Women’s Committees - Start Something Special in Your Local Lodge

by Veronica Stevenson, Director, District Lodge 141 Women’s Committee

Many Local Lodge’s throughout District 141 have taken the first steps to establish permanent Women’s Committees alongside their more traditional Community Service, Education, Organizing and MNPL Committees. Many however, are still unsure of the objectives and responsibilities of this important committee.

As Director of the District Lodge 141 Women’s Committee, I would like to provide an outline of how to create a Local Lodge Women’s Committee, as well as what such a Committee can provide for our members.

First of all, the selection, function and makeup of Local Lodge committees is generally addressed in the Local bylaws, and that’s the first place to go for information regarding setting up a new committee. The Local Lodge President may have the responsibility of appointing the committee, or members may vote on the establishment of new committees at regular union meetings.

Local Lodge committee members may have a term of office, such as two years, with elections to determine who shall hold the position. In many cases however, Local Lodge committees are made up of anyone who is interested in serving. I would encourage all Local Lodge’s to be as inclusive as possible when establishing their Women’s Committees.

Once a Local Lodge Women’s Committee has been formed, the next step is to contact me. I can link your committee to a wealth of resources that will provide information regarding issues and activities that will make your committee relevant to members of your local and your community. Often the first hurdle is to assure your local members that a Women’s Committee is not a "Women Only Committee." There is no reason why participation on a Women’s Committee should be restricted by a member’s gender.

The first step to forming a Women’s Committee is to seek out you Local Lodge President and ask him or her to raise the issue at the next Local Lodge meeting. Any member or Local Lodge officer wanting more information on establishing a Women’s Committee can call me at the Denver Local Committee office at; 303-287-0329.

Local 1759 Shop Stewards (from left) Gabrielle Cerullo, Rosetta Howerton, Anita Hill-Racer, Sara Johnson, Jennifer Grant, Heather Cyrus and Committeeperson & District Educator Heather Oliver of the Huntington, West Virginia Mileage Plus Inc. Reservations Center, take a break during stewards training.

What Women Want

Equal Pay, Health Care Benefits, Paid Family Leave and Retirement Security are Top Priorities for U.S. Working Women

by Veronica Stevenson, Director, District Lodge 141 Women’s Committee

According to a major new study commissioned by the AFL-CIO, one in four U.S. women holds a job working nights and weekends and nearly half of all working women work different hours than their partners or spouse.

The "Working Women Say..." report is part of a year-long project designed to highlight women’s issues and concerns going into the 2000 elections. The results were gathered from more than 5,000 group discussions in workplaces, conference rooms and kitchens across the country. A key element of the the study were thousands of AFL-CIO surveys returned by working women from all corners of the economy.

The report found that women strongly support measures to help them meet family obligations while working. An overwhelming 83 percent of working women say that expanding the Family Medical Leave Act and providing paid leave is important to them, and more than 87 percent say that stronger equal pay laws are a number one priority.

While more than 84 percent say that health insurance is extremely important, roughly one quarter of the women surveyed say their jobs don’t offer secure, affordable health care. "Women are struggling to balance their families work schedules at home, and then facing unequal pay and a lack of benefits once they get to their job," said AFL-CIO Working Women’s Dept. Director Karen Nussbaum.

The study also revealed that women are keenly aware of the effect all these factors will have on their retirement. With 25% less earning power in comparable jobs than men, women are much more likely to retire into poverty. More than a quarter of all working women (28 percent) don’t receive any pension or retirement benefits, making Social Security protection an extremely high (81 percent) priority for the women surveyed.

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill

Important legislation for all women.

If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. There is a Bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005 (S 910/HR1849) which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television placed this Bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

Please sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html

Thank you for your participation.

Veronica Stevenson, Director

Basic Facts about the Family & Medical Leave Act

By Veronica Stevenson, Director

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) states that if you:

• Have worked for the same company for at least 12 months (does not need to be consecutive); and

• Have worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year; and

• Work for a company with at least 50 employees who work within 75 miles of your work site:

Then you are entitled to:

• Take a total of 12 weeks off work without pay.

• Keep any health insurance coverage you had during the time you are off. 

• Get your old job back, or an equivalent position with equal pay, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment following FMLA leave. 

Employee Responsibilities Under the FMLA 

You must give notice of the need for leave from your job: 

• Employees do not have to specifically request “FMLA Leave” or even mention FMLA. Employees must simply give enough information or put the employer on notice that the reason the employee is requesting leave may be FMLA qualifying.

• Employers can ask employees to provide “written notice” of need for leave, but employers cannot deny FMLA leave if the employee fails to comply with a written request requirement as long as the employee has given timely verbal or other notice.

• When the need for leave is foreseeable, employees must give 30 days notice. When the need for leave is not foreseeable, employees must give notice “as soon as practicable,” but usually within one or two days of the need for leave arising.

Provide Certification of the Medical Need for Leave

The FMLA allows employers to require employees to provide medical certification of the need for leave for the employee’s own serious health condition or for a family member’s serious health condition. Employers may not seek more information from the employee in the medical certification than what is allowed in the Department of Labor’s model form. Employers cannot require a diagnosis and should not require employees to sign an authorization allowing the release of all medical information to the employer. An employer’s doctor may contact an employee’s doctor only for the clarification of information.

Should an employer have questions regarding an employee’s medical certification, the employer may require the employee to receive a second and/or third medical opinion. An employer cannot require an employee who has provided a certification of a need for intermittent leave to provide a new certification each time the employee uses leave. An employer generally should not request recertification when an employee is using leave more often than every 30 days. 

Comply with Fitness-for-Duty Certification Requirements 

An employer may require employees scheduled to return from FMLA leave to certify that they are medically fit for duty. A fitness-for-duty examination or certification must be job-related and consistent with business necessity.

Source: A Reference Guide To the Family and Medical Leave Act, IAM Women’s Department.