[TNT Announce] SAVE WANTO!! - sign on letter to Congress

[MargaritaM.Suarez]

--Apple-Mail-16-263672868
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset=ISO-8859-1;
	format=flowed

Dear TNT members and supporters,

WANTO (Women in Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Occupations) is a=20
highly-effective federal grant that provides funding to increase the=20
number of women working in high-skilled, high-wage nontraditional jobs.=20=

  We must act fast to ensure that WANTO is included in the=20
appropriations for FY04.

You can read more about WANTO at=20
http://www.tradeswomennow.org/pubs/WANTO.pdf

We are collecting signers to a letter to Congress.  If you would like=20
to respond, we need your response no later than=A012:00 PM Eastern Time,=20=

Tomorrow, JUNE 18, 2003.=A0 Please reply to Cyndi Lucas at WOW=A0to add=20=

your organization's support to this letter --  call 202/464-1596 x102=20
or email clucas@wowonline.org.=A0 The sign-on letter is attached below.

Thank you very much.
Sincerely,

Margarita Suarez
Secretary, Tradeswomen Now and Tomorrow (TNT)

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Cyndi Lucas" <CLucas@wowonline.org>
> Date: Fri Jun 13, 2003  1:02:31  PM America/New_York
> Subject: SAVE WANTO!! - sign on letter to Congress
>
> =A0
> Dear WANTO friends...
> The Administration'sFY 04=A0budget=A0request=A0eliminates the funding =
for=20
> WANTO.=A0=A0Now it is up to Congress to act.=A0 We are calling on =
Congress=20
> to restore and expand the funding for WANTO in=A0the=A0FY 04 Labor-HHS=20=

> appropriations budget.=A0 Please join us in the fight to support this=20=

> important program by signing on to the attached=A0letter that will be=20=

> sent to the House and Senate appropriations committee membersand by=20
> distributing it to your member or affliliate organizations.=A0
>
> Just yesterday, Congressman Young, Chairman of the House=20
> Appropriations Committee, released his proposed FY 04 subcommittee=20
> allocations, which is an important first step in the process. Now=20
> the=A0Housesubcommittees can begin the work of crafting budgets under=20=

> their jurisdictions. The=A0HouseLabor-HHS subcommittee will begin to=20=

> make specific recommendations for line items in the budget such as=20
> WANTO. The House subcommittee will=A0move on a slightly faster track=20=

> than the Senate- as of now, June 19th-=A0so=A0now=A0is a crucial time =
to=20
> make contact with members.=A0
>
> Time is of the essence.=A0 We must act quickly to communicate how =
vital=20
> this program is for increasing women's access to nontraditional jobs=20=

> and achieving family economic self-sufficiency.=A0 Please=A0forward =
this=20
> message to your members and affiliates and=A0reply=A0to Cyndi Lucas at=20=

> WOW=A0to add your organization's support to this letter no later=20
> than=A012:00 PM Eastern Time, Tomorrow, JUNE 18, 2003.=A0 Reach Cyndi =
by=20
> phone at 202/464-1596 x. 102 or by email at clucas@wowonline.org.=A0=20=

> Please review the sign-on letter attached below.
>
>
>

--Apple-Mail-16-263672868
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset=US-ASCII

<HR>
--Apple-Mail-16-263672868
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset=WINDOWS-1252;
	format=flowed


>
>
>
>
> Dear Senator/Representative:
>
> =A0
>
> =A0
>
> We are a diverse group of organizations joining together to ask you to=20=

> support efforts in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to=20=

> restore funding for a very modest, but vitally important program =96 =
the=20
> Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Act.=A0
>
> =A0
>
> Enacted in 1992 (PL 102-530), WANTO has used its funding to award 71=20=

> grants to employers, nonprofit organizations and labor unions to help=20=

> them recruit, train and retain women in non-traditional,=20
> high-wage/high-demand jobs.=A0The benefits here are not only to the=20
> women, but also to the employers who are looking to fill skilled jobs=20=

> for which there are not available workers.=A0=A0=A0=A0
>
> =A0
>
> Over the course of its decade-long history, the program has been=20
> responsible for awarding 71 technical assistance grants that have been=20=

> used to encourage innovative approaches and partnerships in an effort=20=

> to move more women into jobs that pay wages that will allow them to=20
> support themselves and their families.
>
> =A0
>
> Funded at just $1 million annually, this small program has achieved=20
> impressive results.=A0Women who have had access to projects funded by=20=

> WANTO grants were 47 percent more likely to enter a=20
> high-wage/high-demand, nontraditional occupation than those women who=20=

> did not have access to such programs.=A0
>
> =A0
>
> Increasing women=92s access to high-wage/high-demand, nontraditional=20=

> jobs is a compelling strategy for achieving family economic=20
> self-sufficiency.=A0These jobs typically offer good benefits and wages=20=

> that are between 20-30 percent higher than jobs in which women=20
> traditionally are clustered.
>
> =A0
>
> For these reasons, we were disappointed to see that the Administration=20=

> chose not to renew funding for WANTO in its FY 2004 budget.=A0It now =
is=20
> up to Congress not only to restore the funding, but to increase it to=20=

> $5 million annually so that the program can fund even more grantees=20
> who want to participate in the effort to help women get on the path to=20=

> economic independence.=A0With funding of just $1 million in fiscal =
2003,=20
> just one in five grant applications could be funded.=A0Given the level=20=

> of success this program has enjoyed, we believe it deserves a=20
> relatively small increase in funding, as proposed here.=A0
>
> =A0
>
> (list organizations)
>
>
>

--Apple-Mail-16-263672868
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset=US-ASCII

<HR>
--Apple-Mail-16-263672868
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset=ISO-8859-1;
	format=flowed


>
> Please contact Wider Opportunities for Women if you have any questions=20=

> or want additional information.=A0You can reach Cyndi Lucas by phone =
at=20
> 202/464-1596 x. 102 or by email at clucas@wowonline.org.
> =A0
> ___________________________________
> Cyndi M. Lucas
> Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Program Associate
> Wider Opportunities for Women
> 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 930
> Washington, D.C.=A0 20036
> phone:=A0 202/464-1596
> fax:=A0 202/464-1660
> e:=A0 clucas@WOWonline.org
> =A0
> =A0

--Apple-Mail-16-263672868--