Naturally, lobbyists would like to control as much of the legislative process as possible for their clients.
They want to be a part of every meeting. They want to speak with every legislator they can, as many times as they can. And they try to ensure that the wording of every bill, press release and news report will be exactly to their clients’ liking.
But when it comes to balancing family life with professional life, lobbyists have all the same difficulties managing time home with their children with their hours at work. Right?
Well, mostly. As hard-working as lobbyists are, they certainly have trouble scheduling teacher meetings and trips to the park around committee meetings and public hearings.
Working from home is hardly an option when one needs to look a committee chair in the eye and explain why a bill desperately needs to be rewritten.
But the political process is a seasonal one, with the bulk of the work in late spring and early summer. So it should be no surprise that top female lobbyists do their best to plan their pregnancies around their work.
Pregnant Pauses
One of the best pregnancy planners may be Kate Robinson, lobbyist for Betty Gallo & Co., a firm largely serving nonprofits.
Robinson has impeccable timing. Her first child, 5, was born just two days before the end of the 2002 session. Her second, 2, was born a month after the 2005 session closed.
“As much as people can’t control for their pregnancies, they try to,” Robinson said.
Otherwise, she points out, months of work could be put at risk. Even the two days she missed in 2002 caused her to miss the vote on a package of same-sex rights legislation that she had spent the year working on. Now, when there are public hearings to be signed up for on early mornings (before Robinson’s daycare opens) her 5-year-old happily comes along to tour the Capitol.
“I think there is some purposeful planning that goes on. But sometimes life is inconvenient, and you make do,” she said.
Another excellent planner would be Irene A. Rodrigues, of the law firm Robinson and Cole, who has twice been one of the pregnant ladies working up at the State Capitol, once as a staffer and once as a lobbyist, as her 6-year-old was born in September and her 2-year-old came in August.
“You’ll see, if go into the cafeteria in the legislative office building later in the session, that there are a lot of pregnant women,” Rodrigues explained.
Not only were her children both born shortly after sessions ended, but both came in campaign years, which helped get Rodrigues out of campaigning when she worked for the Senate Democrats.
“It got me a buyout,” she says happily.
Summer Babies
There has been more timely success this year – though it can be difficult getting in touch with the mothers. Try calling lobbyists Louise DiCocco-Beauton of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, or Christine Cappiello of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and it’s voicemail only. They are on maternity leave. Perfect timing.
But ultimately, Mother Nature makes these decisions, even for über-planned lobbyist moms, and not everyone can be so lucky.
“We just got what we got. They came when they came,” says Janemarie W. Murphy of Murtha Cullina.
Murphy refers to her 18-month-old twins, born in the winter of 2005, causing her to miss the entire legislative session that year.
Murphy said her firm was tremendously supportive and that after explaining the situation to each of her clients, they understood completely. It wasn’t ideal, maybe, but not everything can be planned. But that doesn’t mean anyone is about to stop trying.
“I don’t know a lot of colleagues who try to have a baby during the middle of the session,” Murphy said.
“It’s not often you see a baby born in March.”
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
They Came Out Swinging, But Unions Struck Out
They went in with such high hopes. And maybe they were too hopeful, but no one thought it would end up like this.
Labor unions looked at the 2007 legislative session as a grand opportunity. Democrats, historically the favored party of unions, had won a large enough majority to override any veto by the governor.
Health insurance had just been mandated for all citizens in neighboring Massachusetts – leading to fresh aspirations that a new government plan could happen here also.
And a bevy of ideas for expanding workers compensation poured quickly into the Labor and Public Employees Committee and flew out the other end with flying colors.
Back then, things were looking good for the organized labor. But now that the legislature’s work is all but done for the summer, we know better: It was a trying session for the unions.
The Democrats, all 45 in the House and 24 in the Senate, opted not to override any vetoes of the popular governor. But on labor’s most important issues, it didn’t even come to that. The idea to provide affordable health care to every citizen in the state fell below education and energy prices as a priority, and of close to 20 ideas for improving workers compensation benefits, almost none passed.
Moving Targets
Does this add up to an erosion of respect for the unions at the State Capitol?
Lori J. Pelletier, who handles much of the lobbying for Connecticut AFL-CIO’s, doesn’t think so. She thinks most legislators want to do something to improve the stakes for workers, but aren’t sure of the best way to go about it.
“Many legislators have gotten significantly more informed, which is an accomplishment,” she said.
That isn’t to say Pelletier is pleased with how the session played out. She said perception of a single-payer healthcare system was tainted by the insurance industry, which howled about possible job losses, and the media, which was happy to explain the price tag of such a plan, but – in her view – failed to point out the savings that could be had.
“As much as I thought we moved the ball down the field, I think the goal posts were moved beforehand,” she said.
Others took similar views.
“I think you can look at health care as a mixed bag,” said Jennifer Berigan, who lobbies on behalf Municipal Employees Union Independent.
“I think the issue was addressed. It was placed on the agenda, and that’s a positive. Did everyone get what they wanted? No. But it’s a complex issue.”
There was little success on workers compensation proposals either, which were defeated so soundly that Connecticut Business & Industry Association lobbyist Joseph Brennan applauded the way “the Speaker reached out to our manufacturing and small business groups, and listened to their concerns,” in his write-up of the session.
An effort to secure compensation to treat scars that aren’t visible when one is clothed, for instance, failed despite stories like that of a waitress whose body was badly burned when a pot of hot coffee was dumped down her uniform, and a corrections officer who was bit on the arm by an inmate.
“We did not go as far as we thought we were going to on disfigurement,” Pelletier acknowledged.
Last Gasp
There is a glimmer of hope for something to be salvaged. One of the only pieces of legislation that the General Assembly may still address is contracting reform, which has been a serious point of contention between the governor and Democrats in the past, but on which a compromise may have been struck this year.
Getting that passed has been a priority for Berigan’s municipal workers, and she’s still holding out hope.
“It’s our understanding that there is still a chance,” she said last week.
Either way, it will be a long wait for workers until next session. You can only watch Michael Moore’s “Sicko” so many times.
Labor unions looked at the 2007 legislative session as a grand opportunity. Democrats, historically the favored party of unions, had won a large enough majority to override any veto by the governor.
Health insurance had just been mandated for all citizens in neighboring Massachusetts – leading to fresh aspirations that a new government plan could happen here also.
And a bevy of ideas for expanding workers compensation poured quickly into the Labor and Public Employees Committee and flew out the other end with flying colors.
Back then, things were looking good for the organized labor. But now that the legislature’s work is all but done for the summer, we know better: It was a trying session for the unions.
The Democrats, all 45 in the House and 24 in the Senate, opted not to override any vetoes of the popular governor. But on labor’s most important issues, it didn’t even come to that. The idea to provide affordable health care to every citizen in the state fell below education and energy prices as a priority, and of close to 20 ideas for improving workers compensation benefits, almost none passed.
Moving Targets
Does this add up to an erosion of respect for the unions at the State Capitol?
Lori J. Pelletier, who handles much of the lobbying for Connecticut AFL-CIO’s, doesn’t think so. She thinks most legislators want to do something to improve the stakes for workers, but aren’t sure of the best way to go about it.
“Many legislators have gotten significantly more informed, which is an accomplishment,” she said.
That isn’t to say Pelletier is pleased with how the session played out. She said perception of a single-payer healthcare system was tainted by the insurance industry, which howled about possible job losses, and the media, which was happy to explain the price tag of such a plan, but – in her view – failed to point out the savings that could be had.
“As much as I thought we moved the ball down the field, I think the goal posts were moved beforehand,” she said.
Others took similar views.
“I think you can look at health care as a mixed bag,” said Jennifer Berigan, who lobbies on behalf Municipal Employees Union Independent.
“I think the issue was addressed. It was placed on the agenda, and that’s a positive. Did everyone get what they wanted? No. But it’s a complex issue.”
There was little success on workers compensation proposals either, which were defeated so soundly that Connecticut Business & Industry Association lobbyist Joseph Brennan applauded the way “the Speaker reached out to our manufacturing and small business groups, and listened to their concerns,” in his write-up of the session.
An effort to secure compensation to treat scars that aren’t visible when one is clothed, for instance, failed despite stories like that of a waitress whose body was badly burned when a pot of hot coffee was dumped down her uniform, and a corrections officer who was bit on the arm by an inmate.
“We did not go as far as we thought we were going to on disfigurement,” Pelletier acknowledged.
Last Gasp
There is a glimmer of hope for something to be salvaged. One of the only pieces of legislation that the General Assembly may still address is contracting reform, which has been a serious point of contention between the governor and Democrats in the past, but on which a compromise may have been struck this year.
Getting that passed has been a priority for Berigan’s municipal workers, and she’s still holding out hope.
“It’s our understanding that there is still a chance,” she said last week.
Either way, it will be a long wait for workers until next session. You can only watch Michael Moore’s “Sicko” so many times.
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