Planned Parenthood staffs unionizing
DES MOINES, Iowa -- About 400 workers at Planned Parenthood offices in five states said Thursday they plan to unionize as their employer deals with the potential loss of business in states where abortions may become illegal if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
Workers for Planned Parenthood North Central States in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota said they have signed cards showing majority support for unionization, and Thursday they filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board, said Ashley Schmidt, a training and development specialist for Nebraska and western Iowa.
They plan to join SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union that has about 1 million members in 29 states, including doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians.
Union organizing in a variety of fields has gained momentum recently after decades of decline in union membership in the U.S.
The Planned Parenthood workers include nurses, education outreach workers, community organizers and other nonmanagement employees at 28 clinics in the five states. They provide services such as reproductive care, cancer screening and abortions.
On a call with reporters Thursday, employees discussed concerns about unequal pay for similar positions in different locations, lower pay than other health care providers, high turnover linked to exhaustion and burnout, and a feeling that management doesn't always listen to worker concerns.
Oklahoma abortion ban signed into law
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed into law the nation's strictest abortion ban, making the state the first in the nation to effectively end availability of the procedure.
State lawmakers on Wednesday approved the ban enforced by civil lawsuits rather than criminal prosecution, similar to the Texas law passed last year. It takes effect immediately and prohibits abortions with few exceptions. Abortion providers had said they would stop performing the procedure as soon as the bill was signed.
"I promised Oklahomans that as governor I would sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came across my desk and I am proud to keep that promise today," the first-term Republican said in a statement.
"The impact will be disastrous for Oklahomans," said Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst for the Guttmacher Institute. "It will also have severe ripple effects, especially for Texas patients who had been traveling to Oklahoma in large numbers after the Texas six-week abortion ban went into effect in September."
The only exceptions in the Oklahoma law are to save the life of a pregnant woman or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that has been reported to law enforcement.
Church vandals leave abortion slogans
COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Authorities in a rural Mississippi county say they are stunned and perplexed after finding a tiny, isolated church vandalized with abortion-rights slogans.
"It's mystifying, you know?" said St. Elmore Armistad, a deacon at Mount Avery Missionary Baptist Church in Lowndes County.
The graffiti include "Keep your laws off my body" and "Girls just want to have fundamental human rights."
It doesn't have anything to do with the church, where about five people regularly attend services, Armistad told The Commercial Dispatch.
"We don't preach abortion," he said. "We preach Jesus Christ. It just don't add up."
Armistad said he went to the church Monday afternoon and the sides and back of the building were covered with graffiti in black, pale blue and pink.
"Why us? That's the first thing I wondered," he said. "You hear about things like that happening other places, but you don't get a grip on it until it happens to you."
Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins characterized the vandalism as "odd," noting that the church, east of Columbus near the Alabama line, was in the middle of nowhere on a road that sees little traffic.
He said investigators are seeking suspects on what will probably be a vandalism charge. Whether it will be a misdemeanor or a felony depends on the damage estimate.
Cruise ship odor tied to painting project
NORFOLK, Va. -- A painting project is to blame for an odor that affected cruise ship passengers in Virginia and prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to send a crew to investigate Thursday, Carnival Cruise Line said.
The Coast Guard on Wednesday received reports of an odor and people feeling ill on the Carnival Magic, Petty Officer Stephen Lehmann said. He said a crew went to the vessel Thursday morning but no one needed to be evacuated for medical treatment. The vessel is docked in Norfolk.
The odor was produced by an outside painting project taking place Wednesday, Carnival said. "The ship's crew quickly reacted and provided assistance to the guests," the company said.
Carnival said the ship returned to Norfolk as scheduled and all passengers had disembarked.
FILE - Dani Thayer, left, and Marina Lanae, right, both of Tulsa, Okla., hold pro-choice signs at the state Capitol, Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday, May 25 signed into law the nation’s strictest abortion ban, making the state the first in the nation to effectively end availability of the procedure. State lawmakers approved the ban enforced by civil lawsuits rather than criminal prosecution, similar to a Texas law that was passed last year. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki File)