After the fact I just want to note that Paid Family Leave passed in Washington State!  There was a lot of last-minute lobbying - including our whole family trekking down to Olympia to deliver bags of home-made cookies to legistators.  The lawmakers make some cuts and changes but in the end, Governor Gregoire signed the bill into Washington State law and we got to change into something besides Moms-rising t-shirts.

 

First of all I have to say that this happend much faster than I expected.  I was prepared to wear the shirts for at least a year - if not longer.  I am very pleased to be able to vary my wardrobe now but even more so that there was enough support in Washington state to get Paid Family Leave passed into law.

 

Second I was a bit disappointed in myself for not being more diligent about adding blog updates, posting photos or being more active in the many events on the way.  The gap between intention and capacity can be wide.  After thinking about it for awhile however, I realize it's better to have turned out this way. 

 

We all are busy people and the thing that impressed me the most about participating in the Mom's Rising effort in Washington was that the sheer number of volunteers ensured that the ball kept rolling all the time.  I might be able to join one event or two but there were ten other people who stepped up when I wasn't available.  Great ideas were generated and executed on in parelell with so many people involved.  The best part is that there were so many things to do that people were able to join to whatever level they had capacity for.  Some folks wrote an email, some went to meetings, some sent in onsies, some wrote dispatches to the press and some went to Olympia several times to persuade lawmakers that Washington voters were passionate about the cause.  It really brought home to me the power of organizing and that every bit helps.

 

On the day of the signing we had a great plan to drive to Olympia and dramatically change clothing once the bill was signed.  Unfortunately we got our travel times wrong and ended up stuck on the wrong side of a ferry boat and never made it to the formal event.  In the spirit of collective organizing and doing what you can with what you've got, we drove home, changed shirts in the driveway and had our celebration there.  Afterwards we went out for ice cream.  It wasn't a big deal but felt in the spirit of our whole experience.

 

Congratulations Washington - paid family leave is on the way.

Today is a big day for MomsRising in Washington state.   The PFL initiative made it through the senate and is in front of the house.  A bunch of MomsRising supporters have headed down to Olympia for a press conference to answer questions and demonstrate the support paid-family leave has in Washington state.

 

Problem is that the event occurs during working hours and many of the folks who support the bill have to work.  Problem: How do you show the scope of support for an issue when people can't make the time to travel to the state capitol in the middle of the work week?   Solution: Get supporters to donate onsies with messages of support to take to Olympia in their stead. 

 

This has been by far my favorite project since getting involved with Momsrising this year.  One week ago in a planning meeting, the problem above was posed to the Momsrising community.  The idea of taking messages on Onsies was concieved and a week later strings of over 300 messaged onsies are hanging in the capitol.

 

Word was sent out over the mailing list, messages and decorated onsies started arriving, a group of volunteers got together at my house to apply designs to blank onsies and these were distributed to another network of volunteers to apply the messages which have been rolling in.  All of this in 7 days.  I hear other state efforts are starting to spin up their own versions as well.

 

The power of organizing through technology is amazing as is the experience of working with people who are passionate about taking care of families.

 

I unfortunately am one of the folks who was unable to get out of work today so my wife and youngest are carrying our family flag to Olympia and will present our message to the lawmakers.  I'll post pictures when I get them.

In all the excitement I plumb forgot to mention:

 

Yvonne and I were featured wearing MomsRising t-shirts in a CNN Money story about paid family leave.  Best part is that the picture was taken by our 12-year old - his first photo credit!  Link to story:

 

Went dark with posting for about a month due to remodelling, packing and moving houses.  Process isn't done but we have hot water, most electricity and a place to keep the dogs from escaping and running wild.  My wife managed to fit in more activism than I during this period but I think it's due to her being inherently more organized than I.  Starting to come up for breath and expect to get back to the reports shortly.

New years day dawned with me ready and raring to go with my new wardrobe.  Unfortunately due to weather and holidays, USPS did not deliver any shirts in time to get started.  My lovely wife had a clever plan for creating custom shirts at home but, due to new years eve festivities and some unforseen technical issues, these weren't ready for my first event of 2007 - the Resolution Run.

 

On new years day, a local running club sponsors a 5k fun run that ends with an optional dip in the 45-degree lake.  This year I took the boys and joined my father and sister for the run.  With no MomsRising shirts ready, I fell back on my high-school punk-rock DIY skills and, with a sharpie and a new white t-shirt, made a couple of one-offs for myself and my older boy.  The shirts functioned well but I'll be happy when we have a full stock. 

 

Phone-cam photo is the only one I have on hand.  I'll post more when my dad sends them my way.  I look stern partly due to wrestling with the phone cam and partly in expectation of my upcoming chilly plunge.  I usually appear much more cheerful.