9to5 and the Community

A large part of any non-profit organization involves educating the community about the issues which it is working towards solving. 9to5 has local chapters in Colorado, Atlanta, California, and Milwaukee that come together to involve women of the community in improving policies addressing pay equity, work/family issues, sexual harassment, discrimination, welfare, unemployment and protections for temporary and part-time workers. They also have many ways for members of the community to get involved such as registering people to vote, asking voters to get in touch with their representatives, distributing voter guides at events or to neighbors, and talking with members of the community about policies that would better their lives in the workplace. If somebody is looking to get involved with  9to5 it is quite simple, all one has to do is log on to http://9to5.org/ and contact the director of their local chapter.

I believe 9to5 does a good job of educating the community about crucial issues that are being faced and getting people involved in improving policies to combat these issues. I say this with conviction because in 2008 9to5, with the support of the Denver community helped lead a historic campaign that lead to the defeat of a ballot referendum that would have eliminated Colorado's equal opportunity programs for women and people of color. This was the first time any state has successfully defended against this type of campaign. 9to5 has a few other victories under their belt such as wins on crucial state policies including a higher minimum wage, establishing a state pay equity commission, protecting workers who discuss their wages, increasing welfare cash assistance, breastfeeding accommodations and unemployment insurance. 9to5 is doing their part to implement immediate improvements in the lives of women of the community and low-wage workers.