Together

Statement

Washington State Healthy Starts Act A ‘Model for the Nation’: Bill extends reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers, improves breastfeeding support, maternal and infant health practices

May 16, 2017

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and Executive Director of MomsRising.org, a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families, on the enactment of the Healthy Starts Act in Washington State

“Today, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the Healthy Starts Act into law – a huge win for the health and wellness of mothers and babies in the state. This bill, which passed with unanimous support in both the State House and Senate, extends reasonable workplace accommodations to pregnant workers and makes big strides in breastfeeding support and maternal and infant health practices.

“The Healthy Starts Act requires workplaces with fifteen or more workers to provide accommodations to pregnant employees, including scheduling flexibility for prenatal appointments. But it goes even further to aid pregnant women and new mothers. The new law requires hospitals providing Medicaid birth services, which account for half of the births in the state, to develop policies to provide immediate skin-to-skin contact and 24-hour in-rooming practices; and establishes a new state advisory group to develop future policy proposals to improve maternal and infant health systems in Washington state.

“MomsRising members across the state worked hard to see this bill become law. Our members took more than 2,000 actions on this issue in the past two years, testified at key hearings, and shared with legislators their stories about the impact this bill would have on Washington mothers.

“The Healthy Starts Act is a model for the nation. Not only does it protect pregnant workers from workplace discrimination, it also supports them through childbirth. We commend Gov. Inslee for signing the bill into law and state legislators for voting for it. It is a significant step forward for workers, mothers and babies in Washington State, as well as our public health and our economy.”

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.

Statement

Statement on the Removal of Stephen Bannon from the National Security Council

April 5, 2017

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the removal of Stephen Bannon from the National Security Council

“Stephen Bannon has a history of promoting anti-semitism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, transphobia and white supremacy - and has dedicated his life to dividing Americans. He was wholly unfit to serve on the National Security Council and his removal from the council makes us all safer. For months, moms across the country have spoken out against Bannon’s appointment to chief White House strategist and his position as a political appointee on the National Security Council - and today they applaud his removal from that post. But the fight isn’t over - Bannon still doesn’t belong in the White House and MomsRising’s more than 1 million members across the country won’t rest until he’s removed from our government entirely."

In the last few months, more than 35,000 MomsRising members signed onto a petition calling on Trump to remove Bannon from the National Security Council.

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Statement

85 Cents is Not Enough! Asian American Equal Pay Day Is a Sobering Reminder that Wage Discrimination is Pervasive and Harmful

March 7, 2017

Equal Pay

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Today, March 7th, we mark Asian American Equal Pay Day – a day that marks how long Asian American women have to work into the new year to catch up to what White, non-hispanic men were paid, on average, last year.

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising.org, a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families, issued the following statement for Asian American Women’s Equal Pay Day:

“Asian American and Pacific Islander women experience some of the largest and most detrimental wage gaps. While, on average, Asian American women are paid only 85 cents for every dollar paid to white men – which is outrageous– disaggregating the data paints an even more dire picture. Bhutanese, Marshallese, Burmese and other Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women are paid less than 45 cents for every dollar paid to white men.

“The stereotype that all Asian Americans are wealthy is untrue and harmful. There is no model minority. Like all communities, Asian American/Pacific Islander women need and deserve fair pay.

“It is past time for lawmakers to address wage discrimination, which is harmful to family economic security. Congress can help close the wage gap and promote fair pay by finally passing the Paycheck Fairness Act – a much-needed update of the Equal Pay Act that would create stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, empower women to negotiate for equal pay, and strengthen federal outreach, education and enforcement. The Paycheck Fairness Act would also deter wage discrimination by strengthening penalties for equal pay violations and by prohibiting retaliation against workers who ask about employers’ wage practices or disclose their own wages.

“Studies show that passing family economic security policies – including paid family leave, affordable childcare, paid sick days and a living wage – will all help lower the wage gap. Pay transparency and non-discrimination policies help too. Momentum is growing for these policies, which together will boost our economy. To commemorate Asian American Equal Pay Day, MomsRising’s more than 1 million members will join actions on Twitter and other social media platforms to call attention to the pay gap and urge immediate action to promote fair pay for all Asian American and Pacific Islander women.”

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Statement

MomsRising Leader Urges Senate to Reject DeVos for Education Secretary

January 18, 2017

Youth & Family Justice

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families

“The hearing before the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions) Committee yesterday evening raised very serious concerns about the nomination of Betsy DeVos to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education. As an organization comprised of mothers and other caregivers, we recognize that providing all our children the best possible education is of the utmost importance.

“But DeVos demonstrated little knowledge about public education in this country, little or no commitment to strengthening our schools, and little interest in tackling issues that will help our schools serve all students successfully. In fact, she did nothing at all during the hearing to dispel doubts about her commitment to public education, which arise from the fact that she has spent years trying to steer badly needed tax dollars away from traditional public schools.

“At yesterday’s hearing, DeVos failed to articulate a commitment to strengthening the nation’s education system or real knowledge about the challenges it faces. She could not answer basic questions about education policy and declined to commit to protecting funds for public schools. She also declined to commit to enforcing gun-free zones at schools, to enforcing laws designed to prevent and punish sexual assault on college campuses, and to supporting measures that would help ensure that children with disabilities are well-served by our schools.

“The vast majority of children in this country attend public school. It would be a grave disservice to them – and to families, our economy and our country’s future – for the Senate to confirm Betsy DeVos as United States Secretary of Education. MomsRising members will oppose this nomination and urge the Senate to refuse to confirm her to this post. We need a dedicated champion for public education running the U.S. Department of Education.”

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Statement

‘Paid Leave Is Long Overdue’

February 5, 2018

Paid Family & Medical Leave

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families, on the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act

“Nothing should keep you from caring for a loved one battling cancer, being with a parent nearing their final days, or bonding with a new baby. But that is exactly the case for far too many U.S. workers because our leave laws are out of date and haven’t evolved to meet the needs of working families or our global economy.

“A quarter of a century ago, our country took a huge step forward in support of working moms with enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which required certain employers to provide workers with 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave to welcome a new child, care for an ill family member or recover from a serious illness. The FMLA was a historic victory, but it was always meant to be a starting point. Now, 25 years later, it’s time to take the next step and pass paid family and medical leave so all people can care for their families without fear of losing their jobs or their families’ financial security.

“Paid leave is long overdue in this country – right now, only 15 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid leave through their employers and many working people who are eligible to use FMLA don’t because they can’t afford to take unpaid time away from work. We are the only industrialized nation without this key policy in place. This is outrageous. We know that paid family and medical leave is beneficial not just to workers and families, but also to businesses and our economy. Paid leave improves worker retention, decreases turnover and boosts employee morale. That’s why we’ve seen so many businesses implementing their own paid leave policies in the last several years. But we need a national standard – one that reflects the many dimensions of our families and lives and is accessible, affordable and inclusive.

“The momentum is on our side – voters overwhelmingly support paid leave and, thanks in part to the powerful and tireless advocacy of women and families, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have come forward with proposed solutions. Unfortunately, some of these proposals are deeply flawed – they would actually harm women, ask workers to cut into their future Social Security benefits, or fail to include job protections. That’s why we urge policymakers to pass the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would create a social insurance fund with small contributions from employees and employers. This legislation would provide all workers with a meaningful amount of leave to meet the full range of caregiving needs, and would be affordable, cost-effective and sustainable for workers, employers and taxpayers.

“The FMLA has helped hundreds of millions of families take the time they need to bond with a new child or help a loved one recover from illness without fear of losing their job. But we need to keep moving forward and take the next step to boost our economy, strengthen our families, improve our health and foster more equitable workplaces. It’s time to build on the FMLA’s success by passing the FAMILY Act to ensure that all workers have access to paid family and medical leave.”

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News release

Out Today: Groundbreaking Guide on How to Create Change in Today’s Women’s Movement, By MomsRising CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, a Keynote Speaker at the Women’s March

May 1, 2018

#KeepMarching

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

KEEP MARCHING: How Every Woman Can Take Action and Change Our World (Hachette Books) answers the question that many women were confronted with after the 2017 March on Washington: What do we do next? KEEP MARCHING is a thorough, well-researched guide, comprised of straightforward how to’s, policy recommendations, stories from women across the nation, and strategies on how to foster change in today’s movement for women’s equality and equity. It is available online and in bookstores today.

With candor and unflinching passion, Kristin narrates the struggles and successes of everyday women. Each chapter is supported by powerful data, anecdotes and concrete tips for moving forward—whether it’s how to run for office or address barriers beyond just the glass ceiling. It leaves readers with one essential fact: Women are a powerful force.

In the process of unpacking systemic biases that contribute to the wage gap, rape culture, the high levels of maternal mortality, the growing rate of incarcerated women, and other topics, Kristin demonstrates the power women have to bring change. Her book provides the tools, incentive and information we need to lead, come together and rise. The book will have you nodding in affirmation, fuming in frustration, and fully charged up to make a difference. KEEP MARCHING is the must-have book for every woman in 2018, as we keep marching to change our communities and our country for the better. Hot-Button Topics addressed in KEEP MARCHING:

The U.S. doesn’t have paid family/medical leave but 177 other countries do.
One in three women have experienced some form of sexual assault.
When a group includes more women, its collective intelligence rises.
More than 2.7 million children in the U.S. have an incarcerated parent, and approximately 10 million children have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives.
For every 100,000 births, 43.5 black women die, compared to 12.7 deaths among white women and 14.4 deaths among women of all other races.
After the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which covered birth control without co-pay, the abortion rate in our nation was at a historic low.
Women who are physically abused by current or former intimate partners are five times more likely to be murdered when one of the partners owns a firearm.

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is cofounder and CEO of MomsRising, an organization with over a million members across the nation working to increase economic security, decrease discrimination, and to build a nation where everyone can thrive. She has been published and featured in numerous outlets, including: Politico, USA Today, CNN, MSNBC, TIME, The Guardian, the Washington Post, and HuffPost.

KEEP MARCHING
How Every Woman Can Take Action and Change Our World
By Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
Hachette Books | May 1, 2018 | $16.99 | Original Paperback | 336 Pages | 9780316515566

For more information about KEEP MARCHING or to schedule an interview with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, please contact Marisol Salaman at Marisol.Salaman@hbgusa.com or 212-364-1214.

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Statement

House GOP ‘Chooses Cruelty Over Compassion’ With Passage of Farm Bill That Threatens to Exacerbate Hunger in America, Moms Leader Says

June 21, 2018

Youth & Family Justice, Federal Budget

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

“The Farm Bill the U.S. House passed today would make it harder for hungry families to access the food they need, exacerbating hunger in America. It is a devastating plan that would leave a million families without nutrition assistance. It includes unnecessary, harmful and overly restrictive work requirements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps families afford food during hard times.

“We were successful defeating this bill once before and, fortunately, it will be dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate, which has a bi-partisan bill that protects and lifts up struggling families rather than cruelly forcing them into poverty. Unnecessarily onerous work requirements will not help anyone keep a job or find a job. The entire premise of the new restrictions in the U.S. House bill — that somehow people who use SNAP are lazy — is dead wrong. Eighty percent of SNAP households have at least one working-age, non-disabled adult who holds a job while receiving SNAP. Many of those who don’t work are in school, ill, trying to escape an abusive relationship, or have caregiving needs or responsibilities that prevent them from staying in the workforce. We recognize this plan as the direct attack on family caregivers, most of whom are women, that it is.

“More than 75,000 MomsRising members signed a petition urging the U.S. House to reject this bill. Our members made calls and sent letters with the message: ‘Hands off SNAP!’ Thousands shared personal stories emphasizing their need for food and nutrition assistance.

“We now turn our efforts to the U.S. Senate and will work to build support for its bi-partisan bill, which protects SNAP. We will work hard to support the U.S. Senate farm bill and leave the U.S. House version in the dust.

“Over these last few weeks, in particular, our political leaders have let the nation down, choosing cruelty over compassion in ways that cause deep damage to our country. Congress must support all parents and children by prioritizing policies that lift-up families, rather than misguided laws and policies that tear them down. The Farm Bill the U.S. House passed tonight would cause real harm to moms, families, children, our economy and our country.”

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Statement

Rubio Proposal: A Dangerously Flawed Plan That Provides No Help at All to the Majority of Families That Need Paid Leave

August 3, 2018

Paid Family & Medical Leave

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the paid parental leave proposal introduced by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.):

“The paid parental leave proposal introduced by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is deeply, dangerously and fundamentally flawed.

“Raiding Social Security is the absolute wrong way to provide paid leave to new parents. No family should be forced to trade economic security in retirement for paid time off to spend with a new baby today. But the Rubio plan would force that impossible choice on millions. It would put low-wage workers, women and those in communities of color in especially dire straits because they are least likely to have paid leave through their employers and most likely to need Social Security benefits when they retire.

“At the same time, the Rubio plan would provide no help at all to the millions of workers who need paid leave to recover from serious illness or care for a sick family member. Three in four workers who take leave do so for these reasons. This bill would do nothing at all for them.

“America’s moms want – and our economy and our country need – a national paid leave plan that is comprehensive, affordable and sustainable. The Rubio plan is not.

“We are the only industrialized nation without this key policy in place, even though just 15 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid leave through their employers and many working people cannot afford to use the unpaid leave the Family and Medical Leave Act offers. We need Congress to pass a national program that is accessible, affordable and inclusive – the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would create a social insurance fund that benefits all workers in this country.

“The Rubio plan is a not a real solution. In fact, it would be a step backward for our country. Congress must reject it.”

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Statement

America’s Moms Are Grateful for Dr. Blasey Ford’s Courage and Sincerity

September 27, 2018

Workplace Justice, Early Care & Education, Health Care, Immigration

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

“Dr. Christine Blasey Ford gave the country an important teaching moment on the devastating impact of sexual violence with her dignified, forthright, persuasive testimony today. The moms of America are grateful for her courage and deeply sorry for the sacrifice of privacy and security that she has endured.

“Following Dr. Blasey Ford’s courageous testimony, Judge Brett Kavanaugh once again evaded fair questions and misled the Committee and the country. The rage he and his supporters on the Committee demonstrated is no substitute for honest, candid answers. The way Judge Kavanaugh comported himself was shameful and stands in stark contrast to the testimony provided by Dr. Blasey Ford.

”The Senate Judiciary Committee should not hold a vote until the FBI has fully investigated the allegations by Dr. Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and Julie Swetnick. In the absence of this investigation, Judge Kavanaugh should not tarnish the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and should instead withdraw his name from consideration.”

“From start to finish, this confirmation process has been tainted. It was rushed for no credible reason; key documents were withheld, leaving Judge Kavanaugh’s record woefully incomplete; and Republicans on the Committee and the Trump administration have refused to request the full investigation the country deserves.

“Senators had strong reason to refuse to confirm Kavanaugh based on the strong evidence that he would deny families health care and education, cause lasting damage to our ability to live and work free from discrimination, jeopardize a range of gun safety laws, and support President Trump’s sexist, racist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant agenda. They have even more reason to refuse to confirm him now. We need a nominee who is fair, will protect our rights and freedoms, and has a record that is impeccable. Judge Kavanaugh is not that nominee.”

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Statement

Trump’s New Asylum Restrictions ‘Grounded In Bias and Hostility,’ Moms Leader Says

November 13, 2018

Immigration

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on President Trump’s effort to suspend the rights of asylum-seekers:

“President Trump’s post-election announcement – that his administration will effectively deny the moms, children and families who come here from Central America the chance to apply for asylum – is cruel, heartless and a violation of U.S. law and treaty obligations. It puts refugees with well-founded fears of persecution at risk of a return to persecution. The President does not have the authority to criminalize families that simply want the chance to live in peace.

“The way President Trump lied to stoke division and hate about migrants during the election was utterly shameful. Now he is basing policy on his fact-free, paranoid interpretation of what is happening. If he is allowed to implement the policies described in his proclamation, some of the most vulnerable people in the world will be at grave risk.

“Our country has a process for considering asylum for those who seek it. Just as a federal court ruled, yet again, that President Trump does not have the authority to end the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, we expect courts to rule that he does not have the authority to deny people the chance to seek asylum. Nor do the American people want him to.

“The actions President Trump wants to take are grounded in bias and hostility and they are reprehensible. Immigrant and asylum-seeking families have rights and deserve to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect.”

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