Issues

September 2005

Katrina Disaster Challenges the Administration's Agenda

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina plowed through the Gulf Coast, claiming thousands of lives, and destroying families, homes, schools, and businesses. Relief efforts are costing about $700 million a day, and Administration officials believe that the cost to the federal government could exceed $100 billion. Many of the hurricane's victims, as well as working families around the nation question the Administration's preparedness in their response to the disaster, and what support victims can expect to receive in the coming months.

The affect of Katrina is being felt in the nation's capital as well. The aftermath of the hurricane is wreaking havoc on the administration's political agenda, and weakening their plans to dismantle American's social safety net. Now, more than ever, programs such as Social Security and Medicaid are critical to working women and working families.

The Congressional Budget Office predicts Katrina will cost the economy 400,000 jobs. This means that about 400,000 people are now unemployed and may have little or no means to support themselves. Thomas Kahn, staff director for Democrats of the House Budget Committee notes, "...this is the worst possible time to be cutting taxes for those at the very top and cutting the social safety net of those at the very bottom." The social safety net includes programs such as Social Security and Medicaid, which are critical to women and working families in the aftermath of disaster.

White House Officials concede that it is unlikely that Congress will push for transforming Social Security into a private accounts system this year. However the question remains if this hiatus is just a matter of fiscal sensibility or if lawmakers now realize that in order to support American's working families the government must commit to promoting and improving working family programs.

Women are the Voting Majority

Since 1920, the year women won the right to vote in the United States, women voters have played a critical role in the outcome of local, state and federal elections. According to a report published by the Center for Women in Politics (CAWP), women voters exceeded male voters by 8.8 million in the 2004 elections. In fact, more women than men have voted in every presidential election since 1964! Women are also voting for the winning candidate at a higher rate than men. Since 1980, a greater proportion of women than men voted for the winning candidate in presidential elections.

In 2004, approximately 75.6 million women were registered to vote and 67.3 million women voted in the Presidential election. In the same year, 66.4 million men were registered to vote, and 58.5 million men voted. Women also outvoted men within every racial and ethnic group, including African Americans, Latinos, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and whites.

For more information on women's voting trends, visit the CAWP webpage.

Protect the Family and Medical Leave Act!

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is being threatened, and we need your experience with using FMLA to demonstrate why it is so important and why its protections should not be weakened.

FMLA opponents are pushing to roll back the definition of a "serious health condition" and "intermittent leave," which will adversely affect millions of Americans who are seriously ill or need to care for an ill family member.

These proposed changes would limit the illnesses for which FMLA leave is permissible and force many workers to take more unpaid leave than they need to care for themselves or a loved one. AFSCME has joined a coalition of over 200 national organizations working to protect the FMLA.

We are currently helping to collect stories of people who have taken FMLA leave to illustrate the necessity and soundness of the law. It is critical for the Department of Labor, Congress, and the general public to hear the voices of those who have benefited from this important legislation.

If you have taken FMLA leave, please contact Taylor Hatcher from the National Partnership for Women & Families at taylorh@nationalpartnership.org or call (202) 986-2600 to share your story and help protect the FMLA.

Got Kids? Then You May Not Get a Job

Have you ever been asked during a job interview if you were married or had children? For job seekers in Pennsylvania, these are typical questions that any employer routinely asks prospective employees. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, these employers are not violating any Federal discrimination law so long as they ask both male and female job applicants. But, the answers to these questions can determine whether or not they get the job and disproportionately affect the economic success of working women and mothers.

For the past eleven years concerned women in Pennsylvania have been fighting to prohibit employment discrimination based on martial or familial status. Currently, two bills are in the state legislature that would make it illegal for employers to ask job applicants whether they are married or have children during the job interview process. With the cost of providing benefits such as health insurance skyrocketing, employers say they need to know what a prospective employee will cost them. However, mothers, particularly single mothers, often pay the greatest cost — getting shut out of good jobs. Negative gender stereotypes continue to play a big role in the way employers judge women workers. Research suggests that women are often viewed as being less committed to their work, less available for work than fathers or those without children, and a greater economic burden on employer-provided benefit programs.

Pennsylvania is not the only state where working women lose out! In fact, only 21 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have laws on their books that specifically outlaw questioning job applicants about their marital and/or familial status. To see where your state stands, go to the National Conference of State Legislatures website.

For more information or to get involved in the Pennsylvania campaign, please contact Kiki Peppard at kpeppard@ptd.net.

Nothing Trickling Down

A report released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau finds the poverty rate rose last year — despite overall growth in the economy. "It looks like the gains from the recovery [of the economy] haven't really filtered down," says Phillip Swagel, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research group in Washington, DC. Swagel believes any gains from economic growth in the past year have gone to the small group of individuals in the highest income bracket, not the majority of workers in the middle.

While household income remained relatively static between 2003 and 2004, women saw their real median earnings decline by 1 percent to $31,223. This is a setback for women in the workforce and their struggle to achieve pay parity with men. On average women earn only 77 cents for every dollar men earn and over $9,000 less than men in annual earnings. The report also finds that women who work in legal occupations, sales, healthcare, and technical jobs earn only 65 percent of what their male counterparts earn in these fields.

Working families were the hardest hit as the nation's poverty rate increased in 2004. An additional 1.1 million people were counted among America's poor — increasing the total to 37 million living in poverty. At the same time, the percentage of private employers providing health coverage to their employees fell from 63.6 percent in 2000 to 59.8 percent in 2004. Because of the rising cost of healthcare and the unwillingness of many employers to provide insurance, more families turned to the government for coverage under Medicaid. Many women and families, however, have no coverage at all. In 2004, 16 percent of the nation was uninsured.

While the Administration touts a growing economy, working women and their families continue to struggle for economic security. In the past year, income inequality has risen significantly, widening the gap between the nation's wealthy elite and working families. "The growth in the economy is not going to families," said Senator Jack Reed, (D-RI).

Unions are one of the greatest tools for combating this growing problem. Through unions, workers have increased access to health care insurance, pensions, wage equality and job security. Unions are the best anti-poverty program and help women and their families attain real economic security.

More Women in Congress

Last month Jean Schmidt (R-OH) was elected to the House of Representatives to replace Rep. Rob Portman who was recently appointed U.S. Trade Representative. Schmidt brings the number of women serving in Congress to an all-time high of 70, with 24 Republicans and 46 Democrats. There are also 14 women serving in the Senate. Schmidt is the first women to represent the second district in southern Ohio in the U.S. Congress.

Cervical Cancer Prevention Works

The Coalition of Labor Union Women has a new program, Cervical Cancer Prevention Works (CCPW), which aims to educate women about cervical cancer, its cause, and the need for regular screening. Cervical cancer is the only cancer for which there is a definitive cause-the human papillomavirus (HPV). The CCPW program provides information on HPV and cervical cancer through interactive programs such as health fairs and conferences as well as brochures and their website.

Get more information on the CCPW Program.

WomENews is produced by the Women's Rights Department and written by Amy Vance.

 

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