L&I News
About GMAP
Governor Gregoire believes every agency, every program, and every employee must be accountable to citizens every day. She is moving state government away from focusing on how we do things to looking at results.
To help accomplish this, the Governor meets regularly with agency directors to look at the results their agencies are delivering for the residents of Washington. These sessions provide an opportunity for a candid, public conversation about what is working, what is not, and how to improve results. When performance is not meeting expectations, the Governor and her leadership team work with agency leaders to make changes and eliminate obstacles to success.
In addition to Governor Gregoire’s meetings, her cabinet agencies use this approach to examine the effectiveness of their own employees. In this way, her commitment to accountability is being put into practice at all levels of state government, from management to the staff who deliver direct services.
The concepts behind this program are not new to government, and have been proven to improve performance in both the public and private sectors. What is new is Governor Gregoire's unflinching commitment to apply them across state government. Her first Executive Order required cabinet directors to conduct accountability reviews in their agencies, driving the same personal accountability standards down to each state employee. She requested legislation that requires agencies not under the control of the Governor to use the same principles. And she personally presides over reviews focused on the issues most important to citizens.
Improving Safety for State Employees
http://www.accountability.wa.gov/reports/efficiency/20070613/Tab2Worker.pdf
GMAP Report on Worker Safety
http://www.accountability.wa.gov/reports/safety/20060628/lni_worker_safety.pdf
Public Safety Keeping Washington's Workers Safe
http://www.accountability.wa.gov/reports/safety/20060405/lni_worker_safety.pdf
ANA Working to Make Our Chemicals Safer
Do you or family member use lotion, shampoo, and/or make-up? Did you know that you may be receiving a daily dose of mutagenic or reproductive toxics by using these everyday personal care products? Additionally, human health effects are not known for many other of these industrial ingredients. It is legal for the producers to place toxic chemicals in our everyday products because the current United States chemicals policy allows manufacturers to use almost any ingredient or raw material in their product without government review or approval.
This problem is not isolated to our personal care products, but is present in our workplaces too. Are you a nurse who works around cleaners and disinfectants? Does your workplace use IV tubing? Did you know that cleaners commonly found in health care facilities (i.e.glutaraldehyde) can induce occupational asthma? Or that the chemical DEHP, a plastic softener for IV bags and tubing, has been linked to reproductive developmental defects? Our "healing" workplaces are allowed to expose us to these products because there is no governmental policy that says otherwise. Safer, non-toxic, and effective alternatives are available. However, manufacturers and facilities are not required to use these alternatives.
The above are a just few examples of what is fundamentally wrong with our chemicals policy –it is not designed to actively protect human health or the environment in which we eat, breathe and drink. Chemicals are allowed to enter into the market and into our workplaces and homes with little or no testing for human toxicity. Consumers and workers are not informed about harmful chemicals in products/equipment, and there is no requirement that safer chemicals be substituted for toxic ingredients. Our nation is in vital need of chemicals policy reform.
Presently the political climate at the federal level strongly favors keeping the current system that promotes the continuation of insufficient/unreliable data, lack of warnings (for workers and consumers), and the continued use of toxics even though safer alternatives are available. In the absence of federal leadership, a movement to adopt safer chemicals policies at the state level is rapidly evolving across the nation.
ANA is committed to creating workplace environments for nurses that are as safe and non-toxic as possible while working to protect the environmental health of our patients, families and communities.
For questions, comments, concerns or ideas about becoming involved please feel free to contact Rebecca Clouse at rebecca.clouse@ana.org
Resources:
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics http://www.safecosmetics.org/your_health/skindeep.cfm
Food and Drug Administration http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fdconfus.html
Health Care Without Harm
http://www.noharm.org/us/chemicalpolicy/issue
http://www.noharm.org/us/pesticidescleaners/issue
National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) http://www.ncel.net/base.cgim?template=about_us
Rebecca Clouse, MSN, RN
Link to newsletter http://www.capitolupdate.org/Newsletter/index.asp?nlid=184&nlaid=768
| Legislative and Advocacy Issues | ||
| Advocacy: tips for talking to your legislator | Getting down to business |
Contact congress and the state legislature |
Tips for talking with your legislators Letters -- Legislators appreciate the time it takes to write a letter. Letters are kept on file in the office according to topic area. Attention is given to the issues with the greatest amount of constituent response. Limit the letters to one page and no more than three paragraphs. The more clearly you state your issue, the better it will be understood. Make your letters look professional, and write on your business or personal letterhead, using a business letter format. Address your letters to your state legislators as follows: The Honorable (full name)
State House, Room #
City, State, Zip Phone Calls -- It is helpful to keep in contact with your legislator's staff on a regular basis. A staff member will usually answer your call. Introduce yourself, and mention your title and affiliation. If you are a constituent of the legislator, say so; constituents' issues get the most action. Ask for your call to be directed to the staff member who covers the issue you are addressing. Meetings -- An actual meeting is the most effective contact. It shows you are really serious and can facilitate a relationship between you and your representatives or their staff. Arrive on time. Legislators and their staff have extremely busy schedules. The staff member may only have a short time to meet with you, and arriving late makes that time even shorter. Introduce yourself, and mention your title and affiliation; if you are a constituent of the legislator, be sure to say so, as constituents' issues get the most action. Bring along a fact sheet with you about the issue you are discussing, to help the legislator understand the issue better and to be used later by the legislator to inform other members of the issue. Invite the legislator to visit your program to see the issues firsthand!
Getting Down to Business Whether you are writing a letter, talking on the telephone with a staff member, or sitting across the desk from your representative, these tips for effective advocacy should serve you well. State the Issue. Organize your points by priority and be clear and brief. If you are speaking about a particular piece of legislation, have the bill/budget number. (You can get this information from Thomas: U.S. Congress on the Internet or by calling the Senate or House clerks.) Have information -- facts or personal stories -- that backs up your issue. If at any time in the process you are asked a question that you cannot answer, offer to get back to them with the information, and be sure to follow through. Make a request for a particular action, whether it 's a vote to support a bill, a request to file an amendment, or a motion to move a bill out of a particular committee. Ask about their position on the issue. You have the right to know where they stand and why. Ask if you can provide the legislator with more information. Invite the legislator to visit your program to see the issues first hand! After a contact, be sure to follow up with a thank-you letter to your legislator or the staff member with whom you spoke. Review key points that you discussed. Here's where to find your members of Congress and the State Legislature: