I'm posting this in honor of International Women's Day Mar. 8.
May 5, 2022 "As abortion bans loom in the U.S., companies step up or stay quiet": Today I found this article by Jenna Benchetrit on CBC news:
According to a leaked draft opinion, a majority of the Supreme Court of the United States has voted to overturn its landmark 1973 abortion decision, Roe v. Wade — and some of the country's largest businesses are under pressure to respond.
Overturning Roe v. Wade would mean abortion rights fall under the jurisdiction of individual states, which could lead to abortion bans in roughly half of the United States. Thirteen states have already passed what are known as "trigger" bans which automatically ban abortion if the 49-year-old decision is overruled.
It is unclear if the draft represents the court's final word on the matter. A decision will be ruled in June or July. But the report has prompted scrutiny over corporate ties and donations to anti-abortion lawmakers.
Some companies with U.S. employees are introducing new measures to protect their workers, or reiterating past commitments to facilitate employee access to abortion. Others have stayed quiet.
In many cases, only employees who are eligible under an employer-provided healthcare plan will qualify for abortion-related benefits — leaving the most precarious workers more vulnerable to restricted access.
Low-income, minority women will bear the brunt of abortion bans
This week, Amazon announced that it would cover up to $4000 in travel costs for U.S. employees seeking non-life threatening care, including abortions, starting Jan. 1 of this year.
However, the reimbursement is only available to those who have employer-provided health insurance, according to a company statement obtained by Vice.
That leaves thousands of Amazon employees, many of whom work in low-income positions, including drivers and warehouse workers, ineligible for the travel reimbursement.
According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights advocacy group, abortion is concentrated among those living below the poverty line with many patients stating that they chose to have an abortion because they could not afford to have another child.
As a result, eliminating the option for safe and accessible abortion will have serious economic consequences for low-income women and their families.
"We're now making their lives harder, because the reality is wealthier women will probably find ways to get a safe abortion somewhere," said Jennifer Reynolds, the CEO of Women Corporate Directors Foundation.
"People who don't have the means, who are less privileged and need this more than ever, are not going to be able to get that help and they'll end up pursuing very dangerous forms of abortion."
(Beyond travel, the procedure itself is often not covered by insurance, costing nearly $600 (about $730 Cdn) for an abortion in the first trimester or by medication, according to a study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco.)
Anti-abortion legislation in the U.S. also has a profound impact on people of colour, according to statistics analyzed by the Associated Press.
In states like Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, where a trigger ban is in place, people of colour make up a disproportionate percentage of those receiving abortions compared to population rates.
Disney, Walmart stay quiet
Many companies have stayed reticent about their views, including those who have reportedly given political donations to anti-abortion lawmakers in the past, like AT&T, Exelon and Walmart.
There is also a risk of retaliation. Last month, Disney's private governing system in Florida was dissolved by Governor Ron DeSantis after the company pushed back on the education bill critics have called the "Don't Say Gay" law. The media conglomerate has not issued a statement on a potential overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Neither has Walmart, which is one of the United States' largest private employers with over 1.6 million employees in the U.S. and 2.3 million globally, according to their website. Walmart is headquartered in Arkansas, also a trigger-ban state.
Companies that have spoken out against the decision may be concerned about retaining employees who live in states where access to abortion is threatened, said Sarah Kaplan, a professor and director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
"They risk losing their employees because many people are going to move from those states or not come to those states for jobs, because they refuse to live in a state where women's reproductive rights are not protected," Kaplan said.
"And so I think companies are trying to respond by offering these additional benefits."
Clothing company Levi's announced in a statement that, in addition to a pre-existing benefits plan that covers travel expenses for services not available in an employee's home state, they were working on providing similar assistance to part-time hourly workers not included in the benefits plan.
Talent agency UTA announced that it would cover travel expenses for women's reproductive health services not available in their state of residence.
"I think companies will have to speak out," Reynolds said. "It's a very controversial issue, clearly."
"We know that CEOs today are expected to weigh in on this issue and a far greater array of issues than they were in the past."
Companies offer travel benefits for employees
CBC News reached out to several companies who had previously reacted to anti-abortion legislation.
Citigroup, the investment banking firm, declined to comment. After the state of Texas signed a law banning abortion in May 2021, the company said in March 2022 that it would cover travel expenses incurred for employees seeking an abortion.
Yelp, the online review aggregation company, said in a statement that reproductive health care decisions are between women and their doctors. In April, the company said that insured employees would be eligible for a travel benefit related to reproductive healthcare access starting this month.
A spokesperson for the dating app Bumble said that "the health and safety of our team is our utmost priority and that includes covering access to abortion care."
Match, the parent company of Tinder, and Bumble set up a relief fund last year for those affected by Texas's abortion ban.
Apple also has a travel benefit in place for employees seeking abortions, including retail workers.
Ride-sharing company Uber did not respond to a request for comment. It pledged in September 2021 to pay legal fees for drivers who were sued for transporting someone to an abortion clinic. The Texas legislation allows private citizens to sue an individual for helping someone obtain the procedure.
Its competitor, Lyft, pledged to pay legal fees for drivers as well; and that insured employees would receive a travel benefit. It also said that it would work with healthcare partners to cover travel costs for Texas and Oklahoma women seeking out-of-state abortions.
To be fully covered under the company's health insurance plan, a driver would have to average 25 or more hours per week.
By facilitating abortion access only for employees under pre-existing healthcare plans, thousands of workers will be left vulnerable to anti-abortion state laws.
In Amazon's case, the benefits won't cover part-time or temporary employees who are brought on for seasonal work, or those working in warehouses without company benefits, Kaplan said.
"That's why we're seeing all of these efforts at unionization, because those jobs are marginalized. And this may be another way that those jobs will continue to be marginalized," she added.
"And of course, who's doing those jobs? It's racialized minorities, and immigrants, people who have less access to a lot of resources in any case."
As abortion bans loom in the U.S., companies step up or stay quiet | CBC New
Jul. 2, 2022 "Google says it will erase U.S. user data about trips to abortion clinics": Today I found this article on CBC news:
Google will automatically purge information about users who visit abortion clinics or other places that could trigger legal problems now that the U.S. Supreme Court has opened the door for states to ban the termination of pregnancies.
The company behind the internet's dominant search engine and the Android software that powers most of the world's smartphones outlined the new privacy protections in a Friday blog post.
Besides automatically deleting visits to abortion clinics, Google also cited counselling centres, fertility centres, addiction treatment facilities, weight loss clinics and cosmetic surgery clinics as other destinations that will be erased from users' location histories.
Users have always had the option to edit their location histories on their own, but Google will proactively do it for them as an added level of protection.
"We're committed to delivering robust privacy protections for people who use our products, and we will continue to look for new ways to strengthen and improve these protections," Jen Fitzpatrick, a Google senior vice president, wrote in the blog post.
A Google spokesperson did not immediately answer questions from Reuters about how the company would identify such visits or whether all related data would be wiped from its servers.
The company's pledge comes amid escalating pressure on Google and other Big Tech companies to do more to shield the troves of sensitive personal information through their digital services and products from government authorities and other outsiders.
The calls for more stringent privacy controls were triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that secured constitutional protections for abortion.
That reversal could make abortion illegal in more than a dozen states, raising the spectre that records about people's location, texts, searches and emails could be used in prosecutions for abortion procedures or even for medical care sought in a miscarriage.
Like other technology companies, Google each year receives thousands of government demands for users' digital records as part of misconduct investigations.
Google says it pushes back against search warrants and other demands that are overly broad or appear to be baseless.
Google says it will erase U.S. user data about trips to abortion clinics | CBC News
This week's theme is about International Women's Day and abortions:
"Disney, other companies vow to cover employees' out-of-state abortions"/ "Big U.S. employers say they'll pay for abortions after Supreme Court's Roe reversal"
"Some Canadian companies expand benefits for U.S. workers after Roe v. Wade overturn"/ "What Canadian employers should know in wake of controversial U.S. abortion decision"
My week:
Jason Derulo is helping a student through college.
While out in Nebraska last week, the musician, 33, tipped a server $5,000 on his bill — and received a sweet shout-out for his major act of kindness.
"Jason Derulo tipped me $5000 at Charleston's Restaurant in Omaha," Jordan Schaffer texted in a caption over a TikTok video from the restaurant.
"Wow, my heart's beating really fast," he can be heard saying during an exchange with Derulo while standing over the artist's table.
"Hey Jason, thank you," Schaffer then says to the camera, personally thanking the singer. "You just paid for a semester at my college. I can't thank you enough."
"I hope you and your family have a wonderful time in Omaha," he added. "And I hope you see us again. Thank you so much."
Breaking out in a smile, Schaffer then showed a close-up of the receipt, "Dude, check it out, I can't believe this," he told his followers. On the $795.99 bill from March 5, the total shows $5,795.99 after the whopping tip.
"I can't believe it!" a grinning Schaffer added.
Derulo reposted the video to his own TikTok Thursday, adding "Blessed to be a blessing," in a caption under the footage.
Mar. 12, 2023 "Ukrainians fleeing war help ease Manitoba's labour shortage": This is a positive news article:
Today I found this article by Nick Purdon and Leonardo Palleja on CBC: ·
As a long-time musician on cruise ships, Konstantin Rolyk was more used to holding a saxophone in his hands than a cement drill. But on this day, as the temperature hovers around -25 C in Winnipeg, Rolyk is working hard to get ready for the cement trucks scheduled to arrive and pour the foundation for the new residential apartments he is helping to build.
"The job here is a chance to start your life again," said Rolyk, 36, who arrived in Canada from Ukraine in November last year with his wife and two children. "It's a new step. I've never worked this kind of position before."
"I have 12 Ukrainians working with us right now," Rizutto said. "If we didn't have them here, I don't know what we would be doing as far as the schedule and keeping the site up and making targets."
John Garcea started S&J Construction with his father — who came to Canada from Italy in 1968 — and grew it into one of the biggest construction companies in Manitoba. He said the difficulty he's had finding workers over the past few years has meant lost revenue.
Ukrainians fleeing war help ease Manitoba's labour shortage | CBC News
Mar. 15, 2023 "Junos protester explains why she disrupted awards show": Today I found this article by Julia Wong on MSN and CBC:
A Vancouver woman charged with mischief after a disruption at the Juno Awards is unapologetic about her public protest that garnered headlines around the world.
Casey Hatherly, who goes by the name Ever, was arrested after interrupting Avril Lavigne's speech during the high-profile event; the 37-year-old was topless, wearing pasties and had slogans for environmental causes such as "Stop logging old growth now" and "Save the green belt" scrawled on her body.
CBC News spoke with Hatherly on Wednesday outside of the Edmonton courthouse after her bail hearing. Her next court appearance is April 5.
She said she is part of a group called On To Ottawa that will go to the nation's capital in April to demand a citizens' assembly for climate action.
Hatherly, who had a ticket for the Junos, said she chose the awards show as a platform simply because of the international attention it would garner.
"We wanted to start off with a big bang, and I think we achieved that goal," she said, adding that she chose to disrupt Lavigne "for the headline."
"I low-key, in my heart of hearts, hoped that she would be punk rock, girl power, give me the mic or something, but I don't think it could have gone any better," she said.
Instead, Lavigne used expletives to tell Hatherly to get off the stage.
"That's definitely going down as one of the highlights," Lavigne said Monday night of the incident.
Hatherly said she chose to be topless because more people would click on a story about a topless protester than they would about an environmental activist.
"We created an international buzz, and even if people aren't asking the right questions now, they will be," she said.
"Everybody just saw a topless protester, but they're looking now. It's not an issue that people want to think about — climate disaster that we are currently experiencing here and all around the world."
David Tindall, a sociology professor at the University of British Columbia, said the incident at the Junos was a classic case of an activist trying to "create a spectacle" and get media attention.
However, Tindall said the incident might have been more effective if it had happened at a government event or in the presence of politicians.
"I don't think that necessarily disrupting musicians getting awards has the same sort of impact in terms of putting pressure on people that are at the event," he said.
"My sense is probably there is more paying attention to the spectacle part than the message part in this instance."
Junos protester explains why she disrupted awards show (msn.com)
My opinion: When I first saw the clip, I was like: "This is bad and disruptive because someone is trying to talk and host the show and you're distracting her and everybody else."
However, now that I know Casey Hatherly's side of the story and the intention was about saving the environment.
Intention: However, now that I know Casey Hatherly's side of the story and the intention was about saving the environment which is good.
Strategy: This was average at best, and poor at worst. Some of you would have lots to say about this. I would say mediocre.
Result: The bad result is that she got charged with mischief. The good result is that people know and get interested about climate change.
Topless protests have been done before:
My Jun. 2019 blog post:
"Lessons from dad"/ "Topless woman shuts down anti-abortion protest out front of Peterborough high school"
Jun. 10, 2019 "Topless woman shuts down anti-abortion protest out front of Peterborough high school": I found this in the Star Metro. You may find this offensive or funny:
Jun. 8, 2022 "Topless Abortion Rights Protesters Storm Court At New York Liberty WNBA Game": Today I found this article by Ron Dicker on Yahoo news:
Topless Abortion Rights Protesters Storm Court At New York Liberty WNBA Game (yahoo.com)
Mar. 15, 2023 "Teen Who Drove 6 Hours to Shop for Prom Gifted $700 Dress by Store Owner: 'I Want People to Feel Good'": Today I found this article by Maria Pasquino on MSN and People:
Lucille said that she usually streams all of her consultations, and that during the teen's shopping trip she received a phone call from one of her followers, offering to chip in $200.
"At that moment, I knew that was the universe telling me, just give her the dress," Lucille says. "That follower was just an angel just reminding me that just you have to give."
Mar. 12, 2023 La Brea: For the past week and a half, I was watching season 2 of this show.
"A massive sinkhole mysteriously opens up in Los Angeles, separating part of a family in an unexplainable primeval world, alongside a desperate group of strangers."
La Brea (TV Series 2021– ) - IMDb
My opinion: When I watched the first season in a couple of weeks, I grew to like it. There is a lot of action and crazy things happening as the characters try to survive. The second season is good.
Josh McKenzie: I like this actor who plays Lucas. He was a drug dealer, but his character has developed on this show.
Mar. 13, 2023 Good Buddy restaurant: My parents, P, and I went to the one in the northside. It was to celebrate P's birthday.
Sweet and sour soup
Sweet and sour pork
Hot pot of deep fried fish and tofu
Beef and bok choy
Spring rolls and pork chops
Deep fried squid- I like anything deep fried, but I didn't like this.
Be frugal: Last week I could have spent money on takeout, but I didn't. I'm all about saving time, effort, and money. I ate the food already at home:
Cereal
Bread
Cream cheese
Butter
Cans of tuna
Crackers
This may not seem as good as takeout, but I can make myself a sandwich.
Watch TV or go shopping: My parents were going to West Ed mall and Londonderry mall for the past few weeks. I could have gone with them, but I didn't. I want to have fun, but I want to watch the TV shows I had already saved on my DVR.
Some of you may say that it depends:
Which mall are you going to?
Do I want to, need to, or have to buy anything?
Do I feel like it?
What TV shows do I want to watch?
Mar. 15, 2023 West Edmonton mall: I hardly go there. I went there in Jun. 2022 for fun. I went there for a job interview in Oct. 2022. Today I went there for a job interview.
After that I gave this butter knife I had from my 1st restaurant job to the 1st restaurant. It was in my kitchen.
I went to Tim Horton's and tried the Mini Eggs donut. There were 4 Mini Eggs and sprinkles on it. I also got a glazed donut. I used a $10 gift card I got for Christmas from my work from home job.
I went to McDonald's and got a free coffee with my coffee card. It's where you buy 7 coffees and get one free. My dad is the one who buys the coffee, and I put the stickers from the coffee cups onto the card. It seems like they're moving to a QR code instead of stickers.
The places closed down:
1. Sbarro fast food place
2. Ayo Bakery
3. Bed Bath and Beyond- they announced they were closing last month. Most of the store is pretty empty.
4. Toys R' Us
5. Forever 21 closed down. This store closed down in 2019. Then it opened again in 2021. Now it's closed.
I went on the internet and there is a Forever 21 at Kingsway that's still open.
The places opened:
1. Orleans BBQ fast food place
2. Pepper Palace- they sell sauces.
3. LL Bean
4. Athleta
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