|
|
Vol. 2, No. 11
|
November 2015
|
|
|
|
| |
|
United Working Families Holds Platform Convention
Founded in the summer of 2014 by Grassroots Illinois Action
, Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, and SEIU Healthcare Illinois, United Working Families (UWF) is an independent political organization that promotes strong and safe communities, jobs with a living wage, quality public education, affordable housing, and a voice for working people in decision making for their communities and beyond. After the municipal elections earlier this year, UWF held meetings in several regions of the city to formulate strategies to fight for working people's political power in Chicago.
On October 17th, hundreds of activists from neighborhoods across Chicago gathered at SEIU Healthcare Illinois for the United Working Families Platform Convention. The purpose of the Convention was to build on the platform that was agreed upon at the earlier regional meetings by offering constructive amendments that will be used to guide UWF's work now and in the future. After Amisha Patel of Grassroots Illinois Action and Lakesia Collins, of SEIU Healthcare welcomed the group, Tara Stamps, of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), who was a 2015 candidate for alderman in the 37th Ward spoke about independent political action. She was followed by Matthew Luskin, also of CTU; Erica Bland-Durosinmi, of SEIU Healthcare; and Delia Ramirez of Grassroots Illinois Action who provided an overview of United Working Families. Abbie Illenberger of Grassroots Illinois Action then described UWF's platform. Afterwards, attendees participated in one of the following breakout sessions: politics and independent action; public education; safe and strong communities; public services, public assets and progressive revenue; affordable housing; jobs and wages; and racial justice.
Each breakout session came up with amendments to the platform, many of which were adopted by the group as a whole when it reconvened after the sessions. The public education plank already contained a statement endorsing universal access to early childhood education and child care, calling for free, full day child care, preschool, and early childhood programs. An amendment to the jobs and wages plank called for highly subsidized child care so that parents can afford it and so that the practitioners who provide it are paid a living wage. Improving the affordability, accessibility, and quality of child care are issues on which the Committee on Child Care in Chicago of Working Women's History Project has focused for nearly two years.
Follow-up meetings were to be scheduled to further discuss the platform and amendments, and to work on strategies to move the work forward.
|
|
..............................................................................................................................................
|
Sue Straus--Then and NOW
Working Women's History Project would like to congratulate Sue Straus on her recent election as the Illinois President of National Organization for Women, NOW.
Sue Straus has been a lifelong activist for Women's Rights. In high school, Sue and her classmates protested the girls' dress code and won. She joined the Women's Liberation Club at and a committee to form a women's studies program at Northeastern Illinois University, and worked on an anthology that the women's studies program published in 1973. She became active in the Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women, and served on the Education Fund board, chaired the economic equity issue team and currently serves as archivist. She is on the Illinois NOW Legal and Education Fund and a member of Common Shares of Illinois, a collective of progressive charities. She joined Working Women's History Project in 1999 and was elected president in 2003. and is currently and a board member, and Vice President, in charge of Development for WWHP, and now she is the President of Illinois NOW.
Congratulations Sue!
|
|
..............................................................................................................................................
|
|
Kristin Lems and Jane Addams on December 5th
On Saturday, December 5, 2015, singer and songwriter Kristin Lems will share stories about her family's experiences with Jane Addams and perform songs written about the life of Jane Addams at the Residents' Dining Hall of the Hull House Museum at 800 S. Halsted St. Time: 2:00 - 3:30 pm. There will be lemonade and cookies after the performance. Cost is $10.
|
|
..............................................................................................................................................
|
|
Committee on Child Care in Chicago Gives Presentation at League of Women Voters of Chicago Event
The Working Women's History Project's (WWHP) Committee on Child Care in Chicago presented at Union League Club of Chicago, "Why is Child Care Important in Chicago?" The event was held on November 18th, as part of the Chicago in Focus series co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Chicago and the Union League Club.
After welcoming remarks by representatives of the Union League Club and the League of Women Voters of Chicago, Jackie Kirley, president of WWHP, gave an overview of the work of the Committee on Child Care in Chicago. She was followed by a screening of the documentary produced by WWHP, "Taking a Closer Look at Child Care." Along with narration, it incorporated excerpts of some of the 36 interviews the committee conducted with parents who use child care, and the practitioners who care for the children. After the screening, Nancy (Sessy) Nyman, Vice President, Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Illinois Action for Children, spoke about the current status of the Child Care Assistance Program, through which the state of Illinois provides some low income working families with subsidies that enable them to have access to quality, affordable child care. She stressed the damages done to the program by Governor Rauner and the recommendation by Illinois Action for Children to rescind the emergency rule of July 1, 2015. (On November 9th, the governor partially reversed the cuts imposed by that rule, although the next day the legislature failed to pass a bill that would have totally restored the funding for the Child Care Assistance Program.) Ms. Nyman also provided some written material from Illinois Action for Children, documenting the economic impact of child care. As an example, Illinois' Early Care and Education (ECE) Industry generated $2.6 billion in revenue in 2014. Furthermore, for every $100 of new spending in the Illinois child care industry, there is a total impact of $213 in new output across Illinois' economy. There was a brief question and answer period following Ms. Nyman's speech.
About 30 people attended the program.
|
|
..............................................................................................................................................
|
|
NEXT ISSUE OF OUR E-NEWSLETTER WILL BE A DECEMBER/JANUARY ISSUE.
.
|
|
..............................................................................................................................................
|
|
|
|
| |
|
