California NOW

Legislative Update

Below are the bills currently being tracked by California NOW. This bill list is not yet finalized. We also do not yet have statuses for the many bills heard today.

AB 9 (Ammiano )
Would require each school district to adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, to adopt a process for such complaints, and to provide information to school personnel, school district board members, and pupils on the policy and the process.
Status: Assm. Education

AB 10 (Alejo)
Would increase the state minimum wage from $8.00 per hour to $8.50 per hour, and adjust the hourly minimum wage on an annual basis according to the rate of inflation.
Status: March 30, Asm. Labor

AB 12 (Swanson )
Will ensure that persons paying for the sexual services of a minor child are treated as severely under the law as an adult engaging in a non-commercial sex with a minor.
Status: Assm. Public Safety

Monday's Action Checklist

There is a raging debate going on in Congress right now about what to do with the federal deficit. Conservatives are using this opportunity to push for deep cuts to Social Security -- even though Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. NOW is working with allies and leading senators to push for the Social Security Protection Amendment (S.AMDT.207, as modified) that says "Hands off Social Security!" We need your help to contact senators ASAP to urge that they support the amendment.

The Republican members of California's legislature get paid more than $100,000 per year in salary and per diem. They have one job: vote on a sensible budget or simply allow Californians to vote on it. Please sign this petition to the leaders of the Republican caucus in the legislature demanding that they stop accepting their salaries and per diem until they at least can agree to let Californians vote on our future.

House Transportation Chairman John Mica – who has taken more than $620,000 in campaign contributions from the airline industry – quietly slipped a provision into FAA reauthorization legislation that would count non-voters as "no" voters in union elections. So even if there are more "yes" votes than "no" votes, the "yeses" could still lose. Can you think of any other election that works that way? It's as outrageous as it is shamefully undemocratic. Congress could vote on the provision as soon as WEDNESDAY – we need to make sure they know Americans are actually paying attention! Tell your representative: The only votes that should count are votes that are actually cast!

Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to repeal the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) -- a discriminatory law that was passed by Congress in 1996. Momentum to finally repeal DOMA has been surging. A new poll shows a majority of Americans support marriage equality for the first time ever – and now two new bills in the House and Senate offer a chance to end this law once and for all. Will you take this quick survey to show Congress how DOMA affects you and those you care about? 
Become a citizen co-sponsor of the repeal bills. 
Email your members of Congress to end DOMA.

There is something deeply wrong with our priorities as a country if we're cutting back on services for children and the elderly, the sick and the destitute, and anything that helps the middle class stay afloat while simultaneously cutting taxes for the likes of Paris Hilton and the Koch brothers. Tell Congress: Tax millionaires and billionaires. Click here to add your signature to the Credo petition.

There's no two ways about it: Republicans are waging an all-out war on women -- and we need to stop them in their tracks. Rather than creating jobs for Americans, Republicans are pushing a reckless budget to deny women and their families access to critical health care services like cancer screenings, maternity care, and contraception. The "Stop the War on Women" campaign is working to make sure Republicans understand that we'll fight back, hard, against these unprecedented attacks. Go to www.StopTheWarOnWomen.com and add your name.

The Senate is on recess, and Senator Barbara Boxer is home in California. Can you call her in her district office in Sacramento, and ask her to vote against any budget that makes cuts to education, health care, and Social Security, and puts corporations and millionaires above hardworking Americans? Here's where to call:  Senator Barbara Boxer  Sacramento office: 916-448-2787 Then, please report your call to MoveOn by clicking here: http://pol.moveon.org/call?cp_id=1545&tg=FSCA_2&dofcs=1&dofcp=916-448-2787&id=26630-15267201-F6hOZ1x&t=3

More than 13 million seniors are economically insecure. These older adults have to decide each day whether to pay for medicine, food, rent, or utilities. They live one missed rent check, or one health problem away from financial insecurity. What are the challenges for the seniors in your life? Tell your story of how the economy is affecting seniors in your life. It will send a powerful message to Congress to make sure America's senior citizens get the attention they deserve.

Childhood vaccines are one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent disease and save lives. For the first time ever, we have two new vaccines proven to help stop pneumonia and diarrhea -- two of the biggest killers of children under five around the world. In fact, these two life-saving vaccines could save four million childrens' lives in just five years. Urge U.S. leaders to fund these vaccines to stop pneumonia and diarrhea and save the world's poorest children.

The Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this month that it is planning to look into the health claims of infant formulas. For years, infant formula companies have successfully marketed their products as just as good as breast milk without any such evidence. Why bother to breastfeed if I can give my child the same nutrients from formula, a mother could reason. The problem is, you can't. And it's high time the government stopped allowing deceptive marketing of formula at the cost of infant and maternal health. If you agree, let the FDA know that this study is welcome and long overdue. You can file comments at http://www.regulations.gov. Refer to Docket No. FDA–2011–N–0098

For almost ten years, the “Women of Wal-Mart” have been bravely standing up: Ten years ago Betty Dukes and her colleagues first brought their claims of discrimination and unfair promotions against Wal-Mart – the nation’s largest employer.  Now their case is headed to the United States Supreme Court and these brave women deserve a standing ovation.  Send a message of encouragement to the “Women of Wal-Mart” as they fight pay discrimination against women and moms. You can sign the MomsRising note to them or personalize you own note.

Cesar Chavez' March 31 birthday is just two weeks away. The United Farm Workers and the Cesar Chavez Foundation are supporting the grassroots efforts of the Cesar E. Chavez National Holiday Coalition and U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) in their efforts to make Cesar's March 31 birthday a federal holiday. Will you help? Sign the petition today. 
List a Cesar Chavez event. 
Find a local Cesar Chavez event.

Commemorating the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

100 years ago today, 146 people, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women, died in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. These workers were as young as 14-years-old, and many had been in the country for just weeks.

They worked long hours for low wages as garment workers in a building whose stairwell doors were locked because owners claimed that the workers would steal materials otherwise. Unable to escape when the fire broke out, many leapt to their death rather than burn alive. In just 18 minutes, nearly a third of the 500 workers were dead.

Their deaths, and the acquittal of the building's owners, sparked a movement for worker safety regulations that is directly responsible for many of the protections American workers have today.

In memory of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Cornell University has created a site with an excellent history of events, along with original sources such as interviews with witnesses and survivors, photographs, newspaper articles, and a full list of the names of the victims.  http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/index.html

The anniversary of the Triangle Fire may make these kinds of abuses seem long ago, but just last year 29 garment workers died in a factory fire in Bangladesh, where workers chose once again to leap to their deaths rather than burn. You can find out more about modern sweatshops at Behind the Label, or the Clean Clothing Campaign.

The 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

March 25, 2011 is the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, which claimed the lives of 146 young immigrant women, who worked in a sweatshop in New York.  Here is an eyewitness account of the fire, and, agnostic as I am, if you read this and do not weep, you truly have no soul.  The year previous many of those same girls had gone on strike, trying to force the men who owned the company to put in safety features, quit locking them in the building during business hours, and various other concessions.  They were not successful, and a year later 146 of them died in some of the most gruesome ways imaginable.

Edited to add:  They have finally identified the last six victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire.   Today they will read the complete list of those killed in the fire for the first time, outside the building where they were, essentially, murdered by greed.

Eco-Feminist Action Checklist!

Every year, coal-fired power plants pump nearly 50 tons of mercury into our air. Mercury exposure is so widespread in this country that as many as 1 in 6 women of childbearing age has mercury levels in her blood high enough to put a baby at risk of mercury poisoning. But mercury has been totally unregulated by the Clean Air Act, until now. The EPA just announced a significant rule to reduce emissions of mercury, arsenic, led, dioxins, acid gas, and six dozen other toxic chemicals. It's the most important clean air rule since the Clean Air Act was updated in 1990 — and the EPA is predictably under tremendous pressure by the coal industry and other polluters to weaken it. Tell the EPA you support this landmark rule to significantly reduce mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic air pollution. Submit a public comment now.

Many of our nuclear reactors in the U.S. are the exact same type as the ones that are currently in crisis in Japan. Unfortunately, they're also at a similarly advanced age – most of them are now operating beyond their initial 40-year license period. We need Congress and the White House to conduct a thorough review of the safety of our existing nuclear power plants, put a hold on approving new plants while the implications of events in Japan are assessed, and focus investments on safer, cleaner forms of renewable energy like wind and solar power. Please join them in urging the White House and Congress to heed Japan's hard lesson by taking these immediate next steps to prevent future disasters.

Early puberty for girls is rising, and is just one of the many frightening health effects which can be caused by our everyday exposure to toxic chemicals. Our broken chemical screening system also puts our families at risk for cancer, learning disabilities, infertility, and more. Updating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is crucial to the health of our kids. With over 80,000 chemicals in commerce, its frightening to think that the EPA has only required testing of less than one percent of those chemicals since 1976! In the last three years, 18 states have passed 71 chemical safety laws. Tell our Senators that it’s time to take a lesson from our home states who are passing toxic reforms, and also pass comprehensive chemicals reform for the entire country.  Can you stand up for families by setting up a local, in-state meeting with your U.S. Senator's office in the coming weeks?   Just click here to sign on to set up a meeting and MomsRising will get in touch to give you all the info you need.

Teddy Roosevelt famously called the Grand Canyon "the one great sight which every American should see." But future generations might not get such a grand view if uncontrolled uranium mining nearby moves forward. Mining claims skyrocketed so much in recent years that the Obama Administration put a moratorium on new claims covering around 1 million acres of public lands two years ago. Now, as the moratorium is coming to a close, Obama must decide if he wants to extend it for another 20 years. Tell Obama to protect the Grand Canyon from rampant mining and extend the moratorium on mining claims near Grand Canyon National Park.

Even though almost four million acres of the U.S. Arctic is currently leased for oil and gas activity, the Department of the Interior is considering leasing even more. Before we expose more of this sensitive marine ecosystem -- home to unique species like bowhead whales and walruses -- to oil and gas activity, we need spill response technology for oil spilled in broken ice proven to work in the U.S. Arctic. Prevent a catastrophic Arctic oil spill: tell Secretary Salazar not to lease more of the Arctic to oil and gas activity.

More than 23 million American children are overweight or obese, and the white bread, fat-laden, over-salted foods kids get at school are contributing to the epidemic. The USDA's new standards would require school cafeterias to offer more colorful fruits vegetables, limit starchy vegetables and serve food made with whole grains. It would also put limits on sodium and unhealthy fats. Taken together, these standards would help prevent serious health problems in our kids, like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and clogged arteries. Plus, eating healthy lunches gives kids the energy to perform better in the classroom. Tell the USDA to give kids healthy lunch options at school!

Check out the Green Awards from Green Giant for innovative new eco-friendly ideas, and vote on your favorite!

Are our government agencies recycling their old computers, monitors, printers, copiers, and other electronics in a way that protects people from the toxic materials inside and ensures our toxic e-waste is not exporting harm to developing countries? Or is the government's e-waste part of the 50-80% of toxic e-waste sent to developing countries under the name of “recycling” and “reuse” that creates horrific health hazards for children and workers? The Obama administration has created a Task Force to develop a policy on how federal agencies should handle their e-waste and has asked for public comment. Urge the federal government to issue a policy that clearly states no U.S. government e-waste will be exported to developing countries.

With turmoil in the Middle East causing the price of oil to shoot past $3.50 per gallon, the need to get our country off oil couldn’t be more apparent. In the coming weeks and months, the Obama administration will be developing new fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks — and we want to make sure they’re as strong as possible. Click here to let President Obama know we're calling for clean cars.