Ohio Public Policy E-Newsletter
From: Jackie Evangelista, jevangelista@roadrunner.com
Your Ohio Public Policy Chair

April 2009

Dear Branch Public Policy Chairs and their Stand-Ins:
This newsletter focuses on what you can do to support Equal Pay Day now, how you can help encourage other branches to get involved in advocacy for AAUW's Public Policy Program, what our recently released public policy agenda is, and how you can support that agenda on April 22 right here in Ohio. Please read on...Jackie

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW TO SUPPORT EQUAL PAY DAY
If you haven’t planned a project to support Equal Pay Day on April 28, here are a few things you and your branch members can do on short notice. Equal Pay Day focuses attention on the fact that women have to work an extra four months to earn as much as a comparably qualified man did in 2008. You can help remedy that disparity by supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act, a much needed update to the 45-year-old Equal Pay Act.

Forward information about the Paycheck Fairness Act to your members and/or print copies and hand them out at your next meeting. I have left space after the first paragraph for you to insert your name and title. Encourage all members who have a computer to go online and submit the Action Alert asking our senators to support the act next time it comes up. It has already been passed in the House, and Senator Brown voted for it. So the focus is on Senator Voinovich.

Summarize the impressive account written by AAUW Public Policy and Government Relations Director Lisa Maatz about AAUW’s instrumental role in passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the House. Or download the PDF.

Meanwhile, now is the time to be thinking ahead about how you can advocate for programs on next year’s agenda that involve the branch more deeply in AAUW’s core mission of securing equity for women and girls.

For your "homework," please go to the AAUW Public Policy homepage and click on the link in the right column under “Additional Resources” that refers to the recently-revised AAUW Pay Equity Resource Kit.

You will be directed to a short form, which will require you to insert your AAUW membership number (see the back of Outlook magazine). You will quickly receive an e-mail from DBAgent that includes a link, which will allow you to download the report. Alternatively, I could e-mail it to you.

Please read the report and decide whether any of the activities described might fit into your branch program for the coming year. I would be interested in whether this resource motivates any public policy activity in your branch.

SEEKING CONVENTION BREAKOUT PANEL MEMBERS
I have been asked to organize a public policy breakout to fill the 11:15 a.m. to noon slot at the AAUW/Ohio Convention on Saturday, May 2, in Dayton. I am interested in showcasing what branches have been doing in public policy. If you sponsored a project, event or meeting that you think successfully advanced the AAUW mission, I would love to share the stage with you. Your knowledge and enthusiasm could help encourage another branch to try its hand at advocacy. Please e-mail me right away if you will participate and tell me what you would like to talk about.

AAUW RELEASES NEW FEDERAL POLICY AGENDA
AAUW has released its new federal policy agenda for 2009-10. You may want to highlight this topic during your public policy report at next month’s meeting. It is important for members to understand the breadth of our goals as well as the specific ways we are working to advance them. You might even consider asking members to rank the goals as well as the means to achieving them as a way of gauging what topics you might wish to suggest be included in next year’s programming. For details about the agenda, go here.

HERE’S A CHANCE TO ADVANCE POLICY III-D
AAUW/Ohio members have a real opportunity to help advance the goal of “protecting reproductive rights” by attending the Coalition for Family Health's Freedom of Choice Ohio Lobby Day described below.

Worth the price of admission: Hearing Connie Schultz, Pulitzer-Prize-winning Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist and wife of Sen. Sherrod Brown, give the keynote address.

Worth the expenditure of your time: Having the opportunity to speak out for the Prevention First Act, which would make common sense changes in Ohio law to help prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce abortion.

AAUW/Ohio is a member of the coalition that stages this event. As such, it would be wonderful to have good representation at the event from our members. Please read the attached flyer for more information and registration details. I urge each branch to send a one or more representatives so please share this part of my e-newsletter with your members, and please let me know if anyone plans to attend from your branch.

Gather your friends and colleagues
and join us in Columbus for 

Freedom of Choice Ohio 2009 Prevention First Lobby Day

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

9 a.m. – 4:30 pm

YWCA Downtown

65 S. Fourth Street  N.  Columbus, Ohio 43215

Please see the attached invitation for additional information.

Register at https://id286.securedata.net/naralohio/events/lobbydayreg.shtml.