Monday, April 30, 2007

Philadelphia NOW Endorsements for the May 15, 2007 primary election

Philadelphia NOW Endorsements for the May 15, 2007 primary election:

CITY COUNCIL

Blondell Reynolds Brown (At Large)

Bill Greenlee (At Large)

Caryn Hunt (At Large)

Marc Stier (At Large)

Vern Anastasio (1st District)

Maria Quinones-Sanchez (7th District)

Cindy Bass (8th District)

Marion Tasco (9th District)


PHILADELPHIA COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

Linda Carpenter

Ellen Green-Ceisler

Beverly Muldrow

Angeles Roca


PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL COURT

Joyce Eubanks

Diane Thompson



For more information about our endorsed candidates, check our website www.philanow.org on May 1 for the online edition of our election newsletter!

National NOW’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

National NOW’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

At our April meeting, we discussed National Now’s Endorsment of Hillary Clinton. Even those of us who are supporters of Hillary Clinton and plan to work to get her elected, had questions about the timing of this endorsement, given Hillary Clinton’s position on Iraq.

The members present thought the leadership should have waited until the national convention and invited all the candidates to address the membership as was done for the last presidential election. Kathy Black sent the following letter to NOW president, Kim Gandy, expressing her concerns.

Dear Kim -

I'm a long time member of NOW, Financial VP of our Philadelphia Chapter, and I have been proud of NOW's stance on many issues and proud of our principled endorsements. I too want a woman President in my lifetime, and you correctly point out the areas of agreement we have with Senator Clinton.

However, you left out our stark disagreement with her on the most important issue of our time - the war in Iraq and our disgraceful foreign policy in the Middle East. How convenient. This way you don't have to mention how different her position on the war is from NOW's stated "troops out now."

Senator Clinton has consistently disappointed in her statements on the war, and as long as that is the case, she will not get my vote or any support of any kind. In fact, of the three leading candidates she has by far the worst position. And her excuses for voting for the war, and refusing to disavow that mistake, have just made things worse.

NOW isn't my only affiliation. I am also a co-convenor of US Labor Against the War, a NOW partner in many anti-war activities. As long as this war rages on, I can't support Hillary or the other measured apologists for anything. My allegiance will be to USLAW and the other peace organizations who take a position against the war and make sure their other actions are not contradictory.

NOW's endorsement of Hillary seems hypocritical in the face of our position on the war. Electing a woman at any cost should not be our ambition. We didn't need to come out for her now. She just reported raising $26 million!! She's doing fine. We could have used this time to push her to take a more progressive position on ending the war and bringing our troops home. Now we have no leverage, and I for one, am disapponted - no, disgusted - by our hypocrisy.

Kathy Black
Philadelphia

Monday, April 16, 2007

Kathy Black, Philadelphia NOW VP for finance, is assembling a coalition of local women’s organizations to co-sponsor the following resolution which will be introduced by Blondell Reynolds Brown on Thursday, April 26 at City Council at 10:00.



PROCLAIMING APRIL 24, 2007 AS EQUAL PAY DAY.

WHEREAS, Despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, women continue to suffer the consequences of inequitable pay differentials; and

WHEREAS, Wage discrimination laws are not often enforced and cases are extremely difficult to prove and win; and

WHEREAS, Although women’s earnings have been slowly catching up to men’s over time, the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) tells us that this reduction in the wage gap is in part due to a fall in men’s earnings rather than an increase in women’s earnings; and

WHEREAS, Despite the fact that women make up almost half of the American workforce, women on average still earn only 77% of men’s earnings; African American women earn 71.7% of men’s average earnings; Latinas, 58.5%; Asian American women, 87.2%; and

WHEREAS, even when experience, education and time in the workforce are factored in, a significant percentage of this differential can only be attributed to discrimination; and

WHEREAS, according to U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, women earn less than men in every occupational classification for which data is available, including occupations dominated by women; and

WHEREAS, over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the average American woman and her family an estimated $523,000 in lost wages, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions for the family, and the American economy overall;

WHEREAS, A vast majority of households depend on wages of a working mother and working families are often just one paycheck away from hardship; and

WHEREAS, Fair equity policies can be implemented simply and without undue costs in both the public and private sectors; and

WHEREAS, two bills before the U.S. Congress seek to address these concerns. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen enforcement of equal pay laws, and The Fair Pay Act would require employers to provide equal pay for work of equal value; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 2007 symbolizes the day on which the wages paid to American women so far in 2007, when added to women’s earnings for all of 2006, finally equal the 2006 earnings of American men; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the City of Philadelphia proclaim their support for The Paycheck Fairness Act and The Fair Pay Act before the U.S. Congress; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Philadelphia calls on local employers to examine their compensation policies for gender inequalities and take steps to rectify any discriminatory pay practices; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council Committee on Gender Parity will consider holding public hearings on pay inequality in Philadelphia; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that April 24, 2007 be designated “Equal Pay Day” in the City of Philadelphia; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Philadelphia recognizes the efforts of the following organizations to eradicate gender inequality – the Coalition of Labor Union Women, WomenVotePA; WOMENS WAY; the National Organization for Women; National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., PA Chapter; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Omega Omega Chapter; the Women’s Law Project; 2000 African American Women; Working America; and the YWCA Philadelphia; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an engrossed copy of the resolution be presented to the Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women to further express the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco
April 26, 2007

(Note: Statistics contained in this resolution supplied by the National Committee on Pay Equity, unless otherwise noted.)