New law in Calif. protects employees experiencing reproductive loss This January, California will become one of the few states in the nation with legislation addressing reproductive loss under Senate Bill 848. The legislative bill, SB 848, will allow employees to take up to five days off after a reproductive loss without retaliation from their employers. Under SB 848, a reproductive loss event is defined as “the day or, for a multiple-day event, the final day of a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or an unsuccessful assisted reproduction…”
Black Voice News spoke with Yvonne McComb, a birth, bereavement, and postpartum doula whose own experience with reproductive loss made her an advocate for legislation like SB 848 that would allow others to take time off from work — something she could not benefit from during her eight losses over a decade. “I’m so, so grateful that this is something that’s even being spoken about right now because it’s very, very hard. Loss is not just something that happens physically, it happens mentally as well emotionally. It’s very taxing.”
🚀
You can now find our partners' essential intersectional reporting and perspectives at our new URL Media website updated daily. Dive into the stories that matter. Check us out here!
Amazon workers speak out about workplace safety and injuries on the job Forty-one percent of Amazon workers have experienced injuries on the job, according to an analysis study from the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois Chicago. The study included responses from more than 1,400 workers in the survey across 451 facilities in 42 states who reported contusions, bruises, cuts and lacerations. Prism spoke with a former Amazon employee who worked at a New York City delivery station from 2021 to 2022. While on the job, he developed daily lower back pain, which he says he never experienced before working for the company.
A practical guide to dealing with people who hate usIn a time of increased assaults on Muslim, Jewish and East Asian communities, Kalaya'an Mendoza, director of Nonviolent Peaceforce in New York City, offers practical guidance for staying safe and supporting one another when witnessing and experiencing hate crimes. Some of Mendoza’s key takeaways? Understand your triggers and anchor points, reassure people who were targeted that they are not at fault, and prioritize your personal safety. “Some people are like, ‘I wish [my survival response is that of] a fight person.’ No, no, no. You, your lived experience and your ancestors have brought you to this point to keep yourself alive and safe. And that’s something that needs to be honored.”
Meet the Game Changers
Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities
Kalaya'an Mendoza is the director of mutual protection for Nonviolent Peaceforce, a global civil society organization. Mendoza hosts bystander trainings and community safety workshops in New York City, with a focus on promoting nonviolent solutions and ensuring the safety of vulnerable communities