Report on New York State Council Meeting
Sioux Taylor
The NYS NOW Council meeting was held on Saturday 1/27 and Sunday 1/28/2007 at the Crowne Plaza in Albany. The 1/27 sessions in which I participated were well attended, well organized and well worth the trip. The agenda included reports on the activities of the various chapters by their respective representatives, in addition to progress reports from the chairs of several Task Forces.
As the representative from Westchester, I called attention to the fact that our NOW sponsored Book Group has been functioning - UNINTERRUPTED - for more than 30 years - and that many of the members have been there since the beginning! I also spoke briefly about the large-scale women's conference we are planning for the fall of this year. The conference will be held in cooperation with the NYS/NASW Westchester Division, the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health, and the Westchester County Office for Women, Fordham University School of Social Work, the College of New Rochelle and other relevant organizations. A copy of the last issue of our Newsletter was given to the President and the Secretary of NYS NOW. Another copy was passed around for the council members to peruse. The report from the New York University Chapter was especially interesting. It told of the successful "Love Your Body Day" event and the "Students Against Domestic Violence" program that they sponsored.
With respect to reports on the work of the Task Forces, there was a particular interest in the report from the Task Force on "Human Trafficking, Pornography, and Prostitution." Following concerted discussions, it was voted to make "Human Trafficking" a Task Force by itself in view of the fact that the issue has become so important. It was stated that Human Trafficking - modern day slavery - is now considered to be the third largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world! 80% of the trafficked are women and children funneled into the existing sex industry by way of factories of domestic work. The United States is the second largest destination in the world for trafficked women. New York plays a prominent role in this illegal enterprise. According to the Justice Department, JFK Airport is the main trafficking hub as a point of entry. This Task Force is working to get strong anti-trafficking legislation passed. In addition, members are available to present workshops at the request of NOW chapters and other interested organizations.
Other Task Force reports included but were not limited to "Work Place Issues" and "Domestic Relations Law." NOW continues to promote the need to lobby AGAINST NO-FAULT DIVORCE.
I have been asked to co-chair the Anti-Poverty Task Force. Given a myriad of personal constraints, I am not sure if, or to what extent, I will be able to accept this invitation. Nevertheless, I will discuss expectations and possible goals with the NOW NYS President and the Task Force Program Consultant/Advisor before making a commitment. Parenthetically, it is interesting to note that the basic welfare grant has not been raised since 1990 and it was grossly inadequate even at that time. Records show that individuals who currently receive welfare assistance are mostly working at low wage or non-paying job assignments. These are mostly single women who are struggling to live on an average of $3.00 per day (per person) to pay for clothing, school supplies, toilet paper, travel, etc. Clearly, this is UNCONSCIONABLE and cannot be tolerated!
