SUPPORT FOR THE AMERICAN FAMILY CELEBRATION DAY AND FOR WORKING WOMEN'S AWARENESS WEEK

WHEREAS, organized labor, and especially the American Federation of Teachers has throughout its history joined forces with others in our country's revolution; and

WHEREAS, our movement is not a single special interest.  It is part of a broad and fundamental challenge to our society to insure dignity and security throughout the lifespan of every single person; and

WHEREAS, the United States is the only industrialized country without a comprehensive system of support for families; and

WHEREAS, women with young children have been entering the work force in increasing numbers, largely out of economic necessity, so that today over half of mothers with children under six are in the labor force, yet 60 per cent of American women have no guaranteed maternity leave and the Reagan administration has cut funding for child care by 28 percent; and

WHEREAS, over 18 percent of American families have at least one member 65 years of age or older and the responsibility for caring for sick or dependent family members primarily falls on women; and

WHEREAS, growing poverty rates have impacted most severely on women with children and elderly women, so that 23 percent of American children under five and 20 percent of elderly women living alone live in poverty; and

WHEREAS, cuts in health care have also disproportionately affected minorities, the elderly, women and children, and in some poor urban and rural areas in this country infant mortality rates are higher than in many underdeveloped nations; and

WHEREAS, the majority of those employed as caregivers are women and earn close to the minimum wage or less; and

WHEREAS, our Union has fought for Social Security, for Medicare, health insurance, and for pensions, not just for workers as individuals, but for the families they represent; and

WHEREAS, our families are the bedrock of America's strength and our hope for the future:

RESOLVED, the American Federation of Teachers endorses and supports the American Family Celebration to be held in Washington, D.C., by the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) on May 14, 1988, calling for federal support for American families, including family and medical leave, affordable, universally available, high-quality child care and eldercare, and a quality comprehensive health care system; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers encourage those who cannot attend the rally in Washington on May 14, 1988, to participate locally in the Third Annual CLUW Working Women's Awareness Week, which begins on Sunday, May 8, 1988 under the theme "Working For Change."