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Hi John,
There are a lot of spooky things about Halloween: ghosts, goblins, the sheer amount of cultural appropriation squeezed into just one night. You want to know what’s scariest of all this Halloween, John? An inundation of Trump-appointed judges to the federal judiciary who hold lifetime appointments.
Seriously Scary Judges
This week, the Senate is voting on whether or not to confirm two seriously scary judges, Steven Menashi and Sarah Pitlyk, to the federal bench. Here’s a bit of Halloween horror for you:
Steven Menashi currently serves as special assistant and associate counsel to the president, where he’s served as a key player in the inhumane immigration policies coming out of the White House. He’s also mocked “Take Back The Night” marches, where sexual assault survivors share their stories, and helped roll back Title IX protections for student survivors. No thank you.
Sarah Pitlyk, of course, has her own uniquely horrifying background. She previously served as a clerk to now Justice Kavanaugh and then went on to defend him in his contentious confirmation hearings. She’s built a career on making it harder for people to get the reproductive care they need. Pitlyk’s defended bosses who want to fire employees for their reproductive health care decisions, like using birth control or IVF. She also believes, in her words, that surrogacy is “harmful” and something “society should not be enforcing.” Then again, we believe her serving as a federal judge would be harmful and something society should not be enforcing, so there’s that.
Tell your senators to 👻ghost👻 Pitlyk and Menashi and oppose their confirmation.
FEATURED: 41 Years After the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, The Work’s Not Over
It’s the 41st anniversary of the landmark Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), which Congress passed in 1978 to protect pregnant workers from discrimination. But since then, many bosses and workplaces are still discriminating against pregnant workers. That’s because, over the years, the courts have narrowly interpreted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, but also because the law itself sets the bar too high for pregnant workers seeking workplace adjustments.
Enter: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a bill in Congress right now that would strengthen protections for pregnant workers. This bill is important for low-paid pregnant workers who are more likely to work in physically demanding jobs where they need small adjustments, like having a water bottle or a stool to sit on during a shift.
No one should ever have to choose between the health of their pregnancy and their job. Tell your members of Congress to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act today.
Must-Dos:
- Tell Congress: We need a federal safeguard for abortion access.
- The Trump administration thinks it’s too “burdensome” to collect equal pay data. Tell the White House that the real burden is a lifetime of lost wages and demand equal pay.
- In New York City this weekend? Come out on Sunday, November 3, at 1:00 p.m. for Be Heard On the Third, an empowering afternoon of women's storytelling for change. We are coming together to honor the power of our stories and mobilize for the BE HEARD Act, a comprehensive federal bill addressing harassment and violence in the workplace.
Must-Reads:
- Read about a Trump administration proposed rule that would allow just about anyone in the health care field to refuse to do their jobs – even if that means depriving patients of the care they need — and our lawsuit to stop it.
- “I had internalized what many queer folks experience: our relationships must appear perfect so that the heterosexual world will reward us with the respect that we deserve.” This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, read why domestic violence isn’t just a straight women’s issue.
- We can’t talk about domestic violence without talking about abortion. Here’s why.
Your Feminist Moment of Joy
Can we humble brag for a second? Great.
Earlier this week, our very own Fatima Goss Graves was named as one of Essence’s Woke 100, a list of women changemakers and power players. In their words: “As the president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, Graves champions gender equality in every facet of life. As a cofounder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, she helps pay legal fees for sexual harassment and workplace retaliation cases.”
We tend to think she’s pretty essence-ial ourselves!
In all things ghost, goblins, and gender justice,
Hannah Finnie
Senior Manager of Campaign and Digital Strategies
National Women’s Law Center
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