Hi Everyone,
This is Kiki checking in. I want to say a special “thank you” to Cooper for her wonderful blog posting. I am rather new to this blogging, but am grateful for its existence as a means for us to talk about this most important legislation. I did tell Cooper that she was meant to go to the screening of The Motherhood Manifesto documentary film, just as you are meant to be reading this blog right now. Georgia was meant to meet Joan for lunch while she was in California and hear about “Kiki and her story”. Is it really a coincidence that both of these women are from Pittsburgh, they don’t know each other, and individually find out about this legislation while out in California?

If you have read my story, you will see that I certainly didn’t find a “friend” when I moved to Pennsylvania, as the state motto at the time boasted. During my attempts to find a job to support myself and my children, I found discrimination, humiliation and poverty. If this is happening to me and my family, I thought, how many others is this happening to?

I never imagined being forced on welfare because no one would hire me because I was a mother! I found out that there were so many others faced with this same situation of being denied employment after being asked personal, prying, invasive questions during job interviews.

I discovered how humbling an experience it is to have no income and running out of food for my family. Joining countless others on line at the food pantry while waiting my turn, I fumed at the thought of being forced in this situation because of an archaic law and employers who manipulated its language. I shouldn’t have to depend on others for food, I shouldn’t have to apply for food stamps, and I shouldn’t have to be worrying constantly about being interrogated during my next job interview.

But that was my life. And I believe everything happens for a reason—just like Cooper for some “unknown” reason changed direction to seeing the film instead of getting into a cab.
There was a reason I ended up in Pennsylvania and exposed to these conditions. Perhaps because I was raised to believe in freedom and democracy and equality for everyone, and that means Pennsylvanians too.

For that reason, I took on this battle and it certainly has been an uphill battle. I may have initiated this legislation, but we really need your help to turn these bills into a law. We need your help to get mothers the dignity and respect they deserve when they interview for a job. For every phone call you make, we are one step closer to amending this legislation. For anyone else you get to call too, that’s two steps closer.

Success on winning this legislation and becoming a part of history is something you can do. Without your calls to these legislators, they will continue to sweep this matter under the rug and keep women and their families under submission for another two years. We’ve got to make this stop and now. This is a time sensitive matter and we’ve got to get the bills moved before the legislative session ends in November.

Won’t you please join us and know that success is because of you and your calls? Like I said, I believe you are reading this for a reason and that reason is to give you the opportunity to let your voice be heard too!

MAKE A CALL—we can’t make a difference without you. With all of your help and support thus far, I do believe I have found my friends and they are in Pennsylvania. Time to get your boots on and up that hill we will climb!