Category Archives: Public Policy

Public Policy

CELEBRATE THE CENTENNIAL OF WOMEN GAINING THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN NEW YORK STATE ON NOVEMBER 6, 1917
FIND LOCAL AND FAMILY SUFFRAGISTS

There are bound to be Suffragists in your area. Thousands of people across New York State formed grassroots organizations to bring male voters to the realization that women should have the right to vote. You can find them in your communities. Honor these brave people who worked tirelessly to obtain the vote for women.
You will find it exciting, interesting, rewarding and meaningful to discover these courageous people who fought so hard to “Give Women the Vote”.

PLACES TO GO:
1. Contact the County Historical Society
2. Contact the Town Historical Society
3. Ask the Town Historian (They love to share)
4. Visit the Local Library-They house historical documents
5. Ask librarians if they know of any suffragists
6. Talk to people you think might know of suffragists
7. Follow up on any leads
8. Find a book on the history of your area and who wrote it. You may find this by using the web and/or interlibrary loan
9. Read the book chapters that maybe useful on the web
10. On the web try different key words and various combinations of words-use your imagination for example: Make up the possible name of a suffragist society or club
11. Try the Library of Congress data base using key words
12. Research the Fulton History Project. It indexes hundreds of old newspapers around NYS
13. Explore old digitalized NYS newspapers at http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org articles contain info about suffragists, events and provide names which can then be followed up
14. Search in NYS Library Suffrage catalog and request files with suffrage connections
15. Access on line university archives.
16. Investigate museum archives especially women’s museums
17. Seek specialized local libraries-a letter will reveal names
18. Search your own home attic-relatives papers-those related to you
19. Ask family members-amazing what you will find.

It is a thrilling adventure finding these people who gave so much of themselves so that we can have the vote. Their stories will capture your interest and your heart.

Happy Successful Researching!
Bonnie and Nancy Mion-AAUW -LI Suffragists Committee Chair

Public Policy

Lobbying Legislators by Cell Phone
Nancy Mion, AAUW ESVB Public Policy Director

We live in a democracy. The dictionary defines the word thusly-DEMOCRACY –noun– A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representativess. Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address … government of the people, by the people and for the people… It is as true now as it was 154 years ago.

We elect those who create and pass the laws that determine how we must act. They need to know what we, AAUW members, believe to be the best course of action for the people of our great nation. We, the members of ESVB AAUW, believe in gender equity. We can work to achieve this by being informed and by taking action to be certain that those who represent us know how we feel about pending legislation and governmental actions related to those issues.

Public Policy is one of the areas, where being a Virtual Branch is most effective. Often action to support our Mission of equity for women and girls needs to be taken immediately. The weekly Washington Update, to which I hope you subscribe, gives you the latest Public Policy news and updates from AAUW.

AAUW Public Policy has developed a new way to stay informed and active. It is the Two-Minute Activists mobile. This exciting new tool delivers timely, targeted communication straight to your cell phone via text message and offers other important advocacy features such as the ability to connect with your legislators’ offices by phone. That means AAUW can provide you with strategic opportunities to take action right when your advocacy can make the biggest impact. Your text message from AAUW will make it easy for you to call your US Legislators’ office by phone. After you dial the number given you’ll hear a brief introduction before being automatically routed to the appropriate office. Remember to identify yourself as a constituent, and then ask your legislator to take the desired action.

Ready to take your advocacy to the next level?

Go to http://www.aauw.org/resource/two-minute-activist-mobile/  Complete the form there and opt in to the Two Minute Activists mobile. — or simply text the word “AAUW” to phone number 21333.

Once you sign up for the Two Minute Activist mobile you can advocate for gender equity wherever you go. You provide the voice — AAUW provides the megaphone.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Vote in the AAUW Elections

“SUFFRAGE noun “ a vote given in deciding a controverted question or electing a person for an office or trust”   Merriam-Webster

We, members of AAUW, have a vote in determining AAUW’s tomorrows. As Mark Hopkins, interim AAUW CEO (New one will start June 1) says “Every two years AAUW members have a unique opportunity to shape the future of this storied organization. What will be our focus? Who will be our leaders? These questions are too important to let someone else answer for you”.

On April 17 and again on May 8th those of you with an AAUW up-to-date email address received an email with instructions on voting online in AAUW’s 2017 National Election. The email address containing the information and your personal voting code number is 1member1voteAaaauw.org.  Voting will end June 15.  You will be voting o members of the Board of Directors and proposed By-Laws  changes, such as the membership requirement, and the Public Policy Platform. Be an informed voter.

You can find out more about these proposed By-laws changes and their rationale, by going to https://www.aauw.org/aauw_check/pdf_download/show_pdf.php?file=2017-OMOV-Voter-Guide. They are also presented in the latest issue of the OUTLOOK.

Of particular interest to you might be:

PROPOSAL 1. Shall Article IV of the AAUW Bylaws be amended to create an “advocate” category of membership?*

*Voting on this bylaw amendment should be made without consideration of proposal 2, the amendment that eliminates the degree requirement. If this proposal is adopted, it will be implemented only if proposal 2 is not adopted.

PROPOSAL 2. Shall Article IV of the AAUW Bylaws be amended to eliminate the degree requirements for individual members?

PROPOSAL 8. Shall the bylaws be amended by changing the number of members required to establish quorum and make a vote countable from 5 percent to 3 percent.

Exercise your franchise (Merriam-Webster definition-“ the right to vote”). Be a part of deciding the course AAUW will take in empowering women.

Nancy Mion
AAUW Empire State Virtual Branch Public Policy Director

Public Policy

GENDER EQUITY MOVES FORWARD IN 2016

FIRSTS

  • 1st Female and African-American becomes the Chief Librarian of the Library of Congress
  • 1st Native American woman, a Hopi Tribe member, is confirmed a US District Court Judge
  • 1st Woman elected Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives

LEGISLATION

  • Provision for paid sick days was passed in Vermont, the fifth state to do so.
  • Sexual Assault Survivors Act became law of the land. Among other things it gives the, 25 million and growing, survivors the right to have a rape kit kept for the case’s statute of limitations.
  • WW II Women’s Airforce Service Piolets right to inurnment in Arlington National Cemetery was restored by Act of Congress. An AAUW member was actively involved.

JUDICIAL

  • The US Supreme Court upheld affirmative action.

TRAINING

  • Department of Justice plans to train 28,000 of its employees on implicit bias.

SUFFRAGE

  • The Sewell-Belmont House in Washington, DC, home of the Suffragist National Women’s Party, is now a National Monument called the Belmont-Paul House, giving it more protection and money

VOTING

  • Automatic online voter registration in 4 states. States vary in how it is done. In CA it is done when registering for state college; In CT & OR when renewing or getting a license; a person can opt out in these three states; In CO they can register with a text message.
  • US SENATE HAS 21 WOMEN. THE HIGHEST NUMBER IT HAS EVER BEEN.

It is great to see these strides taken toward gender equity in the United States. Let us each help further this movement by resolving to write, email or call a legislator about an AAUW issue in 2017.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Nancy Mion, ESVB Public Policy Director

Public Policy

Cases Settled!

by Nancy Mion, Public Policy Director
Empire State Virtual NY Branch

It is exciting to know that three cases supported by LAF have been recently settled. The cases are: Moshak, Mason, Schlosser vs University of Tennessee which was successfully settled for over a million dollar in January 2016 found; Jaureguito and Wartluff finally settled with Feather River Community College after ten years. Check the LAF Webpage at http://aauw-nys.org/laf_casesupport.htm and the Spring 2016 Focus.

Thank you to the following members of the Empire State Virtual NY Branch for their generous contribution to LAF Fund: Dorothy McLane; Heide Parreno, Chigurupati Rani & Maria Ellis.

 

UN Announces First-ever High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment

 by Donna Seymour
AAUW NYS Public Policy VP

The United Nations announced the first High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment. The panel will give recommendations for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to improve economic outcomes for women globally and improve women’s leadership in sustainable economic growth.

“The empowerment of the world’s women is a global imperative,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “Yet despite important progress in promoting gender equality, there remains an urgent need to address structural barriers to women’s economic empowerment and full inclusion in economic activity. If the world is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we need a quantum leap in women’s economic empowerment.”

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/1/wee-high-level-panel-launch

 

More Complaints Than Findings!

by Donna Seymour
AAUW NYS Public Policy VP

Education Department has received more than 1,000 filings on racial harassment in higher ed in last seven years. But only a fraction result in any findings.

In an op-ed this month on rising racial tensions on campus, Education Secretary Arne Duncan noted that in his seven years in office, the department’s Office for Civil Rights has received more than 1,000 complaints about racial harassment in higher education. He said this statistic was an indication that the current concerns about race on campus are “no small issue.”

Duncan didn’t note how small a proportion of those complaints have resulted in findings of discrimination. Most of the complaints, in fact, never result in a complete investigation by OCR, let alone a finding. That isn’t necessarily a sign of weak complaints or of poor enforcement by OCR. A review of more information provided by the Education Department, however, may illustrate why students are turning to campus protests and not to Washington with their grievances.

During the Obama administration, the Education Department has received 1,073 complaints about racial harassment in higher education. Generally, the number of complaints a year is up, compared to prior years. Since 2010, the smallest number of complaints in a fiscal year is 137 (in 2010). In the five years prior to the Obama administration, the number of complaints never exceeded 95 and was generally smaller than that (in the 50s). An increase in complaints does not necessarily mean that the situation on campus is worse, since a variety of factors (such as outreach to encourage complaints, or the government signaling interest in enforcement) can be a factor in the number of complaints.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/11/30/education-department-receives-many-complaints-about-racial-harassment-higher

AAUW’S ADVOCACY IMPACT IN NEW YORK STATE

  Public Policy LogoAAUW’S ADVOCACY IMPACT
IN NEW YORK STATE

This is how AAUW was involved in educating our New Yorkers, citizens and lawmakers, about the policies needed to advance our mission in fiscal 2014. These efforts were supported by your generous donations.

  • AAUW Action Fund Lobby Corps made 43 visits to members of Congress from NYS.
  • AAUW public policy staff provided materials for 36 events in NYS, including 26 Equal Pay Day events.
  • AAUW staff, NYS members & members of Congress held a Women’s Economic Agenda event with Leader Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney
  • New Yorkers sent 20,744 messages to Congress and the president through the Two-Minute Activist.
  • AAUW Action Network provided free access in NY for alerts on NYS issues and events.
  • An AAUW Impact Grant of $1,000 plus Public Policy staff resources was awarded to NYS for action on behalf of safer campus climates and paid sick days in NYS.

Use your voice, your hand and your heart; utilize your phone, your computer and your money to Make a Difference.

Nancy Mion AAUW ESVB Public Policy Chair

HOORAY! NYS EQUAL PAY BILL TO BECOME LAW!

HOORAY!
NYS EQUAL PAY BILL TO BECOME LAW!

The NYS Assembly unanimously passed NYS Equal Pay Bills on April 27, 2015. The NYS Senate  had approved them earlier this Session. AAUW and others have lobbied for Equal Pay Bills for well over a decade. When the Governor signs the Bills, he has said he will, in 90 days they will be law.

The Women’s Equality Coalition, of which we are a member, reports that A.6075 updates New York Equal Pay Law by creating robust wage secrecy protections, so that employees cannot be fired or retaliated against for sharing their wage information as well as allow for increased damages up to triple the amount of unpaid wages when an employee successfully proves that an employer has willfully violated the law.

These are essential components in achieving pay equity.  A person must know how much others who are doing equal/comparable work are being paid to institute a legal action. Having access to proof that wage discrimination on the basis of gender exists means cases can be won, thus forcing employers to face paying severe damages when they pay employees inequitably. The passage of this law means a reduction in the 86% gender wage gap in NYS.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

 Thank your NYS Assembly Member for voting for A6075. Contact info at http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/ fill in you zip & address, click and email your message.

  1. Ask your member of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act. How? Go to aauw.org; click on Take Action; enter your zip code then complete the Tow Minute Activist. AAUW Action Network members were asked to respond on April 17 to the e-mail titled “Ride the Equal Pay Day Wave”.
  2. It is certainly acceptable to contact your federal legislator more than once about an issue. To paraphrase the Tammany Hall quote ”Write Early and Write Often”

Congratulations on the passage of the NY Equal Pay Bills. It would not have happened without your support.

Nancy Mion, ESVB Public Policy Director

Start Smart Workshop: Learning to Negotiate the Wage Gap

Wage Gap

Learning to Negotiate the Wage Start Smart Workshop Sponsored by

AAUW’s Westchester and Empire State Virtual Branch!
Place:  College of Mount Saint Vincent:  Fall 2015

Suzanne DeChillo/photographer, The New York Times Annie Houle of the WAGE Project uses
$1 bills and play money to show men’s pay advantage over different groups of women. Her program teaches women how to negotiate for better salaries.

Did you see the article on the wage gap on the front page of the business section of the New York Times?  If you haven’t read the article, click on the link below for details:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/business/to-solve-the-gender-wage-gap-learn-to-speak-up.html?ref=business&_r=1

The Women’s Equality Agenda Once Again Has Governor Cuomo’s Support

NY Women’s Equality Coalition is in
Full Swing to work for its passage

Good News-We have another opportunity to achieve the passage of the Women’s Equality Agenda. The Governor in his State of the State Address committed himself to advancing women’s equality. Did you know that 89% of NY Voters agreed that equal pay for women should be a high priority for state leaders and 80% support updating New York’s abortion laws

The Women’s Equality Coalition, which includes the support of 860 women’s groups, one of which is the Empire State Virtual Branch, businesses, religious organizations, medical groups, and advocacy organizations from across the state, is united in its efforts to mobilize New Yorkers and push legislators to get the job done in 2014. AAUW-NYS is on the Steering Committee. The measures of the Women’s Equality Agenda reflect the complexity of women’s lives–securing equal pay, access to reproductive health care, and freedom from discrimination and violence are all essential to women’s equality. New York State needs to update and strengthen its laws to reflect the reality of women’s lives today.

The coalition formed last year almost succeeded in having the WEA passed in 2013. They have continued to be very active. This fall they developed a grassroots campaign utilizing social media to spread the word each week about various issues in the 10 point WEA, calling for an upgrade in NYS’s outmoded laws. They created a satiric two-minute video Illegal or Just Sleazy that everyone must see. View the video and share it with others http://nywomensequality.org/?utm_source=SOTS+WEA+Press+Release&utm_campaign=SOTS+Presser+WEA&utm_medium=email

NYWEC plans to build on the fall campaign and throw its full weight behind advancing women’s rights and making the Women’s Equality Agenda law.  Please do all you can to raise awareness among those you know. Encourage all to contact their NYS Legislators asking them to pass this needed legislation that will make a difference for so many.

Nancy Mion, Empire State Virtual Branch Public Policy Chair Myown220@aol.com