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Help us advance policies and programs that help working families to have a job AND care for their families.
The Labor Project for Working Families is a national nonprofit advocacy and policy organization providing education, resources and technical assistance to unions on family issues in the workplace.
For the latest news, information, publications and resources on
work and family issues visit our NEW and enriched website
www.working-families.org.
MAY 2007
In this Issue…
NEWS
LABOR PROJECT UPDATES
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant for Contract Language Database
- Labor Project Staff Co-author Article in New Book
RESOURCES
- NEW! Quality Child Care: A Guide for Working Parents
- Getting Organized: Unionizing Home-Based Child Care Providers
YOUR VOICE
NEWS
Washington State Passes Paid Parental Leave Law
Washington has become the second state in the nation to assure paid family leave for all parents to care for a newborn or newly adopted child.
Beginning in October 2009, parents of newborn and newly adopted children will be able to take up to five weeks off work with a benefit of $250 per week, pro-rated for part-time workers. Workers in companies with more than 25 employees who have been with their employers for at least a year and 1250 hours will also have job protection for the five weeks of benefits and a one week wait period.
A statewide Family Leave Coalition, including labor, senior, women, child, health, business and other groups, backed the legislation with an outpouring of grassroots support. Learn more about the campaign.
LABOR PROJECT UPDATES
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant for Contract Language Database
The Labor Project for Working Families has received a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to research the potential of developing an online database of work and family collective bargaining clauses. This would build on the Labor Project's existing database and be the only online database focusing on work-family collective bargaining clauses.
Labor Project Staff Co-Author Article in New Book
Netsy Firestein and former staffperson Nikki Dones co-authored an article in a new book The Sex of Class: Women Transforming American Labor, edited by Dorothy Sue Cobble, Cornell University Press. In their article – Unions Fight for Work and Family Policies - Not for Women Only – they highlight labor's role in passing California's Paid Family Leave law, the first in the country and a New York City labor coalition's successful campaign for more state child care subsidies for working families. Order a Copy of The Sex of Class.
RESOURCES
NEW! Quality Child Care: A Guide for Working Parents
This FREE resource from the Labor Project for Working Families and the California Federation of Teachers gives working families information on:
- Care needs for children at different ages
- How to find quality child care
- How unions can address child care needs of members
- How working families can make a difference
Note: While the community resources listed in this publication are California-specific, other information contained in the guide is general and relevant for all working parents.
To order a FREE hard copy, email info@working-families.org or call (510) 643-7088. View Online or Download a Free Copy. Publication funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Getting Organized: Unionizing Home-Based Child Care Providers
A recent report by the National Women’s Law Center shows how communities benefit when workers join unions. The report highlights three states where home-based child care providers have joined unions and signed a contract. The workers, in turn, used their political power to help their communities receive increased funding for child care and improved working conditions for providers. View Online or Download a Free Copy.
YOUR VOICE
What if John Edwards Worked at Wal-Mart? By Ellen Bravo
Ellen Bravo is the author of the new book Taking on the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism Is Good For Families, Business, and The Nation and a long time champion of work-family issues.
The Labor Family e-News Digest, a quarterly online publication of the Labor Project for Working Families, is available in both text and html formats. To subscribe, email info@working-families.org.
We encourage you to use the Labor Family e-News Digest to share news, views, and resources on addressing work family issues. To post an announcement or ask a question, please email info@working-families.org. The digest is facilitated by Vibhuti Mehra, Communications Coordinator, Labor Project for Working Families.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to addressing work and family issues.
For the latest news, information, publications and resources on work and family issues visit our NEW and enriched website www.working-families.org.