"We Honor Shirley A. Chisholm"

Shirley Chisholm earned her place in history as the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, and also as the first woman, White or Black, to make a serious bid for the Presidency.

She was born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, one of four daughters of Charles and Ruby St. Hill, who both hailed from the West Indies. Her father was an unskilled laborer and her mother a seamstress and domestic, whose primary goal was to see to it that their children received a good education.

In 1968, Mrs. Chisholm brought her political aspirations into the national arena, when she was drafted to run as a Democratic candidate for Congress. Yielding to the wishes of the people, Mrs. Chisholm warded off stiff primary and Republican challenges. On November 5, 1968, she was elected to the 91^st Congress from Brooklyn; making her the first Black woman to serve in this legislative body.

Following her 1970 re-election, Chisholm wanted to carry her crusade, for the rights of the underserved, to even greater levels. On January 25, 1972, Chisholm uttered these history making words, "I hereby declare myself a candidate for President of the United States of America." While she didn’t win the nomination, she made an impressive showing.

For the last few weeks CWA members at AT&T have been standing together with AT&T Mobility, as we work to get a good contract. On Tuesday, February 24, 2009, CWA will start bargaining six more contracts with AT&T, covering about 150,000 workers nationwide.

Now, we need to send the message that 100% of us stand with every member—no matter where we work.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more information on what you can do to help build support. Keep checking www.cwa-attmobility.com

The "SSLA" requiring all employers located within the District of Columbia to provide paid sick and safe leave to eligible employees was effective on November 13 2008.

The law requires Washington, D.C. employers to provide their employees with paid days off per year depending on their size as follows:

100 or more One hour for every 37 hours worked 7 max per yr.

25 to 99 One hour for every 43 hours worked 5 max per yr.

24 or fewer One hour for every 87 hours worked 3 max per yr.

Employees may take SSLA leave for physical or mental illness or preventative health care. SSLA leave may be taken to care for a child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or other family member. The safe leave aspect of the SSLA permits employees to take time off for social, medical or legal services in connection with their own or a family member’s status as a victim of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse.

Employers with current paid leave policies need not modify their policies if they offer employees the choice, at the employee’s discretion, to accrue and use leave under terms that are at least equivalent of those of the SSLA.