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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202/219-6652.
For Labor Day 1995, the Women's Bureau of the U.S.
Department of Labor launched the Working Women Count Honor Roll, a new
nationwide initiative to improve the lives of working Americans. The Honor Roll
encourages employers, organizations and individuals to implement new policies
and programs in the three areas working women care about most: improving pay
and benefits, building the family friendly workplace and valuing womenþs
work through training and advancement. More than a quarter of a million women
identified these areas as priorities for change through the Women's Bureau's
1994 Working Women Count survey.
The Women's Bureau kicks off the Honor Roll already having
gathered the first 100 pledges to make workplace improvements from businesses,
community organizations, state and local governments and labor unions around
the country. These pledges include a variety of activities and practices, such
as personal leave time, flexible work schedules, on-site child care and
training for higher-paying jobs. Sources range from McAlvain Construction, a
small company in Boise, Idaho, to international corporation Bausch and Lomb;
from an apprenticeship program in Anchorage, Alaska, to the city of Kansas
City, Mo.
Through the Working Women Count questionnaire, women told
us with extraordinary candor and insight about their lives and what changes
they want to see in the workplace, Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich said. The
Labor Department's next step is the Honor Roll, which will recognize the
businesses, organizations and individuals that make a real commitment to the
changes women and their families need. By treating women with dignity, helping
people balance work and family responsibilities, and improving pay and
benefits, Honor Roll members will make life better for all American families.
Karen Nussbaum, director of the Women's Bureau, said, "We
want the Honor Roll to build momentum for practical, concrete change for
working women and their families. We predict that over the next year more than
a million working Americans will be able to see the effects -- a new day care
center, time off for family responsibilities, training so they can move up the
ladder. And we expect that employers, local officials, organizations and
working women will see that change is possible -- and works to everyone's
advantage."
The Women's Bureau plans to collect 1,000 Honor Roll
pledges between now and next spring. The goal is an Honor Roll that represents
real improvements in the lives of 1,000,000 American workers. Examples from the
first 100 pledges include:
- Kansas City, Mo. will grant city employees four hours paid leave
annually to participate in their children's school activities, and Mayor
Emanuel Cleaver has challenged area businesses to follow suit.
- Aetna Life and Casualty in Hartford, Conn. has established Healthy
Beginnings, a prenatal health education program which features a nurses'
hotline for employees and their dependents. They also offer FutureSaver, an
interactive retirement planning software program designed to encourage
employees to set aside savings for retirement.
- Little Hoop Community College in Fort Totten, N.D. discovered an
unmet need for child care through their participation in the Working Women
Count survey. The college since has created a day care center and is working in
partnership with local businesses to raise money for a major community child
care center.
- Arizona Governor's Commission on Non-Traditional Employment for
Women in Phoenix, as part of its response to the state's Working Women Count
survey results, is establishing a clearinghouse and bilingual resource guide on
non- traditional jobs and training programs for Arizona women. They will
distribute the guide through employment agencies, high schools and community
colleges, as well as a toll-free number.
- GTE Corporation in Needham, Mass. offers emergency child care on
snow days and school holidays, allows employees to bring their children to
work, and has established private nursing rooms for new mothers.
- The Congress of National Black Churches, Inc. in Washington, D.C.
will offer employees in their national office a training allowance of $750 to
$1,500 per person, per year. The money can be used for job-related education
and training services and materials.
- Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Local 2 in San
Francisco is establishing a child and elder care fund for hotel employees, one
of the largest ever negotiated by a union. Employers will contribute 5 cents
for every hour worked by eligible members. The fund is a result of a recently
negotiated bargaining agreement with the San Francisco Hotel Multi-Employer
Group.
- Oregon Community Foundation's Oregon Child Development Fund in
Portland has pledged to raise $900,000 over three years to fund job training
for hundreds of infant/toddler child care providers. The goal is to increase
the supply and quality of child care for infants and toddlers throughout the
state.
The Women's Bureau has begun distributing Honor Roll
application materials nationwide. They include a brochure explaining the
program and a simple pledge card that is easily reproduced. Interested parties
first must submit a pledge to specifically address one of the three Honor Roll
issue areas. Once their pledged activity is underway, they then complete a
brief Honor Roll application and send it to the Womenþs Bureau for
review. Eligible programs or policies must have been established after April of
1994, when the Bureau began its Working Women Count initiative.
Those entered into the Honor Roll will receive a
certificate from the Secretary of Labor, and information about their program
will be made available to the public. The Womenþs Bureau will formally
release the final Honor Roll next spring.
Anyone who wants to join the Working Women Count Honor Roll
can request materials by calling the Women's Bureau's toll-free hotline:
1-800-827-5335. Media interested in additional information about Honor Roll
pledges in their city or state should contact Lauren Asher at 202/219-6652,
ext.107 or Grier Mendel at ext.133.
The Womenþs Bureau was founded by Congress in 1920
with a mandate to "promote the welfare of wage earning women." Seventy- five
years old this year, the Women's Bureau is the only federal agency designated
to serve women in the workforce.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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