What Can You Do To Help Workers and Women?

You've seen the videos. You understand that workers and women are in trouble. You'd like to help, but what can you do? Here are a few suggestions.....

To Support Workers' Rights:
This helpful list came from Alternet. The article includes a good summary of why Wisconsin should matter to you.

Sign The Petition: The AFL-CIO has a petition supporting fair pay and worker rights, to be delivered to all 50 state legislatures

Attend A Rally: (Their links listed rallies from earlier this week. Here's where you can find info on rallies for Saturday, February 25th - Nice Gal)

Share This Blog Post: Share with your friends, neighbors and colleagues the reasons why we all should care about the attack on our civil servants.

To Support Women's Rights

This Alternet article, from February 8th, has a good summary of the attacks against reproductive rights and how to pushback. (If you are a man, these are your rights at risk too):

1. Sign and circulate petitions. There are several important ones out there, most notably from Planned Parenthood and Moveon.org. Take a few minutes to add your name to the list and send it to your friends.

2. Call your representative--no matter which side of the aisle he or she is on-- and explain that you think these bills are a shameful abuse of power and the wrong path to take, especially in the middle of such a dire economic crisis.

3. Bring the issue up with people you know who may not be liberal or may be in the vast mushy middle of the “choice” issue. Sometimes we’re afraid to talk about abortion because it makes our family and friends’ eyes glaze over. But this is a moment to pounce. Say, “I know we don’t always agree about abortion, but don’t you think this reveals that the Republicans are more interested in shaming women than in protecting fetuses? Why are they making this their first priority when they were elected to help us out financially?” Use this as the moment to expose Republicans as the social extremists they are.

4. Among your liberal brethren, take the fight to Hyde. Don’t back down on Medicaid funding for abortions the way so many Democratic politicians have. Here are some reasons why it’s important that poor women have full access to health care: first of all, it’s not “funding for abortions.” It’s Medicaid funding that gives low-income or otherwise underprivileged women the right to make their own decisions about abortion. Some will choose abortion, yes. But to deny this funding means you’re comfortable having abortion only be a right for those women with means.

Furthermore, ask whose rights are more important in this case: the squeamishness of taxpayers who may see a few measly dollars a year going to Medicaid coverage, or the "morals" of women who have to make that most personal, private decision themselves. Use Kristen Schaal's brilliant "rape-rape vs. "money-rape" comparison. Read Ann Friedman's American Prospect piece on how it's important not to slice and dice abortions into acceptable or unacceptable categories. If it's a right, it's a right.

5. Point out that these kind of attacks go far, far beyond abortion. The “rape” language, the letting women die provisions, and the attacks that now encompass not only Planned Parenthood’s abortion service but also its preventive services indicate that if we lose this round on abortion, right-wingers feel more and more entitled to legislate sexuality and personal health decisions, from birth control to stem-cell research to end-of-life care.