Para espanol, haga clic aqui.
I am really proud at how this blog carnival turned out so I thought I would share. It is a collage, really, of the many Latino leaders, policy experts, parents and others who support family-friendly policies like the Affordable Care Act, paid family leave and clean air. I included a few stories from some of the categories, although we published, much, much more. For the rest of the stories, click here. Enjoy! Elisa
It's Hispanic Heritage Month and MomsRising.org is celebrating by hosting a blog carnival that highlights the many, spectacular contributions our members and allies in the Latino community have made on the MomsRising blog and in the media. Hispanic Heritage Month is also a moment for us to reflect on the upcoming elections and the work that lies ahead to make our families, communities, and country even stronger together.
The election is drawing near, and record voter turnout is expected with friends, family, and neighbors in our communities voting. You and your loved ones can register to vote through MomsRising. If you have any questions about voting, please call this toll free number at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
The trajectory we take as an organization and as a country depends on you...your vote. Nuestro voto es nuestra voz!
Health Care
Senator Robert Menendez, "The Affordable Care Act and Latino Families"
"This law will extend coverage to millions of Americans, including Hispanics, and improve the quality of coverage for those who already have it."
Bernadette Segura, "Thanks to ACA, More Cancer Patients Have Hope"
"Yes, shockingly it is true. Insurance companies before the ACA were allowed to drop patients when they became severely sick."
Nadia Jones, "Give Me Universal Health Care"
"I knew that Mexico was one of the many countries of the world that offers universal health care to its residents....What I didn't know was how false all the ugly rumors I had heard about universal health care were. There were no long lines to see the doctor, the waiting room was not full or dirty, and I was able to get my appointment and prescription medicine right away."
School Nutrition
Chef Lorena Garcia, "Alliance for a Healthier Generation: Paying Attention To What We Feed Our Kids"
"Here is the bottom line: we can reverse this epidemic. Parents, schools, students and community members can come together and make a difference."
Nicole Presley, "Riverside School Cafeterias Are Changing For The Best"
"People snickered and told him his plan of healthy eating would not and could not work, but Rodney just kept his goals in sight of making a better lunch meal and changing the perception of school food service. One of the first things he incorporated to entice his students to come and eat in the cafeteria was start daily bar-b-que."
Lily Eskelsen, "The Truth About Healthy Food (and Kids and Schools)"
"It took us years to develop into a culture that sits too much and eats too much of too much of the wrong things. It's going to take some time to develop healthier habits in our kids. But we'll start with the school leading the way."
Worker Rights
Sonia Ordonez, "Will Work for a Living Wage at the Hyatt"
"In Boston, the Hyatt fired the entire housekeeping staff and replaced the women with minimum-wage, non-union temp workers. Some of the women had to train their replacements. I know what it's like to work those jobs, and it is unsafe and you get no respect."
Paul Monge-Rodriguez, "Mi Campeona: CA Domestic Workers Bill of Rights"
"Like many other immigrant women who are beginning their lives in the U.S., my mom found work as a domestic worker. As a single mother, she supported my sister and I by working as a nanny and a housecleaner for affluent families in Marin and Sausalito."
Paco Fabian, "Warehouse Workers Marching for Their Families"
"What is arguably most disturbing is Walmart's utter lack of concern for how policies in their contracted warehouses affect not only workers, but also the children and family members who depend on the workers' meager wages."
Unemployment Insurance
Elisanta Batista, "Unemployment Insurance is the LEAST We Can Offer Working Families"
"The reason I say 'working' families is because this economy is much more complicated than 'working' and 'unemployed.' There are many families like ours,
struggling, even though we both technically have jobs."
Tigger, "Without Unemployment Insurance, My Family Would Have To Choose Which Bills to Pay"
"The truth is unemployment insurance is not enough to cover all of my family's expenses. Even though my spouse works and I receive two unemployment checks every month, I visit a food pantry monthly to supplement our household income."
Lily Eskelsen, "And Now, About Those Mega-Rich Alleged Job Creators"
"Without customers, there's no one to buy your product or service. And if customers don't have jobs and decent pay to go along with those jobs, they can't buy what you're selling."
Immigrant Families
Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, "Ten Reasons Young People Should Come Forward for Deferred Action"
"Almost all of the young people I have talked to are eager to come forward. They fought hard for deportation relief and want to be able to work, drive, go to school, and fight on for broader, permanent immigration reform, including the DREAM Act."
Mary Olivella, "DREAMers: Mothers Look Forward To Your Success With the Deferred Action Process, and We Urge Caution When Applying!"
"While we continue the momentum towards passage of the DREAM Act, mothers across the country are standing in support of the 1.76 million immigrant youth who will be able, starting August 15, 2012, to seek a form of administrative relief from deportation."
Wendy Cervantes, "No Child is 'Illegal'"
"Yet perhaps one of the report's most troubling findings is that many of the children interviewed understood the term 'immigrant' to be something negative and equivalent to 'illegal.' As a daughter of Mexican immigrants, I find the growing trend of shame and fear among children in immigrant families very upsetting."
Clean Air
Adrianna Quintero, "A Long Awaited Victory for Children, Families and Our Future"
"Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the adoption of historic safeguards against mercury and other toxic air pollution which will help to protect our children from increased risk of brain damage, cerebral palsy and other neuro-developmental problems."
Liz Cerezo, "Why?"
"We have been battling asthma since July of 2010 and I must confess to you all that I. HATE. ASTHMA. I hate it in the sense that it messes with my son's breathing. His breathing! This is so freaking scary."
Rumbo News, "Hispanics in Massachusetts Burdened by Asthma"
"However, the starkest disparities are found in asthma outcomes. Hispanics are 2 to 3 times more likely to visit the emergency department, be hospitalized, and die due to their asthma compared to Whites."
Fair Pay
Janet Murguia, "The True Value of Work: A Blog Carnival Honoring Latinas and Equal Pay Day"
"Low wages, unpaid wages, no health insurance, dangerous working conditions, unpredictable schedules, sexual harassment, discrimination -- these are daily realities that threaten the economic security of millions of women, their families, and the communities in which they live."
Hector E. Sanchez, "Wage Theft, Sexual Harassment and Workplace Violence: The Troubling Reality of Many Latina and Immigrant Workers"
"Latinas fill traditionally underpaid occupations in industries where wages fall below poverty thresholds for families. In these positions they are more likely to be robbed of their legally mandated wages, an issue that aggravates their already substandard income as they experience the widest wage gap among women."
Nicolas Sanchez, "California Restaurant Owner: Increase in Tipped Minimum Wage Good for Economy, Country"
"Paying a living wage helps my business because the workers feel respected and don't quit on me, leaving me scrambling for new workers. In paying a living wage, I am saving money in hiring and training new employees."
Housing Rights
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity John Trasvina, "With Your Help, We Will Put A Stop To Maternity Leave Discrimination"
"HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has successfully resolved a number of important maternity leave cases in recent years. MomsRising has been instrumental in getting word out to parents around the country who have faced different treatment when seeking a loan and often did not realize the treatment they received could be a violation of the Fair Housing Act."
For more stories,
click here.