Weekly Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

Last week, in a word, was HUGE -- for our grantees and the progressive movement writ large. Take a look below for highlights of some truly historic wins for women, workers, immigrants -- for all of us nationwide. Once again, the tenacity, courage and success of our grantee partners leaves us in awe.


Grantee win alert! Congratulations to Mujeres Unidas y Activas, the California Domestic Workers Coalition and the National Domestic Workers Alliance! Thanks to their advocacy, the CA Assembly just passed the CA Domestic Workers Bill of Rights today, 41-19. Bring on the Senate!

Grantee win alert! Family Values @ Work and their state coalition member, Connecticut Working Families, won a significant victory last week when Connecticut became the first state in the nation to pass paid sick leave legislation. Congratulations! This is truly a collective win for all of our grantees advocating for paid sick leave at federal, state and local levels across the US.

Grantee win alert! Last week Vermont passed legislation that will move the state towards a universal single-payer health insurance system -- to be phased in alongside national health-care reform. The Vermont Workers' Center, affiliated with the national organization Jobs With Justice, played a vital role in this win, advocating for health care as a human right and building a robust political coalition in support of change.

For more than a year, Families for Freedom, a New York State member organization of our grantee, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, has been advocating for the state’s withdrawal from Secure Communities, a program rife with problems that allows immigration officials to access fingerprint databases and identify individuals for deportation. Last week, their fight finally paid off when New York became the second state in the nation to suspend its participation. Let's hope it's contagious! Already, Massachusetts has followed suit.

The National Day labor Organizing Network released their own statement about the New York State news. “It is clear the tide turning on SCOMM, and it’s high time for the President to terminate the program before any further damage is done to our communities.”

Christina Rodriguez, Co-Founder of SMART Youth, spoke at the press conference announcing the launch of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report, “AIDS at 30: Nations at the Crossroads.” Just 20 years old (we're so impressed!), she shared her youth perspective and emphasized the critical need for access to comprehensive sexuality education in the fight to end HIV/AIDS.

Women’s Voices for the Earth and the National Asian and Pacific American Women’s Forum held a successful Congressional briefing on salon worker health and safety. The purpose was to increase co-sponsorship of the federal Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, which will likely be introduced this week. It was well attended and covered by several media outlets. Read coverage from the Wall Street Journal and learn more.

Service Women’s Action Network launched a new blog last week called About Face, which exists to provide a safe space for servicewomen, veterans, advocates and other concerned individuals to candidly promote the discussion of issues facing and influencing our community. Be sure to visit this important and unique platform for servicewomen and their allies nationwide!

Service Women's Action Network proudly endorses legislation proposed by Rep. Slaughter and Sen. Gillibrand that would expand the reproductive rights of military women. Read the full press release and stay tuned for the progress of the bill, "The MARCH for Military Women Act" (Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health), H.R. 2085! 

The Women of Color Policy Network released a brief, Workplace Flexibility and Women of Color [pdf], on the impact and importance of workplace flexibility arrangements for women of color, particularly Black and Latina workers, who are less likely to have flexible schedules, access to paid sick leave, and other work supports.

In the News
In "Spending Cuts and the 'Womencession'," a commentary in the Lexington Herald-Ledger, Attica Woodson Scott of Kentucky Jobs with Justice (and 2011 Woman of Vision awardee!) draws on findings from a recent national poll commissioned by the Ms. Foundation to bolster her case that many women and children in Kentucky are facing tremendous economic insecurity and injustice.

Wider Opportunities for Women’s Executive Director, Joan Kuriansky, published an opinion piece in the Washington Post in support of continued federal funding for job training programs, including the burgeoning green jobs field.

Upcoming Events
On June 8, organizers from Parent Voices in California and their allies in New Mexico (OLÉ Working Parents Association) and Washington, DC (Parent Ambassadors) will sit down with President Obama's top education policy adviser, Roberto Rodriguez, and offer a grassroots perspective on how to improve child care programs.

On June 9, in Washington, DC, the Institute for Women's Policy Research and the National Women's Law Center are holding a congressional briefing, Combating Pay Secrecy for Paycheck Fairness.

On June 15, in Denver, CO, Lorena Garcia and Kenia Morales of Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) will lead the training, Breaking Down Issue Silos: Strategies for Building Campaign Messages that Cater to Different Communities, as part of The White House Project's Go Lead program.

On June 23, in New York City, the Ms. Foundation is co-sponsoring an Emerging Leaders event organized by the National Council for Research of Women and the Girls Scouts of the USA.

Weekly Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

This week we celebrate, highlight and call your attention to the successes and ongoing campaigns of our grantee partners. Salute them, join with them and help them make change.

Congratulations
Rachel Laforest has been selected to serve as first Executive Director of the Right to the City Alliance. Congrats!

Grassroots Leadership announced that Gail Tyree is a Soros Justice Fellow and will work to create a network of organizations and individuals in the southeast US to respond quickly and effectively to stop for-profit prisons, jails or detention centers from moving into their communities.

In the News
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a law that voids Milwaukee's paid sick leave ordinance that was passed by voters in a referendum and upheld recently by the state Court of Appeals. Dana Schultz, of 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women, said in a statement: "We will continue this fight until paid sick days is the law of the land in Milwaukee and nationwide. We are going to fight to ensure the government works for everyone, not just a select few."

In the News: On May 16 Angela Davis -- guest at Critical Resistance’s Brecht Forum event Conversations Uptown: The world we want is the world we need -- was featured on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC talking about the history of struggle against the prison industrial complex.

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Weekly Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

Once again, we are immensely humbled by the impact our grantees continue to have on grassroots, state and national levels across the US. Take a look at some of their most recent accomplishments, as well as upcoming events and calls to action:

The sexual assault case against the IMF's Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the media's treatment of the charges have sparked critical reflections from women activists on the front lines, including striking commentary about the connections among sexual violence, unsafe workplace conditions, discrimination and stigma -- issues that so many immigrant women of color, in particular, face. We hope you'll read the following pieces by WORLD/Positive Women's Network and Tiffany Williams, who works closely with the National Domestic Workers Alliance.


Grantee win alert! Alaska Community Action on Toxics won a significant victory [PDF] last week when, in partnership with environmental health and justice organizations worldwide, they secured a global ban on the pesticide endosulfan (though the US only agreed to begin phasing out the use). According to ACAT, "Endosulfan—like DDT—travels on wind and ocean currents to the Arctic where it contaminates the environment and traditional foods of the people who live there."


Grantee win alert! Women’s Voices for the Earth successfully campaigned to persuade the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a hazard alert on hair straightening products like Brazilan Blowout that contain formaldehyde. In a television interview, WVE’s Director of Science and Research explains the complications and effects of formaldehyde exposure.


On April 27, Alabama experienced the worst tornado outbreak in the state's history. AIDS Alabama has stepped up to help mitigate the damage by providing housing, financing, and other support services to their constituency of HIV-positive individuals. To make contributions of gift cards, personal hygiene items, bath linens, and clothing call Amanda at (205) 324-9822.


The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum observed the 7th annual National Asian Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on May 19 by participating in over 20 events. Recent analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that APIs have the highest rate of increase in new HIV infections in the nation and that the HIV incidence rate is higher for API women than for API men. Learn more and find additional facts here.


The Louisiana Bucket Brigade is sounding the alarm that as Mississippi River flooding threatens to affect refineries and chemical plants that dot the river and waterways in South Louisiana, there are no clear plans from industry, state or federal government about preparation or cleanup -- placing local communities at grave risk. “The best predictor of the future is the past,” said Anne Rolfes, LABB Founding Director. “During the BP Oil Disaster and Hurricane Katrina, the agencies had no effective plans for dealing with the pollution, and residents and our environment continue to suffer as a result.”

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Weekly Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

Another great week for grantee action, nationwide. Take a look at how these groups are working to protect women's rights, and lives, from coast to coast.

• On April 7, grantees Choice USA and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum  joined other reproductive health, rights and justice groups in Washington, DC for the rally, Stand Up for Women's Health. They let Congress know that, with anti-choice attacks and attempts to weaken the Affordable Care Act still pending women of all kinds support reproductive justice. For a quick overview of what took place at the rally, check out this blog post from NARAL's Blog for Choice.

• On April 4, thousands of union members, community activists, people of faith, students, youth, LGBTQ, civil rights, and immigrant rights allies gathered across the country to stand in solidarity with our nation’s working people as part of the We Are One campaign for workers' rights. Many Ms. Foundation grantees, including Jobs with Justice and Domestic Workers United, took part in these actions, which provided an opportunity to honor the date of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination – and commit to continuing his fight to bring justice to all workers. Visit www.we-r-1.org to learn more.  

• Grantee win alert! Oregon Tradeswomen and Green for All, two of our green jobs grantees, scored a major win recently when the Department of Energy lifted up Clean Energy Works Oregon (CEWO) as a national model of success! CEWO is a new public-private alliance set up to finance and deliver an energy efficiency building retrofit program that can support jobs while increasing energy savings. Joining together, Oregon Tradeswomen and Green for All were instrumental in negotiating CEWO's workforce agreement -- a key component of the project that helped earn it national recognition. Thanks to them, 50% of work-hours are going to underrepresented workers, and 20% of contract dollars are going to women- and minority-owned businesses. Oregon Tradeswomen has 13 graduates working as weatherization technicians in the program. Green for All recently released a report of outcomes from the project, initially focused on Portland, which reached its goal of 500 energy efficiency home upgrades and supported over 350 jobs. The project will now expand to 17 communities (6,000 homes) throughout the state. Congrats on the huge success! Check out the fantastic video,Women Want Green Jobs, to learn more.  

Want to know more about how the green economy can work for you? Join Green For All at the Power Shift 2011 conference, where they'll be providing tools and training across five sectors (energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, urban agriculture, renewable energy and social entrepreneurship). If you have interest in attending any portion of the conference, please contact Sarah.  

• Out in Colorado, grantee COLOR has been hard at work galvanizing support for three bills: one to re-authorize the practice of home birth midwives, one that would have legalized civil unions in the state, and one that would advance the implementation of a state health care exchange. Though there was good news to report on the midwife and health care bills (both passed out of committee), the civil unions bill was struck down by the House Judiciary committee. Meanwhile, COLOR recently traveled to Washington DC to participate in grantee National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health's National Advocacy Weekend; they will also be hosting discussions about how the Affordable Care Act, and a host of other hotly contested issues, affect women and communities in Colorado. Keep a watch on their website for more.

Read more »

Weekly Round Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

What a week! Check out all the amazing work our grantees are doing, from coast-to-coast, to build a more equitable future for us all.

• Last week, Wider Opportunities for Women released their Basic Economic Security Tables Index -- a tool for measuring the basic needs and assets workers require to achieve economic security in the US. The subject of a important recent article in the NY Times, the BEST Index was created to help policymakers, researchers, advocates and the media better assess the status of the nation’s workers, the needs of America’s families, and the state of the nation. Get the real scoop on what it takes to survive and thrive in this country by reading the full report [pdf].
   
• Grantee win alert! Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA) is living proof that educating, organizing and mobilization works! Thanks in part to a actions sponsored by the organization, all 33 of the anti-immigration bills being considered in the state of Mississippi are now dead for the remainder of the session. Over the course of the last few months, MIRA hosted a number of “Civic Engagement Days,” drawing hundreds of Latinos, African Americans, and families of ICE raid victims together to speak to their legislators about the harmful effects of the proposed legislation. Led by MIRA, this broad and energetic coalition of organizations and individuals played a crucial role in getting these noxious bills defeated. Kudos to all involved for their tremendous efforts!
  
  
• Grantee win alert! In the midst of the dismal state budget proceedings taking place in California, grantee LIFETIME was able to score an important win, convincing legislators to create a subsidized jobs program for parents who are part of the state’s welfare to work program (CalWORKs). The program would provide employers with a 50 percent match of funds from the state, and provides a crucial avenue for compensation to those families who are often forced to meet the 32 hour weekly welfare work requirement by taking on unpaid workfare positions. Given that the rate of unemployment among single mothers in California sits at 14 per cent, this is a critical resource for the state’s families. LIFETIME is already working to optimize this win by meeting with Solyndra – a local solar panel production facility -- to discuss how the company can use the new program to provide paid training and employment opportunities to CalWORKs mothers. Learn more about LIFETIME’s work on April 13th, when the Women of Color Policy Network hosts a panel on the future of TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) nationwide.
  
  
• On Wednesday, March 30, grantee Community Voices Heard staged a powerful protest in response to drastic cuts to the New York State budget – and in solidarity with beleaguered workers across the US. Alongside their allies, CVH members descended on the state capitol for a “Capitol Camp-In,” demanding that Governor Andrew Cuomo revise his proposed budget to renew the “millionaire tax,” strengthen rent laws and spare the state’s children from devastating education cuts. Led by low-income New Yorkers, people living with HIV/AIDS, students, seniors, the camp-in drew hundreds – though, in the end, the legislature passed the draconian budget, which is likely to impact an estimated 99 per cent of New Yorkers adversely. Check out coverage of the event that appeared in The New York Times, The Nation and other news outlets.
  
  
• Thanks to some hard work by grantee Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), last week, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced Senate Bill S. 658, The Support for Survivors Act, which requires the DOD to establish a unified system to permanently store and retain digital records in all cases of military rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment, and allow lifetime access to these records by the survivor. Currently, those files are destroyed in one to five years -- presenting massive problems for servicemembers who later seek disability compensation from the Veterans Administration and for those seeking to pursue legal action against their perpetrator. “Never again should a servicemember who has been a victim of military rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment have to hear that his or her records were lost or destroyed due to the serious level of incompetence in the current system,” said Anu Bhagwati,executive director of SWAN. The organization first recommended permanent digital records retention during a March 2010 Congressional hearing, and has played a key role in crafting the legislation. Rock on, SWAN sisters!
  
  
• On March 30 – Domestic Workers’ Day – grantee Mujeres Unidas y Activas helped lead a rally to urge the support for the California Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights (AB 889), a piece of legislation that would grant equal protection to domestic workers and recognize the importance of domestic workers to the state’s economy. Held in San Francisco, the rally drew more than 75 domestic workers, employers, and their families, as well as advocates from a number of allied organizations. Learn more about the campaign for the CA Domestic Workers Bill of Rights via our grantee the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
  
  
• Looking for a master class in how to use new media to attack some pretty persistent problems? Check out the videos our grantee ACT for Women and Girls is churning out these days to spread some truths about emergency contraception and HIV protection. From "Luchador v. HIV" to "Getting Schooled on EC," the videos -- created by youth participants in ACT's Female Leadership Academy -- use crafty avatars to educate young people about the importance of condoms, and how emergency contraception really works. And the young women of ACT aren't just speaking up in videos: this past weekend the group kicked off its 4th annual Coming Out for Justice tour, which aims to promote leadership development among youth and adults in California using a reproductive justice framework.
  
  
• Want to understand what the "school to prison pipeline" really means? Check out how SpiritHouse's Choosing Sides/Youth Noise Network uses a game called “Step Up” to show how racial disparities impact the juvenile justice system in North Carolina. It's a video well worth watching.

In the News

• Our grantees are speaking out on the Walmart discrimination case, and why it is so crucial that the Supreme Court certify what could end up being the largest class-action lawsuit in US history. Portia Wu of the National Partnership for Women and Families spoke to Free Speech News Radio on the issue, and Marcia Greenberger of the National Women’s Law Center appeared on ABC Weekend News, NBC Nightly News, PBS NewsHour and C-Span to discuss the case. NWLC is also featured in an important article highlighting the gender gap newly visible on the Supreme Court. 

• Grantee win alert! Grantee LAANE continues to garner great press coverage for its initiatives to build a just economy:
   
• Thanks to the hard work of LAANE and its allies, the Port of Los Angeles recently approved a “sweeping labor agreement covering nearly $1.5 billion worth of waterfront development.” The deal requires that 30 percent of work hours be allocated to individuals who live within a 10 mile radius of the work site, and 10 per cent go to disadvantaged residents – bringing much needed jobs to the low-income communities that surround the port. LAANE also helped ensure that the same requirements be placed on a contract to expand LA’s Expo light-rail line; together the two contracts are worth an estimated $3.1 billion dollars.
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• On March 26, LAANE helped draw more than 10,000 marchers to a rally to stand in solidarity with workers in Wisconsin and across the US. Vivian Rothstein, Deputy Director of LAANE, shares her perspective on the march on the LAANE’s website, and CBS News’ LA affiliate provides coverage of the rally online.
  

Stand Up and Take Action

• As we've mentioned before, April is Child Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. To draw attention to the prevalence of these issues across society, grantees Stop it Now! and Students Active For Ending Rape (SAFER) are calling on folks to take action. SAFER is calling on all of us to end sexual assault TODAY by signing an activism pledge on their campaign site. And Stop It Now! has launched an important campaign to prevent the sexual abuse of children. Register for their webinar, "Awareness to Action: what adults can do to prevent child sexual abuse," and sign their prevention policy petition today!

• On April 7, grantee Choice USA will join other reproductive health, rights and justice organizations in Washington, DC for the Stand Up for Women’s Health Rally and Lobby Day. Join them, and let Congress know that young people support reproductive justice. To get you ready for all the lobbying you're going to do while you're there, Choice USA will be hosting two e-trainings on April 5 at 8:30 pm EST and on April 6th at 1:30 pm EST. RSVP for these great events today!

• April 12 is Equal Pay Day. To help garner support for fair pay, NWLC and Moms Rising want you to speak out by blogging and tweeting about the issue. The theme for this year's Blog for Fair Pay Day is, "Stop Discounting Women" -- which NWLC urges you to use as a starting point to "riff on what you would do in a world without the pay gap, what cases like Dukes v. Wal-Mart mean to you, and the importance of Fair Pay legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act." Sign up today!

• In Missouri, Illinois and Maryland, important battles to "Raise the Floor" on minimum wage are now taking place -- and grantee Let Justice Roll is calling on you to help score a win. Learn how you can help save the minimum wage in Missouri, and raise it in Illinois and Maryland. And to learn more about why raising the minimum wage is so crucial, read this recent editorial from the New York Times.

• For the third time since December 2009, immigrant prisoners at the Reeves County Detention Complex in Pecos, Texas have gone on strike, protesting inhumane conditions and abuses. Our grantee, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, is leading the charge to help support the prisoners' demands for justice. If you believe that we must put an end to the policing and persecution of immigrant members of our communities, NNIRR has designed a toolkit that can help you take action. Report a human rights abuse; sign up for a training on how document these abuses in your community; and learn how to organize for human rights through NNIRR's HURRICANE initiative [pdf].
  
  

Weekly Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

From Wisconsin to West Virginia, Georgia to Minnesota, our grantees are lighting it up across the US. Read below for some of the amazing accomplishments they've achieved in just the last week:

• Grantee Win Alert! Last Thursday, March 24, workers in Wisconsin received some great news: the state's Court of Appeals made an historic decision to uphold Milwaukee's paid sick days law. Passed by an overwhelming majority of voters in 2008, the law had been put on hold ever since due to a lawsuit brought by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. This is a huge win for our grantee Family Values @ Work (also known as the Multistate Working Families Consortium), a lead supporter of the paid-leave ordinance, which gives workers the right to earn between five and nine paid sick days a year. Huge congratulations all around! And here's to this win sparking others nationwide. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Grantee Win Alert! West Virginia Free just helped secure passage of legislation that authorizes a state-run health exchange, a significant victory in the fight to implement federal health care reform. It's just this kind of state-by-state advocacy that will make access to health insurance a reality for millions more in the US. And West Virginia Free knows this well: In addition to promoting reproductive justice issues like access to emergency contraception for rural, low-income and young women, they're a regional coordinator of Raising Women's Voices, the national coalition of which we've been a proud supporter that continues to be led by many of our grantees. Learn more about WVF's great activism on facebook or twitter; check out RWV blog for updates on the status of federal health care reform.

• Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) was also on the move last week to raise awareness about the continued need to push for and preserve health care reform. In classic COLOR fashion, they worked in coalition to mark the first anniversary of the law: On March 23 they participated in Colorado’s Health Care Day of Action and on March 24, they hosted a luncheon in partnership with the National Women's Law Center and the Colorado Progressive Coalition to discuss “where we were, where we are and where we want to be.”

• This past Saturday, March 26, LAANE, one of our green jobs grantees, joined national labor organizations and thousands of workers, students, and community and religious leaders to stand in solidarity with workers in Wisconsin and across the US at the narch for Our Communities, Our Jobs in Los Angeles. “These are frightening times," says LAANE. "Everything we believe in -- a fair economy, access to decent health care, the right to join a union, women's rights, environmental standards, consumer protections -- is under fierce attack. It's time for Los Angeles to take a stand and send a clear message: we will not go backward. There is too much at stake, and Los Angeles must lead the way.” 

• Today in Washington, DC, the Women of Color Policy Network is co-hosting the event [pdf] "Measuring Our Progress in Reducing U.S. Poverty," with the Half in Ten Campaign. They're convening experts in anticipation of the release of new poverty data later this fall to discuss how statistical tools can be used to gauge the effectiveness of anti-poverty programs nationwide. Representative McDermott (D-WA) will give a keynote address; participants will discuss how policymakers, researchers, and advocates can work together to develop shared anti-poverty goals and how that address the breadth and depth of poverty's impact on communities of color. Read the policy brief.  

Stand Up & Take Action!

• Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) is taking Sexual Assault Awareness Month -- recognized in April -- one step further and replacing "awareness" with "activism!" Their goal is to push student organizers and their allies on campus nationwide to go beyond awareness – “sexual violence exists” – to direct action – “I can take steps TODAY to end sexual violence.” Join them by taking an action pledge on their campaign site, which was officially launched today, and spread the word!

• Last week Ms. Foundation green jobs grantee HIRE Minnesota initiated a range of actions in response to a proposed 50% budget cut to the MN Department of Human Rights that would drastically affect programs to fight discrimination. This while Minnesota has some of the worst racial employment disparities in the nation and people of color in the state are suffering from some of the highest unemployment rates in the US. On March 22, representatives from HIRE testified against the proposed cuts and organized an action at a House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee hearing on March 23. HIRE is urging people to continue to apply pressure to legislators to preserve funding for the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. If you're a MN resident, contact committee members in the State House and Senate.

• On Wednesday, March 30 in Atlanta, Georgia, SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW! will celebrate LGBTQ youth of color by holding the first FYRE media camp film screening, which will highlight the work of young activists discussing bullying and harassment, coming out, sex addiction and intimacy. This on the heels of participating in the huge Atlanta rally in support of immigrant rights and releasing their Giving Birth Behind Bars Resource Guide. There's no doubt about it, SPARK is HOT!

Grantee Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

Last week was a terrific one for our grantees. Check out the many ways they've been igniting social change on behalf of women, families and communities nationwide and find out how you can join them in upcoming actions and events:

• Grantee win alert! Good news coming out of Arizona? Yes, it's true! Thanks in large part to two of our grantees – Coalicion de Derechos Humanos in Tucson and Tonatierra in Phoenix. They, along with their allies, helped ensure the defeat of five horrific anti-immigrant bills in the Arizona state legislature that would've created a virtual prison for undocumented immigrants, especially women.
  
  
• Grantee win alert! Did you know that legislators in Kentucky have been trying to pass their own anti-immigrant legislation? Well, not so fast. Kentucky Jobs with Justice, a Ms. Foundation grantee, just helped derail SB6, a Kentucky bill modeled after Arizona's SB1070, the racist, anti-immigrant law that drew such national ire last year. "How did we win in a conservative, mostly rural, overwhelmingly White, Southern state like Kentucky?" asks Attica Woodson Scott, KJwJ Coordinator [and 2011 Ms. Foundation Woman of Vision!]."  "We brought our unique organizing style to a large, statewide table. We helped to get hundreds of good people from across Kentucky to converge on Frankfort (our state capitol) to lobby legislators, build alliances and stand strong against SB6.”  Read Attica's blog post to learn more about this key win.

• While our grantees organizing for immigrants' rights are on a roll, the struggle is far from over. Just ask the National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights. With support from the Ms. Foundation, they're launching a communications initiative to elevate immigrant women’s voices and push back against the dehumanizing, dangerous rhetoric emanating from Congress, statehouses, and conservative press that targets immigrant women, children and families. Visit their website for a campaign overview, including a statement of principles and message recommendations, and find out how to get involved. 

Read more »

Grantee Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

Another great week for grantee action, nationwide. Take a look at how these groups are working to protect women's rights, and lives, from coast to coast.

• A recent decision by the Washington State Department of Health to eliminate funding for the only women-specific support program for HIV-positive women in the state may be part of a larger national trend to defund women-centered services, say advocates. Read Ms. Foundation program officer Ellen Liu's recent commentary on how the Foundation grantees like Babes Network-YWCA will be impacted by these cuts, and what you can do to help.
  
  
• On March 10, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington celebrated National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers with a campaign to spread thanks for these essential health care representatives.  Thanks to NARAL's efforts, numerous notes of gratitude were sent to abortion providers across Washington State. It's not too late to share your appreciation: learn more about how to participate.
   
• A bill recently introduced in the Texas State legislature would make it a felony to "knowingly hire an immigrant not authorized to work in the United States -- except in the case of a person hired to perform household duties such as babysitting, house cleaning, or lawn mowing." Ms. Foundation grantee the National Domestic Workers Alliance has issued an important statement about how the exemption of domestic workers in this case will yet again provide unscrupulous employers the opportunity to "take advantage of vulnerable workers who are fearful of asserting their rights." Stand up for domestic workers' rights today: endorse NDWA 's campaigns on behalf of excluded workers.
  

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Grantee Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

It's been a huge few days for grantee action, we're pleased to report! Take a look at the many ways our grantees are working to advance social change nationwide.

• BABES Network-YWCA has launched a fight against budget cuts that would "eliminate funding for the only women-specific education and support program for women living with HIV in Washington State." Proposed cuts to Ryan WhitePart D funding would mean a 75% reduction in the amount of money funneled to services supporting women and children in the state, leaving hundreds of Washington State families without the resources they need as they battle HIV/AIDS. On Thursday, March 3rd BABES held a town hall-style forum informing people about the needs of women living with the virus in Washington State, advancing the case for increased care, rather than cuts, in times like these. To help protect these essential services, write DOH Secretary Mary Selecky using the  letter template provided.
  
  
• A number of grantees took to the streets this week to protect women's health and workers' rights. On March 2, Kentucky Jobs with Justice hosted a rally for public workers in downtown Louisville, while local chapters of JwJ did the same nationwide. (Visit this photo album on Facebook to view excellent pictures from the event.) And in New York, thousands of people joined together on February 26th to "Stand Up for Women's Health" -- a rally sponsored by Planned Parenthood to push back against federal budget cuts that would put millions of women's lives in danger. Watch this great video from the event, which features Jessica Gonzales-Rojas, Deputy Director of Ms. Foundation grantee, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH).

• Southerners on New Ground (SONG) is working to spearhead the creation of a queer & trans coalition to fight copycat anti-immigrant bills winding their way through the Georgia state legislature. A town hall meeting was held on March 3rd to raise community awareness about how these bills increase the state's ability to police not just around immigration status, but around identity overall (including gender presentation), which could have profound impact on the LGBTQ community. A second town hall meeting is planned for March 9th in Atlanta, to strategize a coordinated response to these measures and discuss the role the LGTBQ community can play in supporting the broader immigrant and refugee rights community.
  

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Grantee Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

We never cease to be amazed by the remarkable work our grantees do, each and every week, to advance social change. See below for the newest news on what our grantees have been up to since our last update.

• In the aftermath of a four-day long immigration raid in Mississippi, advocates from grantee group the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance are speaking out about human rights violations perpetrated in the course of these raids. MIRA and other immigrants' rights organizations are pointing out that both profiling based on race and deceptive scare tactics were used to round-up the 58 people arrested last week, including posing as pizza delivery men or Avon representatives in order to get "suspects" to open their doors to ICE agents. "What's taking place is overt racial profiling," MIRA'S executive director Bill Chandler told reporters, noting that many of the searches that were conducted were warrantless, and that thee people arrested are not the criminals that immigrations agents claim. The raids, and the reported abuses attached to them, have garnered significant local press; MIRA is working to get the arrested released from jail on bond, and to raise awareness about the dangerous and deceptive tactics ICE uses in the name of law enforcement.
  
  
• The struggle over worker and labor rights in Wisconsin and other states continues: last week Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, wrote an op-ed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the recent protests at the Wisconsin state capitol staged by unions and thousands of the state's working people. Public employees were not the ones to bring our economy to the brink, Bravo notes, and should not be the ones to pay for the criminal economic practices of large financial institutions. Hear, hear!

• Madeline Janis, executive director of grantee group LAANE, issued her own reports from the streets of Madison, WI. The city, Janis reports, has been overtaken by a beautiful kind of progressive fervor: "It seems like every restaurant, every dry cleaners has a message posted: 'I’m pro-union,' 'I support teachers,' 'I believe in public sector workers,' Janis writes. "Wherever you go there is support." View a video detailing Janis's experience on Facebook.
  
  
• Ensuring quality child care is not just a federal funding issue -- and we're proud to note that grantee All Our Kin is doing all it can to guarantee that, at the state level, women, children and families are provided the resources they need to access quality care. Connecticut's NPR affiliate recently featured the group in a story about why family child care matters, using AOK's work to underscore how Connecticut could do a better job of supporting quality care and treating providers fairly. The group has also partnered with the CT Commission on Children and CT Parent Power to work on a bill that would give parents "presumptive eligibility" for state child care benefits -- forcing the state to move quickly in making eligibility determinations, while also protecting family child care providers, who are "often forced to take a chance on families whose eligibility for subsidies is pending, and may never get paid for the child care they've provided.” Keep up the great work.
  

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Grantee Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

What have Ms. Foundation for Women grantees been up to recently? Read below to learn more about how the groups we support are changing the world around us -- every day.

• It's not just Wisconsin: In an effort to raise awareness about and fight back against budget cuts that threaten to "gut workers' rights and benefits" nationwide, Ms. Foundation grantee Jobs with Justice and its affiliates have hosted and participated in a slew of actions to oppose the numerous "anti-worker" bills now sitting on state legislative dockets across the country. Including Wisconsin, JwJ has or will be hosting rallies, town halls and other protests in at least six states where workers rights are plainly under attack; now, that's what we call organizing. Go, workers, go!

• This year marks the third anniversary of the Mississippi-based Women in Construction (WinC) program, which the Ms. Foundation began supporting as a pilot program in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Today, WinC, a program of Moore Community House, is part of a broader cohort of Ms. Foundation grantees working around the country to build an economy based on a new set of values and principles, promoting economic and gender justice through job creation and improved job quality. Congratulations to the WinC program and Moore Community House on three years of remarkable work!

• Ms. Foundation grantee Grassroots Leadership has launched a campaign to document the lives, hardships, and abuses endured by women incarcerated in for-profit prisons nationwide. By exposing the added burdens and risks faced by women in for-profit prisons, Grassroots Leadership hopes to shift priorities from "profit" to "justice" -- and move imprisonment and detention out of the corporate and for-profit sector for good.
  
  
• On Feb 15, grantee SWAN held a press conference at the National Press Club to announce a class-action lawsuit against Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, on behalf of 17 survivors of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment in the military. News of the suit was quickly picked up by the New York Times and has garnered much additional press as well. Both the Pentagon and Congress also released responses to the lawsuit, which was filed in Federal District Court in Virginia.
  
  
• On February 10, the Ms. Foundation joined a number of our grantee partners in co-sponsoring a Congressional briefing on violence against immigrant women. The event offered attendees a chance to hear testimony from advocates, organizers, and survivors of violence whose experiences underscore the need for legislation that protects immigrant women from abuse. Read Congressman Raul Grijalva’s response to the briefing, and listen to this powerful testimony.
    
• Based on the success of a state-based pilot program to advance LGBTQ equality, the Western States Center is now taking their work on the issue national. The group has launched the Uniting Communities: National Partner Project, which will bring together organizations based in communities of color nationwide to proactively address issues of racial justice and LGBTQ equality. Three other Ms. Foundation grantees -- National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Mobilize the Immigrant Vote (California) -- will be participating in the project in its inaugural year; we wish them all the best, and can't wait to hear about all they have accomplished!

In the News

• Ellen Bravo, Executive Director of the Family Values @ Work, appeared on GRITtv to discuss workers' ongoing struggles for basic human rights in Wisconsin. Bravo helped lead a successful campaign in Milwaukee for paid sick days that is now being attacked by Governor Walker's administration, and brings a unique, inside perspective to the fight for workers' rights.
   
• West Virginia Free’s Executive Director, Margaret Chapman Pomponio, published an op-ed in the West Virginia Gazette, drawing attention to two new state-based bills that would further restrict women's access to reproductive health care. "House Bill 3020 and Senate Bill 443 would not only take away a woman's ability to pay for private insurance coverage of abortion care," Chapman Pomponio wrote, "[they] would unconstitutionally eliminate abortion coverage for state workers and women who need assistance through state-run insurance programs." Another example of how national and state-level politics converge -- and, in this case, not for the better.

• National Day Laborer Organizing Network’s Pablo Alvarado published a piece on the Huffington Post that highlights Arizona’s introduction of new state legislation that challenges the birthright citizenship clause of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment. The article includes moving video testimonials from a young immigrant woman and girl -- members of Las Comadres, a group affiliated with Tonatierra, a Ms. Foundation grantee based in Phoenix -- who spoke at a State Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about how the bill would have a devastating effect on the lives of children just like them. Earlier that day, they and other children led a group of over 100 families outside the State Capitol building in protest of the legislation. Their testimonies surely played a key role: in the end, the committee leader "held" the bill because he didn't have the votes to pass it. This was a critical win for immigrant women, children and families in Arizona, and you can be sure they'll be back again to protect their rights as other State Senate committees consider the bill next.  

• Nancy Duff, co-president of the National Women’s Law Center posted an eye-opening analysis of the negative impact FY12 proposed budget cuts will have on women and families. "If the House passes H.R.1, the  Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, girls and women would bear a heavy burden—from girls in early childhood programs to women in their working and childbearing years to women in retirement," Campbell wrote. Keep your eyes on the Senate fight over passage of the act, which must come up for a vote before March 4 (it's already passed the House).

Events and Action Opportunities

• Friends and Families of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children is holding a special Black History Month event on Feb. 25, 2011. The event will feature discussion of Michelle Alexander’s book the “New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” If you're in the New Orleans area, be a part of what's sure to be a stirring conversation.
  
  
• Last Friday, the House voted to eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Now, many of our grantees, including several state-level Planned Parenthood affiliates, are rallying their constituencies to fight back. Access Women’s Health Justice, for example, is urging everyone to stand with Planned Parenthood; NARAL Pro-Choice Washington urges you to help save all women’s access to reproductive health care. Take action  now -- women's lives depend on it!

Grantee Round Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

Across the country, Ms. Foundation grantees are hard at work, advancing social justice every day. Here's a look at just some of what they've accomplished over just the last few days.

• Grantee Win Alert! On February 3, Critical Resistance’s New Orleans chapter helped advocate for and eventually pressured the City Council to shrink the size of the notorious Orleans Parish Prison. In the face of plans to build thousands of new cells at OPP, CR helped win an order to cap the jail size at 1,400 and decommission existing jail space with a unanimous vote by the Council. Watch this video to learn more about their efforts -- and congrats to all involved!
  
  
• On January 29 and 30, BABES Network-YWCA joined local community partners to put on a 2-day advocacy training for people living with HIV/AIDS. The event -- which attracted a majority of women attendees -- equipped participants with the skills to advocate and communicate effectively around HIV issues, with a special focus on the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and their families. “Many of the men in the training commented that they had never understood the perspective of low income women living with HIV until this training," noted Amelia Vader, Program Manager for BABES, in a recent email to supporters. "Women are making a major impact in the HIV community in Washington State and our current collaborations are... providing more opportunities for their voices to be heard by the broader AIDS community.”

• Grantee Young Women United helped bring more than 1000 women and families together for a march to demand dignity and justice for all communities. The 1000 Women March, which took place in Santa Fe, N.M. on Feb. 11, sought to bring a broad range of pressing issues to the attention of lawmakers, and promote civic participation among New Mexico's women and families. In particular, marchers demanded a place at the table when decisions concerning the welfare of women and families are being made, in pursuit of a “frank, direct, and permanent dialogue with the Governor." That's what we call daring to be heard! Keep up the great work!
  
  

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Grantee Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

A new week, a new round of information to share about the many ways the Ms. Foundation's grantees are advancing social justice nationwide:

• Grantee ACT for Women and Girls went viral to promote the importance of condom usage and healthy sexuality for all. Luchador vs. HIV is the first video produced by this year's participants in ACT's Female Leadership Academy  -- an initiative that brings a diverse group of young women leaders together to provide them with hands-on advocacy training. Their video dispels myths about HIV transmission and stresses the need for members of all communities to practice safer sex -- reminding us (quite aptly) that "no great fighter would ever go into the ring without their mask." Point taken.
  
  
• The Rebecca Project for Human Rights got a mention in a recent Newsweek article about the increased incidence of sex trafficking around major sporting events like the Super Bowl. Notably, authorities in Dallas (the site of this year's Super Bowl) took the threat seriously, adding as many as two dozen extra staffers to their ranks to monitor the traffic of underage girls around the event. “The involvement of the attorney general and law enforcement is far greater than anything we’ve seen before,” said Malika Saada Saar, executive director of the Rebecca Project. Way to go, Big D.
  
  
• The Minnesota Department of Transportation has plans to increase the number of women and people of color it hires, according to a report on Minnesota Public Radio that featured Ms. Foundation grantee HIRE Minnesota. After more than a decade of failing to meet its goals in hiring women and "minorities," MnDOT has now been convinced by a coalition of community groups -- including HIRE MN -- to get serious about putting women and people of color to work, in part by putting in place a strict deadline by which any contractor bidding for state work must also submit their plan for including women and people of color in their workforce. It remains to be seen just how effective these new measures will be, but they're a bona fide step in the right direction. Good job, HIRE MN!

• The National Women's Law Center is urging everyone to tell your members of Congress to oppose the harmful Smith Bill (H.R.3), newly-introduced legislation that, if passed, would cement current and, put in place dangerous new, prohibitions on the federal funding of abortions. The original draft went as far as to attempt to redefine rape, language that was removed after an outcry from activists. But there's still no doubt that this bill seeks to restrict women's reproductive rights and health and could put the health of millions low- and middle-income women at risk. Don't wait: tell your congressional representatives NOW that they must oppose the Smith Bill and the danger it presents to women's lives.
  
  
• Last week, Adriann Barboa, executive director of Ms. Foundation grantee Young Women United, wrote a stirring piece about the deaths of eleven young women in the desert outside of Albuquerque, NM -- and how her organization was able to transform its city's response to these deaths. We were so moved by her words, we posted her commentary on our blog.
  
  
• In just the first month of this year, grantee Women's Voices for the Earth has made critical inroads in the fight for environmental and reproductive justice. We've highlighted their recent gains -- which include pushing for a ban on the use of triclosan in consumer protects, raising awareness about toxins in nail salons and the plight of nail salon workers, and strengthening environmental regulations for cleaning products -- on the blog. We are thrilled at the progress they're making, alongside other grantees, to improve the reproductive health and overall well-being of women and girls through the lens of environmental justice. Keep up the good work!

Upcoming Opportunities

• Join Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) on Wednesday, February 9 for their first Building Bridges to Economic Security training webinar: How to Advocate Effectively in an Economic Downturn. Participants will hear from national communications and policy experts on what’s coming up in the 112th Congress, and learn messaging strategies around building economic security for workers, families and elders. The webinar will begin at at 1:30 p.m. EST on 2/9; RSVP to kstellrecht@wowonline.org to reserve your spot.
  
  
• Our grantee Sister Song's 3rd annual, Let's Talk About Sex Conference is on the horizon, and they're looking for fabulous workshop proposals to make the event a smash success. This year's conference theme is "Love, Legislation and Leadership" and organizers are looking for workshops that "highlight cutting-edge visions that address issues on sex, sexuality, and sexual pleasure." Submissions are due February 11, 2011; the conference itself is set to take place July 14 - 17 in Miami Beach, FL. Submit your proposals today!
  
  
• On Feb 28, The National Council for Research on Women will host a panel discussion in advance of their annual Making a Difference for Women Awards, which this year honors former Ms. Foundation presidents Sara K. Gould and Marie Wilson. The panel, Building a Pipeline to Women's Leadership, will bring together leaders in the corporate and higher education worlds to “share their vision, insights, strategies, and... action steps for unlocking women's and girls' potential in all fields of study and careers.” The event is free and open to the public, and runs from 3:00pm – 5:15 in Manhattan; RSVP to rsvp@ncrw.org.
  
  
• Choice USA is now accepting applications and nominations for their Western and Southern States Reproductive Justice Leadership Institutes (RJLIs). The RJLI is a weekend-long training for 50 young people between the ages of 15 and 25 who are passionate about reproductive justice and want to learn how to make a difference. Attendees will expand their knowledge of reproductive health, rights and justice; hear from experts in the social justice movement; connect with others who share their passions; and learn how to take action.Western States RJLI applications are due February 18, 2011 and Southern States RJLI applications are due March 11, 2011. For more information contact Mari Schimmer, Choice USA Outreach and Trainings Manager, at 202-719-9443 or email mschimmer@choiceusa.org.

• AIDS Services Austin, home to Ms. Foundation grantee the Women Rising Project, asks for your support for their AIDS Drug Assistance Program Advocacy Day on Tuesday, February 15. “With extraordinary budget cuts looming for Texas, we need your help to preserve the lifesaving AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) in our state budget. Over 13,000 Texans statewide receive support from ADAP, including over 900 people in the Austin area.” Stand with our sisters and brothers in Texas to save funding for HIV/AIDS programs state-wide: register now to join them at the State Capitol on advocacy day!

• Community Voices Heard is accepting applications for their Gail Aska Policy & Research Fellowship: a 10-month, full-time fellowship “designed to support and develop the skills of a woman of color to shape public policy and conduct constituent-driven research on issues affecting low-income communities." The fellowship, which runs from March through December, aims to address the scarcity of women of color in the fields of public policy and research working on social and economic justice issues. Submissions are due by February 18, 2011, but will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Learn more about how to apply.

• In partnership with the University of Washington, The BABES Network - YWCA is looking for participants for a study of HIV-related stigma among African Americans. They aim to find out how to best modify a stigma reduction program for African Americans living with HIV. For more information about this opportunity, contact Amelia at BABES: 206-720-5566.

Grantee Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

What have Ms. Foundation for Women grantees been up to lately? Read below to learn how the groups we support are changing the world around us -- one day at a time.

• Joining forces with more than 70 other organizations, Ms. Foundation grantee Wider Opportunities for Women issued a statement in support of the affordable transportation proposal outlined by President Obama in his State of the Union address. As these projects, and debate around them, moves forward, WOW will work to ensure that women and communities of color get their fair share of the many expected jobs and contracting opportunities in construction, maintenance and operations that a national investment in improving our transportation infrastructure is likely to create.

• A new tool unveiled by the Western States Center might help revolutionize the way grassroots organizations work -- and how effective they are in the long-term. “Capitol Gains: Traditional Vs. Movement Building Approach” is designed to help organizations move beyond organizing around legislative issues alone, by showing them how to incorporate long-term movement-building approaches into their organizing strategies. An initiative of WSC's VOTE (Voter Organizing Training and Empowerment) program, the report offers a useful chart for identifying key differences between legislative versus movement-building outcomes; make sure to download [pdf] your copy today.

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Weekly Round-Up: Grantees Making Waves Nationwide

How are the Ms. Foundation's grantees igniting change this week? Take a gander below to find out.

• To commemorate the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Ms. Foundation grantee Choice USA  brought together six young reproductive justice leaders for a "royal rumble" over the future of reproductive rights. The event -- called We are the Champions -- featured three rounds of intense debate around youth activism and advocacy, abortion access and funding, and the 2012 elections, among other topics. Missed attending in person? Not to worry -- video footage of this exciting event is now available online. Check it out!

• In addition to planning much needed events like the one above, Choice USA has also recently partnered with  RH Reality Check (another Ms. Foundation grantee) to cultivate an intergenerational op-ed series on reproductive justice. The series aims to engage young activists and more established members of the movement in an ongoing dialogue to broaden the base of support and lift up the voices and leadership of youth. “We have realized that we as a movement need to figure out successful ways to work together across generations in order to be sustainable and garner bigger wins,” says Kierra Johnson, ED of Choice USA. The series' first installment, "From Generation Roe to Generation Now,” written by Andrew Jenkins, is up on RH Reality Check now.

• An article on MSNBC.com about women and the economy featured expert analysis from grantees the National Women’s Law Center and Wider Opportunities for Women. The piece, “After 'mancession,' women falling behind,” highlights the much ignored fact that as the economy improves, women remain at a disadvantage when it comes to finding jobs, gaining back just 1 in 10 of the jobs added to the economy in 2010 -- despite having lost 1 in 3 jobs in 2008/2009. “The whole idea of this ‘mancession’ has always been so interesting because it is definitely true that we saw huge job losses in the [male-dominated] building trades … but it never meant that women were doing well,” Mary Gatta of WOW told MSNBC. Learn more about how WOW partnered with another Ms. Foundation grantee, Moore Community House, to help women in the Gulf Coast weather the economic crisis by accessing quality jobs in construction.

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