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Money
and other recognition of unwaged work
Fed
Judge: Mother must be paid for providing child's therapy
Payment
for Homecare Workers
Money
for Childcare - Los Angeles
Mothers'
Money - Minnesota - Montana
Brazil:
Bill for a Pension for Housewives
Excerpt
Argentina
Homemakers Win Pensions
Argentine homemakers are now eligible for
retirement pensions from the state, the Inter Press Service News Agency
has reported, after a presidential decree makes them eligible even if they
never received an income for their work. Although the details are still
being determined, homemakers will be able to receive retirement benefits
and will be exempted from the rule that they contribute financially to the
pension program for at least 30 years, normally required of paid workers.
Fed
Judge: Mother must be paid for providing child's therapy
Excerpts from The Philadelphia
Inquirer, 11 October 2002
"[Judge]
Schiller's ruling, issued last week, could have financial implications for
welfare departments throughout the country. ...
The case
revolves around the federal Individuals With Disabilities in Education
Act, designed to assist states in implementing services for
developmentally challenged children. The goal of early intervention is to
improve a child's communication and social-interaction skills, leading to
better behavior in later years.
One of
the provisions in the act, central to the De Mora case, provides federal
funds to children up to age 3....
When she
was asked to document her expenses, de Mora [the mother] sought payment
not only for Laudon [the therapist] but for herself. The officer
determined that Laudon should get $3,520 and de Mora $6,842, based on a
figure of 311 hours at $22 an hour, the going rate."
Payment
for Homecare Workers
In
Los Angeles County (California, USA), family members caring for an elderly
or disabled relative can be paid as a homecare worker!
The Every Mother is a Working Mother Network, co-ordinated by the
Wages for Housework Campaign, got the LA County Department of Public
Social Services (DPSS) to agree to notify CalWORKs mothers (moms mandated
by welfare ‘reform’ to get a job outside the home) that they may be
eligible to be hired as a homecare worker and paid by the County, in these
circumstances: caring for a family member, friend or neighbor who is
elderly or who has a disability. It is the choice of the person who is
being cared for who they want as caregiver.
Alex
Aleman, Assistant to the President, Homecare Workers Union, Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 434B, Los Angeles:
“There are 74,000 homecare workers in LA County, 90% of them are
women…It is definitely a tragedy that women get paid much less than men
although they may be doing the same work, or because they’re doing care
work their work is demeaned and is considered less marketable.
The Homecare Workers are delighted to be part of the [Global]
Women’s Strike and put on the map the issue that women deserve respect
and dignity, and that women are doing such valuable work that it should be
recognized…”
Money
for Childcare – Los Angeles
Victory
for Grassroots Women!
After more than a year of hard work and the support of over 250
organizations and individuals, the Every Mother is a Working Mother
Network (EMWM), which is coordinated by the Wages for Housework Campaign,
won a $74 million after-school childcare program, the largest in the
country, at the May 11, 1999 meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors. More than 16,000
children of CalWORKs and other low-income families will get quality
after-school care. Our
victory ran as the lead story in the LA Times and was covered by many
other newspapers, TV and radio stations including National Public Radio
and by Associated Press. Since
then, county officials have credited the EMWM as the network which
proposed, fought for, and succeeded in winning the program.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has announced its plans
to expand the After-School Enrichment Programs to all elementary school
campuses, a step which was a direct result of EMWM work, and would benefit
thousands more children and families.
After
several meetings with the EMWM Nutrition Working Group, LAUSD is now
providing a more substantial and nutritious snack with plans to offer a
hot meal in the After-School programs, and the County Office of Education
has committed to work toward this goal.
Mothers’
Money - Minnesota - Montana
Under
a state scheme introduced in 1999, mothers on low incomes in Minnesota can
use the state allowance for subsidised childcare as payment for staying
home with their children – a trial scheme was introduced, where mothers
at home get about $250 a month. From
the Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1999:
Mothers
Do It All for Love – but Money Helps
“Instead
of talking about better and more child care, why not educate people
about staying at home with their kids?
Why not do things that would make it easier to stay at home and
not treat it like it’s some rare privilege that only rich people can
afford?” [says full-time mom of politicians]… The program is the
brainchild of State Rep. Richard “Doc” Mulder… His solution was to
draft a law that would offer a lower-income parent a choice between
using the state’s subsidy to pay for child care or staying home and
pocketing the stipend instead….Now there are 57 mothers participating
in the state program….” [getting around $250 a month]
In
the same article, it is pointed out that a study by Edelman Financial
Services of Fairfax, Virginia “estimated
that a mother’s work would be worth almost $507,200 per year if she were
paid at standard professional rates for all the services she performs, 24
hours a day, seven days a week.”
What
changes we've won
All
Women Count
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