Author: Feminist Newswire

The Feminist Newswire has provided a daily feminist perspective on national, global, and campus news stories since 1995. You can receive a weekly feminist news digest when you subscribe here.

FAMILY Act Introduced Today

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Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (The FAMILY Act) today. If passed, the act will help millions of workers afford take time off to address their own serious health condition or to care for an immediate family member or new child.

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via Shutterstock

The FAMILY Act will provide workers with up to 12 weeks of partial income when they take time off to care for their health or the health of a child, parent, spouse or domestic partner. It will be funded by employee and employer payroll contributions administered through a new Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave in the Social Security Administration [PDF]. Unlike the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the new FAMILY Act allows all workers to be eligible for benefits, including part-time, younger, and lower-wage employees.

Currently, only 12 percent of US workers have access to paid family leave and fewer than 40 percent have paid medical leave, meaning many workers – particularly women and low wage workers – are just one illness or birth away from financial disaster. “Motherhood should not lead to poverty,” Feminist Majority Policy and Research Director Gaylynn Burroughs wrote on the Feminist Majority blog. “Caring for a loved one should not mean insurmountable debt and bankruptcy. Lost income combined with new medical costs can be financially devastating to a family at a time when they may be most vulnerable and unable to recover.”

TAKE ACTION: Urge your representatives to support this critical legislation.

Media Resources: National Partnership for Women and Families 12/13; PR Newswire 12/12/13; Feminist Majority Blog 12/12/13

Senate Confirms Two Women To DC Circuit Court

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The US Senate confirmed Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this week, making this the first time the court has had five active female judges. The court is the second most important in the US because of its jurisdiction over most federal agencies.

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via Shutterstock

The Senate confirmed Patricia Millett by a 56-38 vote on Tuesday. Millett, an appellate lawyer who has made 32 arguments before the Supreme Court and served in the Department of Justice, fills a vacancy open since 2005.

Nina Pillard was confirmed late last night in a vote of 51-44. “Throughout her career, Ms.  Pillard has displayed an unwavering commitment to to justice and integrity,” said President Obama in a statement on her confirmation. “Her landmark accomplishments on behalf of women and families include Supreme Court cases defending the constitutionality of the Family and Medical Leave Act and opening the doors of the Virginia Military Institute to female students.”

In October, Senate Republicans filibustered two highly qualified women nominees to the DC Circuit, including Millett, and they were set to filibuster Pillard as well. “Republicans have been engaging in an egregious abuse of power by systematically blocking presidential nominees to the federal bench and disproportionately affecting the appointment of highly qualified women and people of color,” said Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal about the filibusters. After women’s groups called attention to the number of women being blocked from confirmation, the Senate voted 52-48 in November to change the filibuster rules to require a simple majority – rather than 60 votes – to end debate on presidential nominees to the executive branch and the federal bench, with the exception of nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Media Resources: The Hill 12/10/13; The White House Office of the Press Secretary 12/10/13, 12/12/13; ; Washington Examiner 12/12/13; Feminist Newswire 11/12/13, 11/21/13

UConn Under Federal Investigation For Mishandling Sexual Assault Cases

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The US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights informed the University of Connecticut on Monday that it will investigate the school for allegedly mishandling sexual assault cases and violating Title IX, the federal law that requires colleges to eliminate gender-based discrimination.

via Jimmy Emerson
via Jimmy Emerson

The investigation was sparked after seven women filed a formal complaint in October alleging that UConn had failed to protect them from sexual assault and exposed them to a sexually hostile environment. One woman says her attacker was expelled from campus but later readmitted without her knowledge. Later, when she went to campus police after he harassed her in a dining hall on campus, an officer told her, “Women need to stop spreading their legs like peanut butter or rape is going to keep happening until the cows come home.”

The investigation could take up to six months. If the civil rights complaint is upheld, the university could face a fine, sanctions such as the loss of federal funds, or harsher punishments.

Universities across the US have come under fire lately for mishandling sexual assault cases, more recently Occidental College. While some, like the University of Maryland, are working towards making campuses safer spaces for women, others are facing or have faced criticism and similar investigations for mishandling cases.

Media Resources: Connecticut Post 12/9/13; ThinkProgress 12/10/13; Feminist Newswire DATES

Massachusetts Democrat Katherine Clark Wins Congressional Seat

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Democrat Katherine Clark will become the fifth woman to represent Massachusetts in the US House Tuesday, after easily defeating three opponents in a special election.

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via Wikimedia

“Six years ago, there wasn’t a single woman representing Massachusetts in Congress,” said Niki Tsongas, the only other woman representing Massachusetts in the House. “As Katherine Clark joins me in the House of Representatives this week, Massachusetts gains another strong voice to its increasingly diverse Congressional delegation.”

Clark, a former public interest attorney, ran because she was “tired of extremist Republicans attacking a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions instead of focusing on the issues that really matter to middle class families,” according to her campaign website. Clark plans to focus on a variety of issues, including equal pay for equal work, minimum wage, education, gun safety, and retirement security.

Her seat in Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District was vacated when US Representative Edward Markey won a special election to fill the Senate seat John Kerry left to become secretary of state. Clark will complete the remainder of Markey’s term and then face re-election next fall.

Media Resources: Associated Press 12/11/13; Katherine Clark for Congress

President Obama Discusses Income Inequality, Calls for Change

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In a speech Wednesday, President Barack Obama discussed the US economy and the Affordable Care Act, and he called for changes to reduce the growing income inequality in the US.

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via Shutterstock

“I believe this is the defining challenge of our time: Making sure our economy works for every working American,” he said.

President Obama highlighted several facts about income inequality – for example, the fact that the bottom 20 percent of income levels has less than a 5 percent chance of making it to the top income levels – before calling for several changes. He discussed closing corporate tax loopholes, discarding incentives to send jobs overseas, and increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 from the current $7.25.

An increase in the federal minimum wage would be especially beneficial for women and families, who make up 64 percent of all workers earning minimum wage or less. Senator Tom Harken (D-Iowa) and Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 in March, but it is currently sitting in a congressional committee awaiting approval.

President Obama also discussed leaving behind stereotypes of low-income people and workers in order to have more productive dialogue. “We have to reject a politics that suggests any effort to address it in a meaningful way somehow pits the interests of a deserving middle class against those of an undeserving poor in search of handouts,” he said.

Media Resources: Associated Press 12/4/13; Feministing 12/5/13; Ms. magazine blog 12/5/13; Mother Jones 2/14/13; Feminist Newswire 3/5/13; Govtrack.us

Michigan Considers Forcing Women to Purchase Separate Insurance for Abortion Coverage

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Michigan lawmakers are considering legislation that would require women to purchase a separate insurance policy for abortion coverage. The proposed law would prohibit insurance plans offered in the state from covering abortion without the rider, but the proposal also does not require insurers to offer or provide the rider.

 

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via Shutterstock

The measure would force women who don’t purchase these separate policies to pay for abortion services out-of-pocket — even women who have become pregnant because of rape or incest. Although Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R ) vetoed the same insurance ban last year, pro-choice opponents, led by Michigan Right to Life, circumvented the veto and collected enough petition signatures to send the measure back to the legislature [see PDF].

“Forcing women to decide whether they want to buy ‘rape insurance’ and even compelling parents to make the unfathomable decision about whether to buy it for their daughters is truly despicable,” State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) said on Monday. “Requiring Michigan women to plan ahead for an unplanned pregnancy is not only illogical, it’s one of the most misogynistic proposals I have ever seen in the Michigan Legislature.”

Legislators now have 40 days to act on the ban. If lawmakers take no action, the issue will be put to a statewide vote on the 2014 ballot. If they approve the proposal, it will immediately become law, even without the governor’s signature.

Media Resources: Detroit Free Press 12/2/2013; MLive 12/28/2012; Michigan.gov Ballot Proposals 12/4/2013; 11/2/2013; ThinkProgress 12/4/2013

Fast Food Workers Continue Strikes In Largest Action Yet

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Fast food workers across the US are striking and holding rallies today to call for higher wages. 

via Wikimedia
via Wikimedia

This will be the largest action yet in the recent history of the fast food labor movement, with actions in 200 cities. Protesters are calling for $15 an hour wages, almost double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Raising wages for fast food workers is particularly important for women. Seventy-three percent of all front-line workers are women, and 43 percent are black or Latino. Fifty-two percent of fast food workers rely on public assistance because their wages are too low to survive on. But as Michelle Chen reports in the Fall 2013 issue of Ms., the National Restaurant Association has opposed increases in wages, and the industry “lobbies fiercely against local, state and national minimum-wage legislation, claiming the pay boost would cause job losses and hurt businesses. Meanwhile, the CEO of McDonald’s raked in about $13.8 million in fiscal 2012, an estimated 737 times what the average fast-food worker earned.”

“There’s a lot of McDonald’s workers with different issues, but in the end it’s the same story: We’re not getting paid enough,” McDonald’s worker and striker Nancy Salgado told Chen. “We’re worried about how are we gonna feed our kids tomorrow, how are we gonna pay the rent.”

While President Barack Obama has said he supports raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10, legislation is unlikely to pass the House. Several states and counties have had more success raising their local minimum wages, including California and Connecticut.

GET INVOLVED: The Ms. Blog invites you to be a citizen journalist! Tweet your pictures and first-hand reports from today’s protests with @msmagazine, using the hashtag #StandWithRosie.

Media Resources: Associated Press 12/5/13; Feminist Newswire 8/27/13, 10/17/13; Ms. magazine blog 12/4/13; BBC 12/5/13

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

Fort Hood Soldiers Recruited for Prostitution Ring During Sexual Assault Program

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Female soldiers testified on Monday that they were recruited for a prostitution ring organized by a sergeant at Fort Hood in Texas. 

The officer who organized the ring preyed upon and recruited young female soldiers through a sexual assault and harassment program, which he coordinated. The current trial involves a different man, who allegedly used the prostitution ring, and arose from an investigation into the coordinator, who remains unnamed.

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via Shutterstock

This case adds to the growing outcry over the rate and mishandling of sexual abuse cases in the U.S. military. Reports of sexual assault in the military increased by a whopping 36 percent in 2012, but the vast majority of victims – 89 percent, according to the Pentagon itself – do not report sex crimes at all.

One-half of female victims indicate not reporting sexual assault because they do not believe anything will be done by their commanders. The Military Justice Improvement Act, which is languishing in the Senate, aims to improve the situation by taking prosecution of sexual assault cases out of the chain of command and giving it to independent military prosecutors

TAKE ACTION: Email your Senators to tell them that we must change the current system of handling sexual assault cases. It is simply not working.

Media Resources: Talking Points Memo 12/3/13; Jezebel 12/3/13; Feminist Newswire 11/7/13, 11/22/13

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

ACLU Files Lawsuit For Pregnant Woman Denied Care at Catholic Hospital

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Two civil liberties groups filed a lawsuit Friday against the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on behalf of Tamesha Means, a woman who was denied a full range of care options when she rushed to Mercy Health Partners after her water broke at 18 weeks of pregnancy.

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via Shutterstock

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan allege that because the hospital abided by the Bishops’ religious directives, doctors endangered Tamesha’s life by failing to inform her there was virtually no chance her pregnancy would survive or that terminating her pregnancy would be her safest medical decision.

“They never offered me any options,” said Means. “They didn’t tell me what was happening to my body. Whatever was going on with me, they discussed it amongst themselves. I was just left to wonder, what’s going to happen to me?”

Catholic-sponsored hospitals like Mercy Health Partners are required to adhere to the Ethical and Religious Directives written by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Directives prevent health care providers from informing their patient that terminating their pregnancy is a legitimate care option, even when the mother’s life is at risk or there is no chance the fetus will survive.

The lawsuit argues that because Means was not provided a comprehensive list of care options, she suffered unnecessary harm at the hands of the USCCB.

“A pregnant woman who goes to the hospital seeking medical care has the right to expect that the hospital’s first priority will be to provide her appropriate care,” said Louise Melling,

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

Alabama’s Harsh Anti-Immigration Law Permanently Blocked

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The US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama entered a final judgment last week in United States v. Alabama, permanently prohibiting Alabama from enforcing seven provisions of HB 56, a severely restrictive anti-immigration law that affected all aspects of an undocumented immigrant’s life.

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via Shutterstock

“The law forced parents to uproot their sons and daughters from their home, and it punished immigrant children for exercising their constitutional right to go to school,” said US Attorney Joyce White Vance who called the decision “a return to common-sense immigration law enforcement.”

The provisions affected employment, education, transportation, and housing for undocumented immigrants. They required schools to verify the immigration status of newly enrolled K-12 students, criminalized giving a ride or renting to someone who is undocumented, criminalized failing to register one’s immigration status, and criminalized the solicitation of work by unauthorized immigrants, among others.

The judgment of the District Court finalized a settlement reached between the parties. It follows an earlier rulingby the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to temporarily block the provisions because they unconstitutionally conflicted with federal immigration law.

Three separate lawsuits challenging HB 56 were filed shortly after the law passed. In addition to the challenge by the federal government, a group of church leaders filed suit as well as a coalition of civil rights groups, called the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, represented by the National Immigration Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Media Resources: US Department of Justice 11/25/13; National Immigration Law Center 10/29/13; AL.com 11/25/13 Feminist Newswire 6/9/11

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

Representatives Push President to Protect Detainees from Sexual Abuse

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A bipartisan group of 12 members of Congress are urging US President Barack Obama to issue stronger protections to prevent the sexual abuse of immigrant detainees in a newly-released letter.

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via Shutterstock

The letter comes in light of a report recently released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealing the need for additional actions by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to address sexual abuse in immigrant detention centers. The report revealed that investigations into allegations of sexual abuse and assault in detention centers after often missing important documentation and are not reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters. It also showed that detainees face obstacles when trying to report abuse.

“The government has a moral responsibility to ensure the safety of any person under its charge,”said Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL). “The pervasive and systematic abuse of detainees held in immigration detention facilities, essentially at the hands of the government, is unconscionable. This urgent matter must be addressed quickly and at the highest possible level.”

Based on the study, GAO recommends that DHS develop ways to ensure allegations are being reported to the necessary headquarter office, ensure the hotline has access to connectivity data for recording of reports, document consistent standards on detention, and create an oversight process for sexual abuse and assault prevention and intervention efforts in all department facilities. The dozen representatives are calling for four additional actions in their letter to the president: they urge him to finish implementing several aspects of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), including requiring facilities housing immigrant detainees to have a Prevention of Sexual Abuse Compliance Manager, and require ICE and their facilities to implement proper and thorough investigation procedures around sexual abuse, among other changes.

Media Resources: ThinkProgress 11/27/2013; GAO Report 11/2013; Quigley.house.gov 11/22/2013; Lofgren.house.gov 11/22/2013; Quigley.house.gov 11/26/2013; Feminist Newswire 8/29/2013

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

Federal Court Blocks Indiana TRAP Law

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Last Tuesday, a federal court blocked a targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) law that could have shut down the only healthcare facility in Indiana providing RU-486, or mifepristone, the medication abortion drug. The blocked law would have unnecessarily required the Planned Parenthood of Lafayette to adhere to the same licensing standards as facilities that perform surgical abortions, even though the clinic does not perform surgical procedures.

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via Shutterstock

“Imposing requirements for such things as surgical scrub facilities and surgical recovery rooms when there is no surgical procedure ever performed at the clinic is not only unreasonable, it is utterly irrational,” the Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky wrote in their filed complaint.

The federal court ruled in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, confirming that the law violated the Planned Parenthood clinic’s equal protection rights by targeting it for regulation. However, the judge rejected the portion of the lawsuit that claimed the law was unconstitutional because it was not related to patient safety or care.

While this clinic will now stay open, reports have shown that over 50 abortion clinics across the United States have closed since 2010 because of a coordinated effort in state legislatures to regulate abortion clinics out of existence.

Indiana now has 30 days to decide if it will appeal the judge’s ruling.

Media Resources: RH Reality Check 11/27/13; Feminist News 8/23/13; Bloomberg Business Week 8/22/12; Feminist News 8/26/13

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

Fast For Families Calls for Immigration Reform

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Leaders from immigrant rights groups, labor, women’s rights organizations, and faith groups have been taking part in “Fast for Families: A Call for Immigration Reform and Citizenship” to pressure lawmakers to bring the immigration reform bill to a vote. The fast in Washington, DC is now in its fifteenth day. Many have been fasting for two or three day periods, but longer-term fasters have chosen to go without food until medically necessary.

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via Shutterstock

The immigration reform bill would provide a comprehensive, earned path to citizenship for many of the approximately 11.7 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the US. It has already been passed by the Senate and is currently awaiting House approval.

Fast for Families is calling on the nation to join them in a national day of fasting and prayer between December 1 and December 3. Eliseo Medina of SEIU, one of the fast organizers, indicated yesterday that the action has inspired 103 solidarity fasters who have joined Fast for Families in tents the fasters have set up near the Capitol, as well as thousands of other fasters nationwide.

Dae Joong Yoon, a faster with the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, explained why people are fasting: “Immigration reform is not about politics or policy, it is about people. The human cost of our broken system has created moral urgency that demands action. That is why we are fasting.”

The fasters have received messages of support from several U.S. leaders including President Barack Obama. Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) both visited the Fast for Families tent earlier this month.

Fasters have declared, “We will fast and pray until the bonds of families are no longer broken. We will fast and pray until immigration reform is no longer a notion, but a reality. We will fast and pray until citizenship is no longer a dream for 11 million aspiring Americans.”

Media Resources: The Washington Post 11/12/13; Feminist Newswire 10/15/13; ThinkProgress 11/27/13; SEIU 11/12/13; Fast for Families 11/26/13; NBC 11/22/13

Latinas in Texas Face Human Rights Violations for Restricted Reproductive Rights

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and the Center for Reproductive Rights released a report last week documenting the impact of state funding cuts to family planning services on Texas women, particularly women living in the southern Rio Grande Valley [see PDF]. The report asserts that Latinas in Texas – where more than 60 reproductive health clinics have closed since 2010 – face such severely restricted and limited reproductive health care that their human rights are violated.

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via Shutterstock

Latinas in the Rio Grande Valley face almost insurmountable barriers to obtaining reproductive health care that can delay or prevent treatment. Distant and inaccessible clinics, lack of transportation to those clinics, and immigration status can prevent women from receiving the care they need. The high cost of care, as well as appointment wait times that can exceed several months, are also large barriers.

“We want to grow, give back to this country,” said a woman interviewed for the report named Liria. “But for that to happen we need to be in good health.”

Because of the difficulty in accessing quality care, women may be driven to use illegal products and services that are potentially dangerous to their health, and they may face increased stress, anxiety and insecurity. More unintended pregnancies, higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, and limited access to fertility treatment are also negative outcomes.

Texas has grown increasingly hostile to reproductive rights and access over the past few years. Women’s health clinics that offer abortions have been excluded from state funding for women’s health, and they have been required to abide by Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers (TRAP) that are impossible to follow, causingmany to close. A law passed over the summer requiring physicians who provide abortion to obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital has gone into effect as well after surviving a court battle.

Media Resources: Nuestro Texas; Feminist Newswire 9/5/13, 10/3/13, 10/29/13, 11/1/13

UNFPA Plan Aims To Protect Women’s Safety, Health In Aftermath of Typhoon

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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is launching a plan to help over 3.2 million women and girls of reproductive age in the Philippines who have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan and are still in need of urgent care. The $110 million plan is aimed at ensuring that no woman dies giving birth and that women are protected from violence.

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via Shutterstock

Typhoon Haiyan, which hit two weeks ago, has wreaked havoc in the Philippines. The death toll currently stands at 5,200 people and growing. Millions more have been displaced, and the typhoon destroyed health and security infrastructures, leaving women – particularly the estimated 230,000 pregnant women in affected areas – especially vulnerable.

“In the rush to provide assistance, women and girls were invisible,” said Ugochi Daniels, Chief of the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) Humanitarian Response. “We now must ensure that their needs are met so that every woman and every girl affected by Typhoon Haiyan is protected and lives with dignity.”

Program funds, which will be implemented in coordination with humanitarian partners and national authorities, will go to providing life-saving maternal health services, such as temporary maternity wards and ambulances, kits for women of reproductive age that include sanitary pads and other basic hygiene items, and kits with supplies for pregnant and lactating women.

UNFPA will also support the deployment of female police officer teams, the reconstruction of safe havens, and the designation of spaces for women in evacuation centers to help protect women from violence.

“Targeted support to women is one of the best ways to ensure the health, security and well-being of families and entire communities,” said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA’s Executive Director.

Media Resources: UNFPA Press Release 11/23/13; UN News Centre 11/23/13

College Students Charged With Hate Crimes Against Black Roommate

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Four San Jose State University students have been charged with misdemeanor hate-crime and battery for committing hate crimes against their 17 year-old black roommate.

via YouTube
via YouTube

The harassment and crimes started when the victim’s three roommates and an unnamed student started calling the victim “three fifths,” referring to a time when slaves were considered three fifths of a person during census counts. From there the harassment increased. The roommates wrote racial epithets on a dry erase board in their shared living space, displayed pictures of Hitler and other Nazi related images, and put up a confederate flag. They physically harassed him by barricading him in his room and piling furniture against his door, as well as physically restraining him and locking a U-shaped bike lock around his neck. The roommates also tried to get him to enter a closet, knowing that he was claustrophobic, where they had removed the inside doorknob.

“He told university police he always locked his door at night because he was scared of most of the other students living in the four-bedroom suite,” the San Jose Mercury News reports about the victim. “He also didn’t feel safe studying in his own room and believes his grades weren’t as good as they could be as a result.”

In October, the parents of the hazed roommate reported the harassment to campus police, who then reported it to the District Attorney’s Office. The accused roommates claim that the hazing was all in jest and was not racist. If convicted of the misdemeanor hate-crime and battery charges, the students could face up to a year in prison.

Fellow students have held rallies on campus in support of the victim, and the NAACP has called for felony hate-crime charges against the students in question.

Media Resources: Huffington Post 11/24/13; San Jose Mercury News 11/20/13; ABC 11/21/13

Janet Yellen Closer to Becoming Fed Chief

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The Senate Banking Committee voted 14-8 to approve the nomination of Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve. This bipartisan vote means that the Yellen will now be considered by the full Senate. If confirmed, she will be the first woman in history to lead the central bank.

via The IMF
via The IMF

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) applauded the committee for its vote. “Janet Yellen has impeccable credentials, and I’m very pleased she was voted out of committee with bipartisan backing,” said Senator Warren. “She recognizes middle-class families are still struggling to dig out of the hole the financial crisis created, and that now is no time for the Fed to pull back.”

The Senate vote yesterday to change the filibuster rules to require a simple majority – rather than 60 votes – to end debate on certain presidential nominees means that Republicans will not be able to block Yellen from receiving a vote on the Senate floor. The Senate is expected to vote on her nomination after the Thanksgiving recess.

Yellen is the current vice chairman of the Federal Reserve and has a long history of experience with central banking.

Media Resources: Feminist Newswire 10/10/13, 11/21/13; TheHill Blog 11/21/13; Elizabeth Warren 11/21/13

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

Massachusetts Senate Votes to Raise State Minimum Wage to $11

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The Massachusetts Senate voted Tuesday to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage from $8 to $11 per hour by 2016. The raise will help over 600,000 workers, particularly women, who make up nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers nationwide.

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via Shutterstock

“Hard working people working full time and being paid our minimum wage now are living in poverty,” Senator Dan Wolf told the Associated Press. “Raising the minimum wage is an important step to rebalancing our top-heavy economy.”

The Senate also voted to tie the minimum wage to inflation, to require it to always be at least 50 cents higher than the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 per hour), and to raise the minimum wage for tipped employees, like waiters, to half of the minimum for other workers.

The bill was approved by a 32-7 vote. It will now head to the House, which is unlikely to vote on it until next year, and then to Governor Deval Patrick, who has expressed support for increasing the state’s minimum wage. If it passes, Massachusetts will have the highest state minimum wage in the US. It will begin taking effect on July 1, 2014 when it will rise to $9, and then it will rise by one dollar each July until it reaches $11 in 2016.

California recently enacted a similar law raising the state’s minimum wage from $8 to $10.

Media Resources: National Women’s Law Center 10/4/13; Feminist Newswire 9/27/13, 10/17/13; Boston.com 11/19/13; MassLive.com 11/19/13

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

Albuquerque Voters Defeat Anti-Abortion Ballot Measure

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Last night, voters in Albuquerque, New Mexico defeated an unprecedented ballot measure that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks and contained no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the woman.

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via Shutterstock

The proposed measure was the first of its kind to be introduced on the city-level and drew national coverage for the robust campaigns launched around it, both for and against. Yesterday’s election drew record numbers of voters, with about a quarter of Albuquerque’s registered voters, 87,296 in total, voting in the special election — more than voted in the regular election for mayor earlier this month, according to MSNBC.

“Together, we sent a strong message to the legislators across the country — both on the state and national level — who are proposing similar bans: We will not go back. We will not stop fighting,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of Feminist Majority Foundation.

FMF sent a team of National Campus Organizers to Albuquerque to mobilize student voters on the ground. FMF, Young Women United and ProgressNow New Mexico also sponsored shuttles from local campuses to the polls, which were overwhelmed by students.

Dolores Huerta, FMF board member and co-founder of United Farm Workers, also campaigned with student leaders in Albuquerque.

Media Resources: Feminist Newswire, 11/19/2013; MSNBC, 11/20/2013; New York Times, 11/20/2013

Report Reveals LGBT People of Color Are Most Disadvantaged Workers

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LGBT people of color are the most disadvantaged workers in the US, according to a new report released last week by the Movement Advancement Project, Center for American Progress, Freedom to Work, Human Rights Campaign, and the National Black Justice Coalition.

via Shutterstock
via Shutterstock

The report, entitled A Broken Bargain for LGBT Workers of Color, details how LGBT people of color, who live at the intersections of various marginalized identities in the US, face unique barriers to employment and education. Inequality, lack of workplace protections, and violence and discrimination in schools all contribute to high rates of poverty and unemployment for many LGBT workers of color.

“Contrary to popular stereotypes, LGBT workers are more racially diverse than the general population, making it critical to address the unique obstacles they face,” said Sharon Lettman-Hicks, executive director and CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition. “Bias and prejudice based on race, sexual orientation, and gender identity/expression intersect to the detriment of LGBT workers of color.”

According to the report, LGBT youth of color often face multiple forms of harassment at school, have fewer support systems, and are at greater risk of entering the school-to-prison pipeline [see PDF]. At work, LGBT people of color experience higher rates of discrimination and are less likely to have adequate mentors. Discriminatory immigration and tax laws as well as unequal job benefits, including lack of appropriate forms of family leave, also disadvantage LGBT workers of color.

The report makes several concrete recommendations to achieve workplace equality. In particular, the authors recommend that Congress pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act to help LGBT students feel safer at school. National laws to ban employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression and sexual orientation should be implemented at the federal, state and local levels. In addition, efforts should be taken by Congress and state lawmakers to protect against wage discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

“While there are laws in place to help protect workers from discrimination based on race and ethnicity, it is still legal to fire or refuse to hire someone on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation in the majority of states,” said Winnie Stachelberg, Executive Vice President of External Affairs at CAP.

Earlier this month, the Senate passed the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) which would protect people from discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation in the work place. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), however, has opposed the legislation.

Media Resources: Center for American Progress 11/14/13; A Broken Bargain for LGBT Workers of Color November 2013; Feminist Newswire 11/8/13

This post was originally published on the Feminist Newswire. If you’d like, you can subscribe to the Feminist News digest for a weekly recap of our newswire stories.

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