Why we need Dedicated Nursing
Rooms
in our Contract
By
Kristin Donner & Kyle Neswald
Family
Leave Subcommittee
For working
moms, dedicated nursing rooms may
lead to equity and retention in the workforce. We talked with three Animation
Guild moms about their workplace experiences. Here’s what we learned.
Teri, a BG designer & painter, was thrilled
when her first child arrived. During her brief maternity leave, she learned
that babies nurse on their own schedule and that moms need to feel relaxed to
express milk well. Our colleague was optimistic when she returned to work at
Bento Box Entertainment, where she was told that a nursing room would be
designated for her use. To her surprise, she was shown an unused office that
doubled as a storage space for broken and unused furniture – a space that technically met State and Federal nursing
room requirements.(1) But, this uncomfortable environment brought on stress, which led to reduced
milk production, which then led to the stress of not being able to adequately
nourish her newborn as she had expected.
Teri hoped for a better nursing room situation on
her next production at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios. But instead of a private room,
she was shown a conference room with a schedule for use. When meetings in
the conference room ran late, Teri had to wait in the hallway outside, breast
pump in hand, losing valuable work time and becoming more uncomfortable with
each passing minute; the longer a nursing mom goes without pumping, the more
likely that her milk supply will dwindle with time. More than once, a
sympathetic associate producer or director offered up their private office for
her use. With plenty of private office space to go around, Teri wondered why
she wasn't simply assigned to one to help facilitate her needs as a nursing
mom. This lack of consideration sent Teri the message that she – and her baby -
were not respected.
Our State and Federal protections for moms
just aren’t enough.
M., a
freelance story editor and mom (who prefers to remain anonymous), showed up at Walt
Disney Animation Studios for a scheduled work meeting. Our colleague had
inquired in advance about nursing rooms and was told that she could use one at
the studio. However, when M. arrived on the floor with the nursing room, the
receptionist wouldn’t let her in. Only employees with a particular badge had
access, and she didn’t have the right badge. This instance may have resulted
from a simple miscommunication between management and security, but it’s an
example of an ongoing problem: many working moms are excluded from the benefits
of a healthy workplace.
Healthy workplaces
allow us to do our best work
and live our best lives.
Rebecca, a technical
director at Walt Disney Animation Studios, had a different experience. Her
transition back to work was eased by the availability of a dedicated nursing
room featuring comfortable furniture, an efficient hospital-grade pump, a refrigerator,
a sink, and a water cooler. After a recent remodel, Disney consulted moms on
wall décor and provided a pushpin board for them to proudly display photos of
their kids. At Rebecca’s request, Disney’s IT department provided her a laptop
so she could continue to work or catch up on emails while pumping. Disney went
above and beyond to ensure that Rebecca’s return to work was a success – and she
was shocked to learn that her experience is not the norm in our industry.
The
discrepancies between studio nursing room experiences, like the ones above, demonstrate a need for change. We need to negotiate standard benefits in our contract that everyone can count on.
Support us as we
fight to add Dedicated Nursing Rooms to our contract in 2018. This is OUR time
to thrive.
1. Workplace Support in Federal Law. United
States Breastfeeding Committee.
http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/workplace-law
#nursingrooms #animationisfamily #negotiations2018
