MOTHERS is an initiative of the National Association of Mothers' Centers (NAMC) that focuses on the economic rights of mothers. If you have questions or comments, please contact our Membership Development Director, Catherine Wright.

Thank you for your continued support!

The Staff at NAMC

MOTHERS '08™ - Thinking Beyond

Ourselves & Beyond Today

NAMC National Conference

Join us at the National Association of Mothers' Centers (NAMC) Conference April 4-6, 2008.

Ellen Bravo, a former director of 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women, and a recipient of a Women of Vision Award from the Ms. Foundation will deliver a keynote address at the next NAMC Conference, "Mothers '08™ - Thinking Beyond Ourselves & Beyond Today."

The conference is on April 4-6, 2008 at the Long Island Sheraton in Hauppauge, NY. Click here for more information.

Ellen is also the author of "Taking on the Big Boys," this month's MOTHERS Book Bag selection.

Balancing Work & Family Balance

Can Be Bad For Your Health

A report recently issued by the new America Foundation called, "The Stress of Balancing Work and Family: The Impact on Parent and Child Health and the Need for Workplace Flexibility " (PDF) concludes that work/family conflict is responsible for more tangible consequences than just an increase in stress levels. Seems that trying to balance an overwhelming work load and needing to take care of your family can be dangerous to your and your family's health!

Serious study is being conducted on the physical effects of too much time at work and too little time at home with loved ones. We all know that American parents spend more hours on the job now than in the later part of the 20th Century. Now we find out that work/life balance stress can translate into obesity, coronary disease, anxiety disorders, and physical changes on a metabolic level.

Such research shows the need for workplace flexibility to accommodate caregiving responsibilities for all parents and those caring for sick or elderly relatives. Not only is this a family value but a national healthcare issue as well - something that is on the front burner of the 2008 presidential election.

If this is a topic that is of interest to you, check out the NAMC's 12th annual Work/Life Conference. It's scheduled for November 2nd at the Cresthollow Country Club in Woodbury, NY. NAMC members get a discount on registration. Not a member yet? Please JOIN US!

DC Dispatch Capitol

New this issue - keeping an eye and ear on issues affecting mothers and families

"Suddenly, Last Summer"

While I was shuttling my children back and forth between camp, home, and the community pool this summer, Congress was actually up to some good. In the U.S. Senate, the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007 was introduced by Senators Chris Dodd and Paul Stevens. This bill would expand the Family Medical Leave Act and require that 8 of the 12 weeks be partially paid for eligible employees. This could become the closest thing the United States has to a national paid maternity leave policy.

In the House of Representatives, Lynn Woolsey has re-introduced her Family and Workplace Balancing Act, as she has done every session since 2004. This bill includes provisions for expanding family leave under the FMLA and making it paid. It also provides unpaid leave for parental participation in school activities, accompanying children and elderly relatives on routine medical appointments, funding for childcare, and voluntary universal pre-school, among other things.

Finally, dozens of women- and family-oriented advocacy groups have publicly supported the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act, introduced in both the House and the Senate. This bill offers states financial incentives to change their unemployment insurance programs so that they provide benefits to part-time workers (mostly women), expand coverage to workers who must leave jobs for compelling family reasons (mostly women), expand coverage to workers who have recently left welfare and joined the workforce to qualify for benefits (mostly women), and encourage states to boost weekly benefits for unemployed workers who are caring for children or other dependents (you guessed it -- mostly women).

While it is unlikely that any of these initiatives will make any significant progress during the current session, it is great to see legislators thinking about, drafting, and supporting these kinds of policies. Family issues are getting more attention - not enough, but more than they used to. And that is a measure of success, for now.

'Til next time

Your (Wo)Man in Washington

California Legislative Update: AB applause 537, SB 727 and SB 836

Recently, both houses of California's legislature passed three important work and family bills, expanding access to both paid family leave and the state Family and Medical Leave Act for millions of workers, and protecting them from workplace discrimination.

AB 537, SB 727 and SB 836 expand state family leave laws to include grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, adult children and parents-in-law, and prohibit discrimination against workers who have family care giving responsibilities. Now we wait for Governor Schwarzenegger to sign the bills into law.

For more information enter in the bill number at the California State Senate Bill Information site.

National Legislative Updates

H.R. 1161: Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2007

MOTHERS is also excited to see that Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) reintroduced H.R. 1161. The bill aims to amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service.

Other bills of interest:

- HR 2392: Family and Workplace Balancing Act

- S 1681: Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007, providing eight weeks of partially paid family medical leave. (For full details of what the bill entails, click here.)

- S 1871 and H.R. 2233: Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act

- HR 2233

- S 1871

Reports from the Media

Moms back in the workforce

The latest on maternity/paternity leave, and caregivers' credits

"How Moms Get on Track - You'll need to pick jobs carefully, pay dues, then negotiate" by Kimberly Palmer at U.S. News & World Report. This article shows how women can increase their chances of getting on the new mommy track through successful negotiation at work and home.

"Mom, the next corporate titan" by Drake Bennett, The Boston Globe. Some companies have started to pursue women who have dropped out of the workforce.

"The Balancing Act: How flextime works for mothers and companies" MSN video from NBC Nightly News.

"Breadwinner and Mother: Adjust to It" by M. P. Dunleavey, New York Times editorial.

New Institute for Women's Policy Research Analysis Reveals Minimal Coverage for Working Parents - Even the Best U.S. Corporations Fail to Provide Maternity and Paternity Leave (PDF).

Caregivers' advocates employ novel strategies by Rekha Basu of the DesMoines Register.

MOTHERS Book Bag - "Taking on the Big Boys" by Ellen Bravo

This month, MOTHERS Book Bag features "Taking on the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism Is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation" by Ellen Bravo, a former director of 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women, and a recipient of a Women of Vision Award from the Ms. Foundation.

Bravo shows us that the "Big Boys" blame women's lack of progress on their own choices and claiming to extol at-home motherhood while demonizing mothers who happen to be poor and want to be with their children.

She provides blueprints to redesign the workplace and home from the ground up, to benefit women, men, families, and the bottom line.

Come join us over at MOTHERS Book Bag!

Volunteer & Help Support MOTHERS

Join the MOTHERS team and use your writing, marketing, and/or public relations skills to work for social change.

Send us an email and let us know how you'd like to help MOTHERS.

Or join with us as a financial supporter of MOTHERS. A donation of $35 or more will make you a member of the NAMC. Please DONATE NOW to help build the movement!

Sincerely,

MOTHERS Staff & Volunteers