Breaking Senate rules and Wisconsin law, Wisconsin Republican senators voted in conference committee yesterday to take away collective bargaining rights of public workers. In the absence of the 14 Democratic senators who fled the state in a strategy the make Governor Scott Walker (R) negotiate with them, the Republican senators voted in conference to strip […]
The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, convened by Republican House Speaker John Boehner (OH) voted 3-2 yesterday to authorize the House to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. Both Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) voted against the proposal. In February, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the […]
The Military Leadership Diversity Commission released a report that recommended that the Pentagon change its policies to allow women in combat. The Commission reported that despite official military policy, women’s participation in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has increasingly included direct combat. The military’s failure to allow women to serve in these positions therefore […]
Cardinal Justin Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia, announced yesterday that he will suspend 21 priests accused of sexually abusing minors. The suspension follows the release of a grand jury report last month that alleged that the archdiocese was involved in an extensive cover-up of the sexual misconduct of as many as 37 priests. According to […]
After postponing the vote from today, the Maryland House is expected to vote tomorrow on the Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would grant marriage rights to same-sex couples in Maryland. Seventy-one votes are needed for the bill to pass into law The Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee passed the bill, by a vote of […]
Iranian women’s rights activists marched and risked their lives today on the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day for the release of Iranian women’s and human rights lawyer Nasrin Soutadeh, who has spent over six months in prison for allegedly acting against state security, assembling, and collusion with intent to disrupt national security. She was […]
A survey by Independent on Sunday revealed that women are winning a growing number of seats in parliaments throughout the world, although they still hold far fewer legislative and key cabinet positions than men. Anne-Marie Goetz, a governance specialist at UN Women, clarified, “In most countries there has been stubborn resistance to fair competition by […]
The Supreme Court Justices ruled 8-1 this week that under the First Amendment, the Westboro Baptist Church does not have to pay damages to the father of a Marine for protesting his son’s funeral. While protesting, the group also carried signs stating, “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” The Supreme Court’s ruling […]
On Wednesday, approximately 1,500 demonstrators gathered at City Hall in Providence, RI to protest the dismissal of Providence’s entire teaching force. Due to a Rhode Island law, which requires that teachers receive notification about potential layoffs or terminations by March 1, the school board sent termination notices to all of Providence’s 1,926, though many will […]
Yesterday the New York City Council voted 39 to 9, with one abstention, to pass a bill that would require crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to disclose whether they provide emergency contraception and abortion services and whether they have a licensed medical practitioner on site. Evelyn Erskine, a spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) stated that […]
According to a White House report, women surpass men in college enrollment but make less money on average and are more likely to live in poverty. Valeria Jarrett, a senior advisor to President Obama, and Tina Tchen, chief of staff to Michelle Obama, clarified “Women have not only caught up with men in college attendance […]
Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), as well as 32 other organizations including the Feminist Majority Foundation, filed an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court in support of a class action suit against Wal-Mart for discriminating against its women employees in stores nationwide. Ten years ago, […]
For the fourteenth day in a row, demonstrators in Madison, Wisconsin have been protesting Republican Governor Scott Walker’s extreme anti-union bill that proposes to reduce state workers’ salaries and take away the right of unions to collectively bargain for salary benefits, hours, and working conditions.
Yesterday the Republican-controlled House voted 335 to 91 to approve a two-week budget to avoid a government shutdown. The budget measure cuts $4 billion in federal spending. The vote was along party lines, with 229 Republicans and 104 Democrats voting in favor of the budget measure and 6 Republicans and 85 Democrats voting against it. […]
An NBC/CBS survey revealed that the majority of Americans are against the weakening of public workers’ collective bargaining rights and the reduction of their pay or benefits. The survey showed that 60 percent of Americans opposed the weakening of bargaining rights, and 56 percent were against cutting public employees pay or benefits. The majority of […]
In a settlement with the US Labor Department, Intercall, a federal contractor, has agreed to pay $700,000 in back wages, interest, and benefits to the 151 minority job applicants who faced discrimination by the company. Following its investigation, the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) determined that 103 black, 28 […]
On Saturday, thousands of women’s rights supporters, including activists from the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women (NOW), and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) gathered in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan to protest the defunding of PPFA and the elimination of Title X funding. Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority […]
Police officers announced Sunday that they would not arrest or forcibly remove protestors who have been camped inside the Madison, Wisconsin Statehouse. The demonstrators have been protesting Republican Governor Scott Walker’s extreme anti-union bill that proposes to reduce state workers’ salaries and take away the right of unions to collectively bargain for salary benefits, hours, […]
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (SB 116), which would grant marriage rights to same-sex couples in Maryland, passed the state Senate yesterday by a vote of 25 to 21. The bill awaits a vote in the Maryland House of Delegates. If the bill is passed by the state legislature, Governor Martin O’Malley […]
The Virginia Senate voted yesterday to pass a bill (SB 924) requiring that clinics that perform first trimester abortions meet the Board of Health regulations on hospitals, which are far more stringent than the regulations on physician’s offices. The 20-20 tie was broken in the Democratic state Senate by an unusual vote from Lieutenant Governor […]
