Branch Public Policy
By Kathy Papst
Public Policy is an important part of the mission of AAUW. When I joined AAUW 15 years ago, I had just moved from Southern California to Sacramento. I didn’t know anyone in town. When I attended my first Showcase in September, I was excited that the branch offered book discussion groups. I missed my discussion group that I was in for 11 years, and I immediately joined one in our branch. There were all sorts of fun interest groups and I loved attending Happy Hour! I attended some of the programs, which I enjoyed, but only because it was a way to go out to lunch and meet and visit with other women. I really didn’t make a connection between the programs and our stated mission of equity for women and girls.
As I continue as a member of this branch and now being on the board of directors, I have spent some time thinking about what we are attempting to do for women’s equity and how important the work of this organization has been over more than 140 years in this country and abroad. I have learned more of what the state and national organizations offer to its members and ways to become informed and involved with activities that can make a difference in people’s lives.
I encourage our members to attend programs and also to suggest topics that interest you or that you feel need to be spotlighted. Please encourage members of your book group or other interest group to attend a program. I think that they might be surprised at what is presented.
Our next program for Public Policy is “Spotlight on: What is Gerrymandering, Redistricting and Ballot Proposition 50. The date is Saturday, Oct. 18, at noon at the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, Room 10. The address is 2791 24th Street in Curtis Park. The center has plenty of parking available.
With this program, my co-presenter Carole Cline and I will explain the history of voting districts and how the process is done, as well as who are the people on the committees in charge of redrawing the voter distribution. We also will look at how these changes affect voter registration and election turnout. We will have some interactive activities and give you some information to take home to refresh your memory before Election Day on Nov. 4.
Make sure to check your email for any updated information to the programs, as stated in eBlasts.
CA State Public Policy News
By Missy Maceyko and Amy Hom, Co-chairs, AAUW California Public Policy
The Public Policy team has several items for you to take urgent action at the state and national levels:
1) Action on AAUW California co-sponsored bill SB 771 “Social Media Platforms Endangering Californians”
SB 771 has now reached the Governor’s desk, and he has until Sept. 30 to sign it. Please reach out to his office to encourage him to sign the bill. You can do this by submitting a comment via email or fax via Resistbot (click HERE) or by calling the Governor’s office phone (916-445-2841). If you choose to call the Governor’s office, please use the Resistbot script to guide your call.
You can also share the Resistbot petition by reposting the attached image (below) on your own social media and inviting others to visit the site linked below or “text SIGN PCJNIY to 50409.” You can also repost our existing posts on Bluesky (HERE).
For your reference, AAUW California’s Lobby Day talking points on SB 771 can be found HERE and full bill text can be found HERE.
Shareable Resistbot link: https://resist.bot/petitions/PCJNIY
2) Action on U.S. Department of Labor Attempt to Roll Back Anti-Discrimination Protections
AAUW National is asking for us to act to challenge the U.S. Department of Labor’s attempt to roll back anti-discrimination protections. These rule changes will impact the United States’ 36 million federal contract workers, which accounts for nearly one in five U.S. workers. Many of these workers are women and people of color who are vulnerable to discrimination.
We are asking you to leave a public comment to challenge the proposed rule changes.
Note that while AAUW has provided a template letter (HERE) to guide your comments, you must personalize your comments for them to be counted. This means that you can use the template as inspiration, but you cannot simply copy and paste the content. As such, we suggest that you personalize your comments by reading through the AAUW template linked above then drafting a short 3-5 sentence response of your own that includes the following information:
- A note you are a member of AAUW California and that anti-discrimination is part of our public policy priorities;
- Statement indicating that discrimination continues to be a problem in the workplace; and
- Provide a specific example of your own personal knowledge of or experience with discrimination in the workplace. This can be your own experience, others’ that you know, or something pulled from existing reliable news or media reports.
After your comments are ready, you can drop your statement into the comment window at regulations.gov directly by clicking HERE or you can comment via AAUW’s action alert center by clicking HERE.
3) Join the Los Angeles LGBT Center to Support Equity Legislation (including AAUW California’s priority bill SB 418 “Ensure Equal Access to Care for All”)
California continues to work to protect LGBTQ+ dignity, privacy, and health, which is critically important for meeting wider goals of gender equity. We invite you to join the Los Angeles LGBT Center in their push for a slate of eight important pieces of equity legislation, which includes advancing AAUW California’s ongoing support for SB 418. You can reach out in support of these bills via the LGBT Center’s platform by clicking HERE.
4) Learn about Proposition 50 ahead of the special election on Nov. 4
AAUW California’s focus will be on providing information about and emphasizing the positive impacts of Proposition 50. Please note that we are NOT making a formal recommendation or endorsement. Rather, as a trusted resource, we are providing non-partisan and information-centric information with focus on:
- California impacts
- AAUW California Public Policy Priorities
- Combating misinformation
- The importance of saving democracy for Californians
We have two resources to get you started:
- Newsletter Article “Investing in Our Democratic Future: Non-Partisan Voter Education Around Proposition 50 in California” – AAUW CA Prop 50 NL Article.docx – Google Docs
- Messaging Guide to follow for postcards and campaigns – AAUW CA-Prop 50 Messaging Guide – Google Docs
Thank you for fighting with us to advance gender equity and social justice.
program began with a short history of the Constitution and the development of the two-party system to represent different political views; one stressing the power of the federal government and one stressing the importance of states’ rights. Then we learned how gerrymandering was developed and named, followed by redistricting.
Unfortunately, districts are often redrawn with a bias, the effects of which end up disenfranchising entire communities of voters. When districts are redrawn unfairly, it is known as gerrymandering, The presenters demonstrated how gerrymandering has been used and abused over the years. With the use of modern data analysis, minority groups can have their voting power diluted. Did you know that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned racial gerrymandering? While gerrymandering for racial reasons is no longer legal, gerrymandering for partisan politics is.
