The renewal of the Violence Against Women Act is now on its way to President Obama, who has said he will sign it into law. On the eve of Women's History Month, working families were able to celebrate that the House finally passed the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act on Thursday. The Senate already passed the act. 

This is an excerpt from the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center's "Unions Mark No to Violence Against Women Day."

At a Turkish-owned textile plant in the Democratic Republic of Georgia a few years ago, female employers were repeatedly forced to remain on the job without pay for hours a day. When they ultimately demanded to be released, the factory manager responded by yelling and throwing a heavy load of unfinished dresses at one woman. The blow knocked her unconscious. The factory manager returned to Turkey to avoid prosecution—but likely would not have faced charges even if he had stayed, says Bob Fielding, Solidarity Center country program director in Georgia, who described the incident.

Women are bringing home the bacon, says AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler, and what are they most concerned about this election? Jobs and the economy.

Shuler addressed more than 100 women of all ages at a Women Vote 2012 kick-off luncheon today at the AFL-CIO headquarters. 

Now, more than ever, women need to make sure their voices are heard about the kind of future they envision for themselves and their families. 

The AFL-CIO is calling on women from all over to ask other women—other moms, daughters, sisters, co-workers and friends—to vote in this election. 
Can you host a Women Vote 2012 Party in your neighborhood?

Working America and the AFL-CIO have made it easy to host a party, by providing a step-by-step guide that tells you what to expect and how to make your party successful. Working America has been hosting parties like this for the past five years, and they make a difference. Women who hear about how important it is to vote from other women actually vote at higher rates. 

Women still make only 77 cents to the dollar men earn in America. Worldwide, "women are paid 18 percent on average less than their male counterparts at work." This pay gap has persisted without change for a decade. 

Donna Gatehouse, who blogs at DemocraticDiva and elsewhere on all things Arizona, sends us this.

Republicans in the Arizona legislature must be uneasy these days.  A package of Wisconsin-style anti-public sector union bills is making its way through the process, as is Gov. Jan Brewer's plan to remove civil service protections from state workers. Several labor and community organizations plan protests around those bills. At the same time, women's and reproductive rights groups will undoubtedly be at the state capitol to speak out against numerous shocking and intrusive anti-abortion and anti-contraception measures before the legislature this session. The GOP majority is apparently so frightened by this prospect it’s trying to make it a Class 1 misdemeanor to engage in "passive resistance." Common nonviolent protest tactics such as going limp when the police try to remove you from an area or chaining yourself to something could get you up to a six-month month jail sentence. 

Women must have the right to quality health care, including equal access to contraception, and have the ability to exercise that right regardless of where they work, the AFL-CIO Executive Council said today in a statement at its annual winter meeting in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The council reaffirmed a 2001 Convention resolution promoting contraceptive equity in national health plans and in collective bargaining agreements, saying Wednesday that all women "should have universal access to quality health care at a reasonable cost that is not determined by political agendas."