Post by bennyp81 on Jun 22, 2005 10:01:39 GMT -8
Bart Reed
User ID: 1606604 Sep 1st 8:02 AM
Los Angeles Times: September 1, 2004
Some Bus Drivers Ban Breastfeeding, Protesters Allege; MTA officials apologize for the actions of a few but say there is no policy against nursing.
By Jia-Rui Chong
Staff Writer
A group of protesters accused Metropolitan Transportation Authority drivers of breaking a state law that allows women to breastfeed in public and picketed Tuesday outside its downtown Los Angeles headquarters.
MTA officials apologized for drivers who have asked women to stop breastfeeding, but said they have no policy that bans breastfeeding on buses or trains.
About 50 women nursed infants and wore shirts saying "Got breast milk?" to call attention to the issue. Among them was Claudia Flores, who said she was asked twice by different drivers on Route 55 to stop nursing her daughter.
Luz Chacon, a health education coordinator for Maternal and Child Health Access, which organized the protest, said 15 other women have complained to her in the last couple of years that bus or rail passengers have asked them to stop breastfeeding.
"We think there are more instances of drivers doing this, but women aren't necessarily coming forward," she said.
Flores, who spoke through a Spanish translator, said she was first asked to stop in December, when she was on Route 55 from downtown Los Angeles. The driver saw Flores, 32, in her in the rearview mirror and asked her to stop breastfeeding.
Flores said she showed the driver a card citing a 1997 state law that allows women to breastfeed in public. She said the bus driver laughed and tossed the card on the dashboard.
"I felt bad," she said. "I felt hurt, embarrassed and humiliated. But I knew I had the right. I thought to myself, 'I'm going to report this.' "
Flores brought her concerns to Maternal and Child Health Access, a nonprofit that helps low-income women and their families get health and social services. The organization contacted the MTA, and the MTA told the organization it would notify all bus drivers of the law.
But two weeks ago, another bus driver on the same route asked Flores to stop breastfeeding and accused her of public indecency, she said.
"I covered myself. You couldn't see flesh," Flores said.
Flores, who relies on buses for transportation, said she can't help nursing her 19-month-old daughter, Betsy, while she's on the bus. "If she's hungry, I am going to feed her."
Chacon, Flores and the other protesters called on the MTA to better educate drivers and put placards about the state law on buses and trains so other passengers do not create a hostile environment.
"It's unfortunate the public thinks it's indecency," Chacon said. "They relate the breast to sexuality, but in reality we're mammals and this is what we do."
MTA officials said they have received only two complaints about drivers banning breastfeeding, both from Flores.
"We're admitting we were wrong," said MTA spokesman Marc Littman. "But you've got to keep this in perspective: We've got 360 million boarding passengers on the bus and we have rail on top of it."
The agency is sending out a bulletin to 500 bus and train drivers with their Friday paychecks and plans to beef up training.
Carolyn Flowers, executive officer for operations, said many drivers already know the law, including one who she said told a complaining customer last week that women were allowed to breastfeed on buses.
Þ--Þ--Þ
Ken Alpern
User ID: 0185894 Sep 1st 8:15 AM
Thanks, Bart, for keeping us all abreast on this important issue!
Robert
User ID: 0317884 Sep 1st 1:01 PM
Ha, Ha Ken.
Some information about Breastfeeding laws in California. FYI. RL
= = = = =
www.lalecheleague.org/Law/Bills11.html
SUMMARY OF ENACTED BREASTFEEDING LEGISLATION
CALIFORNIA
California has enacted several significant breastfeeding laws on the following issues: (1) lactation services or information must be made available by all hospitals/maternity care facilities; (2) breastfeeding in public (note: that the law does not apply to breastfeeding at a private home of another); (3) jury duty; and (4) accommodations for employed breastfeeding mothers.
Cal Health & Saf Code § 123360 and § 123365
1995 Cal ALS 463; 1995 Cal AB 977; Stats 1995 ch 463
§123360 The State Department of Health Services shall include in its public service campaign the promotion of mothers breast feeding their infants.
§123365
(a) All general acute care hospitals, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, and all special hospitals providing maternity care, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 1250, shall make available a breast feeding consultant or alternatively, provide information to the mother on where to receive breast feeding information.
(b) The consultant may be a registered nurse with maternal and newborn care experience, if available.
(c) The consultation shall be made available during the hospitalization associated with the delivery, or alternatively, the hospital shall provide information to the mother on where to receive breast feeding information.
(d) The patient may decline this consultation or information.
Cal. Civ. Code §43.3
1997 Cal ALS 59; 1997 Cal AB 157; Stats 1997 ch 59
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, except the private home or residence of another, where the mother and child are authorized to be present.
Cal Code Civ. Proc. § 210.5
2000 Cal AB 1814; 2000 Cal ALS 266; Stats 2000 ch 266
§ 210.5. Standardized jury summons
...shall adopt a standardized jury summons for use, with appropriate modifications, around the state, that is understandable and has consumer appeal. The standardized jury summons shall include a specific reference to the rules for breast-feeding mothers. The use of the standardized jury summons shall be voluntary, unless otherwise prescribed by the rules of court.
2004 California Rules of Court (Note: this is not a statute).
Rule 859. Deferral of jury service
A mother who is breastfeeding a child may request that jury service be deferred for up to one year, and may renew that request as long as she is breastfeeding. If the request is made in writing, under penalty of perjury, the jury commissioner must grant it without requiring the prospective juror to appear at court.
Rule 859 adopted effective July 1, 2001.
Cal. Lab. Code §1030, 1031, 1032, 1033 (2001)
2001 Cal ALS 821; 2001 Cal AB 1025; Stats 2001 ch 821,
1030. Every employer, including the state and any political subdivision, shall provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant child. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Break time for an employee that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized for the employee by the applicable wage order of the Industrial Welfare Commission shall be unpaid.
1031. The employer shall make reasonable efforts to provide the employee with the use of a room or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work area, for the employee to express milk in private. The room or location may include the place where the employee normally works if it otherwise meets the requirements of this section.
1032. An employer is not required to provide break time under this chapter if to do so would seriously disrupt the operations of the employer.
1033. (a) An employer who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation.
(b) If, upon inspection or investigation, the Labor Commissioner determines that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the Labor Commissioner may issue a citation. The procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations or civil penalties issued by the Labor Commissioner for violations of this chapter shall be the same as those set forth in Section 1197.1.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, violations of this chapter shall not be misdemeanors under this code.
= = = Comments by Bob = = =
At what age would the breastfeedee have to be before it is unlawful?
Did we not have a big scandal when a breast fell out of a costume for a matter of seconds that made national scandal? If a nursing mother exposed herself before/after the feeding for the same amount of time as J. J., would this exposure then become unlawful?
Lets just have one standard and just let everyone go around topless. ;o)
Is it not unlawful to eat and drink on Metro's busses and trains? Can a baby be bottle-fed on a bus? If so, then we have double standards when we can not drink on busses and trains…
- - - - -
"Flores said she showed the driver a card citing a 1997 state law that allows women to breastfeed in public. She said the bus driver laughed and tossed the card on the dashboard."
Although the information on this card may be correct, just by flashing a card with a "reference" printed on it does not make it legal.
On a personal note, I cannot see how feeding a baby on a jerky bus be healthy for a baby.
-=†‡÷«{(: ßÔß }»÷‡†=-
John
User ID: 9753653 Sep 1st 1:10 PM
I think it is, but since the supposed prohibition seems to rarely be enforced, it is commonplace for people to eat and drink on Metro buses and trains.
I'll never forget when, early one Saturday morning years ago, I was very carefully taking bites of a doughnut on an empty bus: empty except for myself and the bus driver, that is. I was sitting in the back of the bus, and was not dropping any of the doughnut on the floor or on the seats. But suddenly the driver stopped the bus, marched to the back, and angrily told me to never bring any food on the bus again!
And so now, whenever I see other passengers eating fried chicken, hamburgers and fries, etc., even drinking who-knows-what out of bottles or cans hidden inside a brown bag, it's hard for me not to burst out laughing, especially when they're sitting right up close to the bus driver.
It's sort of like when drivers play the radio or maintain long conversations with someone standing next to them by the front door. You just have to laugh.
Anti-BRU
User ID: 9510053 Sep 4th 3:59 PM
Another example of MTA operator abuse of a passenger.
User ID: 1606604 Sep 1st 8:02 AM
Los Angeles Times: September 1, 2004
Some Bus Drivers Ban Breastfeeding, Protesters Allege; MTA officials apologize for the actions of a few but say there is no policy against nursing.
By Jia-Rui Chong
Staff Writer
A group of protesters accused Metropolitan Transportation Authority drivers of breaking a state law that allows women to breastfeed in public and picketed Tuesday outside its downtown Los Angeles headquarters.
MTA officials apologized for drivers who have asked women to stop breastfeeding, but said they have no policy that bans breastfeeding on buses or trains.
About 50 women nursed infants and wore shirts saying "Got breast milk?" to call attention to the issue. Among them was Claudia Flores, who said she was asked twice by different drivers on Route 55 to stop nursing her daughter.
Luz Chacon, a health education coordinator for Maternal and Child Health Access, which organized the protest, said 15 other women have complained to her in the last couple of years that bus or rail passengers have asked them to stop breastfeeding.
"We think there are more instances of drivers doing this, but women aren't necessarily coming forward," she said.
Flores, who spoke through a Spanish translator, said she was first asked to stop in December, when she was on Route 55 from downtown Los Angeles. The driver saw Flores, 32, in her in the rearview mirror and asked her to stop breastfeeding.
Flores said she showed the driver a card citing a 1997 state law that allows women to breastfeed in public. She said the bus driver laughed and tossed the card on the dashboard.
"I felt bad," she said. "I felt hurt, embarrassed and humiliated. But I knew I had the right. I thought to myself, 'I'm going to report this.' "
Flores brought her concerns to Maternal and Child Health Access, a nonprofit that helps low-income women and their families get health and social services. The organization contacted the MTA, and the MTA told the organization it would notify all bus drivers of the law.
But two weeks ago, another bus driver on the same route asked Flores to stop breastfeeding and accused her of public indecency, she said.
"I covered myself. You couldn't see flesh," Flores said.
Flores, who relies on buses for transportation, said she can't help nursing her 19-month-old daughter, Betsy, while she's on the bus. "If she's hungry, I am going to feed her."
Chacon, Flores and the other protesters called on the MTA to better educate drivers and put placards about the state law on buses and trains so other passengers do not create a hostile environment.
"It's unfortunate the public thinks it's indecency," Chacon said. "They relate the breast to sexuality, but in reality we're mammals and this is what we do."
MTA officials said they have received only two complaints about drivers banning breastfeeding, both from Flores.
"We're admitting we were wrong," said MTA spokesman Marc Littman. "But you've got to keep this in perspective: We've got 360 million boarding passengers on the bus and we have rail on top of it."
The agency is sending out a bulletin to 500 bus and train drivers with their Friday paychecks and plans to beef up training.
Carolyn Flowers, executive officer for operations, said many drivers already know the law, including one who she said told a complaining customer last week that women were allowed to breastfeed on buses.
Þ--Þ--Þ
Ken Alpern
User ID: 0185894 Sep 1st 8:15 AM
Thanks, Bart, for keeping us all abreast on this important issue!
Robert
User ID: 0317884 Sep 1st 1:01 PM
Ha, Ha Ken.
Some information about Breastfeeding laws in California. FYI. RL
= = = = =
www.lalecheleague.org/Law/Bills11.html
SUMMARY OF ENACTED BREASTFEEDING LEGISLATION
CALIFORNIA
California has enacted several significant breastfeeding laws on the following issues: (1) lactation services or information must be made available by all hospitals/maternity care facilities; (2) breastfeeding in public (note: that the law does not apply to breastfeeding at a private home of another); (3) jury duty; and (4) accommodations for employed breastfeeding mothers.
Cal Health & Saf Code § 123360 and § 123365
1995 Cal ALS 463; 1995 Cal AB 977; Stats 1995 ch 463
§123360 The State Department of Health Services shall include in its public service campaign the promotion of mothers breast feeding their infants.
§123365
(a) All general acute care hospitals, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, and all special hospitals providing maternity care, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 1250, shall make available a breast feeding consultant or alternatively, provide information to the mother on where to receive breast feeding information.
(b) The consultant may be a registered nurse with maternal and newborn care experience, if available.
(c) The consultation shall be made available during the hospitalization associated with the delivery, or alternatively, the hospital shall provide information to the mother on where to receive breast feeding information.
(d) The patient may decline this consultation or information.
Cal. Civ. Code §43.3
1997 Cal ALS 59; 1997 Cal AB 157; Stats 1997 ch 59
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, except the private home or residence of another, where the mother and child are authorized to be present.
Cal Code Civ. Proc. § 210.5
2000 Cal AB 1814; 2000 Cal ALS 266; Stats 2000 ch 266
§ 210.5. Standardized jury summons
...shall adopt a standardized jury summons for use, with appropriate modifications, around the state, that is understandable and has consumer appeal. The standardized jury summons shall include a specific reference to the rules for breast-feeding mothers. The use of the standardized jury summons shall be voluntary, unless otherwise prescribed by the rules of court.
2004 California Rules of Court (Note: this is not a statute).
Rule 859. Deferral of jury service
A mother who is breastfeeding a child may request that jury service be deferred for up to one year, and may renew that request as long as she is breastfeeding. If the request is made in writing, under penalty of perjury, the jury commissioner must grant it without requiring the prospective juror to appear at court.
Rule 859 adopted effective July 1, 2001.
Cal. Lab. Code §1030, 1031, 1032, 1033 (2001)
2001 Cal ALS 821; 2001 Cal AB 1025; Stats 2001 ch 821,
1030. Every employer, including the state and any political subdivision, shall provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee's infant child. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Break time for an employee that does not run concurrently with the rest time authorized for the employee by the applicable wage order of the Industrial Welfare Commission shall be unpaid.
1031. The employer shall make reasonable efforts to provide the employee with the use of a room or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work area, for the employee to express milk in private. The room or location may include the place where the employee normally works if it otherwise meets the requirements of this section.
1032. An employer is not required to provide break time under this chapter if to do so would seriously disrupt the operations of the employer.
1033. (a) An employer who violates any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation.
(b) If, upon inspection or investigation, the Labor Commissioner determines that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the Labor Commissioner may issue a citation. The procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations or civil penalties issued by the Labor Commissioner for violations of this chapter shall be the same as those set forth in Section 1197.1.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, violations of this chapter shall not be misdemeanors under this code.
= = = Comments by Bob = = =
At what age would the breastfeedee have to be before it is unlawful?
Did we not have a big scandal when a breast fell out of a costume for a matter of seconds that made national scandal? If a nursing mother exposed herself before/after the feeding for the same amount of time as J. J., would this exposure then become unlawful?
Lets just have one standard and just let everyone go around topless. ;o)
Is it not unlawful to eat and drink on Metro's busses and trains? Can a baby be bottle-fed on a bus? If so, then we have double standards when we can not drink on busses and trains…
- - - - -
"Flores said she showed the driver a card citing a 1997 state law that allows women to breastfeed in public. She said the bus driver laughed and tossed the card on the dashboard."
Although the information on this card may be correct, just by flashing a card with a "reference" printed on it does not make it legal.
On a personal note, I cannot see how feeding a baby on a jerky bus be healthy for a baby.
-=†‡÷«{(: ßÔß }»÷‡†=-
John
User ID: 9753653 Sep 1st 1:10 PM
Is it not unlawful to eat and drink on Metro's busses and trains?
I think it is, but since the supposed prohibition seems to rarely be enforced, it is commonplace for people to eat and drink on Metro buses and trains.
I'll never forget when, early one Saturday morning years ago, I was very carefully taking bites of a doughnut on an empty bus: empty except for myself and the bus driver, that is. I was sitting in the back of the bus, and was not dropping any of the doughnut on the floor or on the seats. But suddenly the driver stopped the bus, marched to the back, and angrily told me to never bring any food on the bus again!
And so now, whenever I see other passengers eating fried chicken, hamburgers and fries, etc., even drinking who-knows-what out of bottles or cans hidden inside a brown bag, it's hard for me not to burst out laughing, especially when they're sitting right up close to the bus driver.
It's sort of like when drivers play the radio or maintain long conversations with someone standing next to them by the front door. You just have to laugh.
Anti-BRU
User ID: 9510053 Sep 4th 3:59 PM
Another example of MTA operator abuse of a passenger.