Brown, a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is currently a Justice on the California Supreme Court. She has a frightening record on women's rights and civil rights. In speeches, Justice Brown has stressed an ultra-conservative philosophy that would weaken equal protection under the law and the right to privacy. In her opinions, she has taken a position that would undermine legal protections against sexual harassment in the workplace, weaken affirmative action, narrowly define anti-discrimination protections and has tried to undermine the right to choose. Justice Brown clearly has shown a lack of commitment to legal rights and principles of fundamental importance to women and simply should not be confirmed.
Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride
To impress on Congress the need to reform immigration policies, "freedom riders" embarked on a cross-country mission to call attention to the plight of immigrants. Eighteen busses deposited 900 riders in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, October 1st for two days of rallies and lobbying. AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson welcomed riders along with AFSCME and other union representatives. Chavez-Thompson declared, "We are here to change the laws of this land," referring to policies that have forced thousands of hard-working immigrants into underclass status. AFSCME members from California and Florida were among the riders. The riders then traveled to New York City for a rally on Saturday, October 4th.
Action Against the "USA Patriot Act"
Forty-five days after the September 11 attacks, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, with virtually no debate. This sweeping legislation took away key checks and protections on law enforcement and threatens our rights and freedoms as U.S. citizens. For example, under the Patriot Act, the government can now: 1) Search your home and office, take pictures, remove items, and not tell you. 2) Have broad access to any type of personal records without probable cause of a crime, such as what books you read, your personal finances, what you study, your purchases and your medical records. 3) Label you a "Terrorist" if you belong to certain activist groups. 4) Monitor your emails and what Internet sites you visit. 5) Take away your property without a hearing. 6) Spy on all Americans without justification. 7) Put immigrants in jail indefinitely without having to show they are "terrorists." 8) Wiretap you under a warrant that does not have your name on it. If you are interested in getting more information on the Patriot Act, visit the ACLU Safe and Free website.
Women's Rights Department Email List
Our website has been updated recently and now has more current and changing information. We encourage you to visit the website often for updates on new issues affecting women. Also, there has been a link added to access WomENews.
We are working to build a comprehensive contact email list and would like your help. Please forward this to other AFSCME members that might not have received it and let them know they should contact us via email so we can add them to our database. Write to womensrights@afscme.org and tell us you'd like to be added to the database. Please include your name, local/council/unit number, email address, and mailing address.
If you would prefer not to receive email updates from the Department, email us and ask to be removed from this list.
WomENews is produced by the Women's Rights Department and written by Sabrina Denney Bull.