What the Human Rights Commission does with it and how they decide to fashion a remedy once we get past the next stage of the process– which is a six-month period of trying to negotiate a settlement — could in fact be precedent setting.

For more on the story, see this WCAX.com report.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

I feel really grateful, still, for the way the state’s set up. And I feel like it’s really important for us to show up as a sign of gratitude for everything the state has done to uphold its laws, and to show up for the commission, who have put so much time and effort into investigating this case. I have so much trust and confidence in the state’s ability do the right thing and follow through with their processes.

Gillette brought her 4-month-old nursling Donovan, and she made a point not to fly Delta or Freedom Airlines!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Ms. Gillette refused to cover up while breastfeeding her 22-month-old son as they sat on a plane waiting for take-off from Burlington Airport in Vermont. Vermont state law specifically protects breastfeeding in public:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any place of public accommodation in which the mother and child would otherwise have a legal right to be.

Representatives for Delta and Freedom airlines argued that federal preemption laws prevented the state of Vermont from charging the airlines with a state civil rights violation. In its ruling, the Vermont Human Rights Commission cited federal and Vermont Supreme Court case law that provides otherwise.

The news brings great relief to Ms. Gillette:

“I think they made the right decision … I feel really pleased about it,” said Gillette, speaking by phone from Santa Fe, Monday. “It feels good to be validated by the state.”

It will be interesting to see whether the decision of the Vermont Human Rights Commission will prompt the airlines to work toward a settlement. Negotiations between Ms. Gillette and the airlines have failed up to this point and so far the airlines have offered only a weak apology.

With an investigation now underway, both parties will have an opportunity to submit information and speak before the Commission. Ms. Robinson explains:

If, after this, the commissioners decide that there are reasonable grounds to believe that unlawful discrimination occurred, the case will be transferred to the executive director, who will attempt to bring both parties to accept a settlement. If a settlement cannot be reached within six months, the commissioners will decide whether to close the case or take it to court, either in Montpelier or the court in the county in which the alleged incident took place.

Good luck Ms. Gillette! I feel safe in saying you have the continued support of lactivists across the country.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

This time the rally went off without a hitch. While the original rally consisted of five mothers and nine children, the second rally included 27 adults and 28 children–that will teach the airport security a lesson for sending them away the first time! Those ladies came back with a vengeance, albeit a polite and peaceful vengeance.

Only one other nurse-in out of the 40 total nationwide ran into trouble. The Queens Courier featured an article yesterday about how mothers were turned away from JFK airport.

Finally, if you’re not tired of reading about the controversy, there’s a very favorable web-exclusive article in Newsweek.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

As I said, most of the press has been extremely positive. I’ve seen just a bit of backlash from letters to the editors of newspapers covering the story, and a lot of heated debate on news message boards.

Overall I think the nurse-in and subsequent media coverage reflected positively on a woman’s ability to nurse in public. Certainly women airline passengers can now breastfeed confidently, with or without covering up, and not have to worry about being harassed by airline flight attendants. I think the intense coverage of the issue will also make business owners in other industries think twice about asking a nursing mother to cover up. They just might realize they’d better watch out or they too will have 900 lactivists speaking out against their ignorance!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Here is a sampling of the news stories just starting to hit the web, including some video footage!

Phoenix, Arizona (20 activists plus children): numbers reported by participant

Tucson, Arizona (7 activists plus children): numbers reported by participant

Hartford, Connecticut (8 activists plus children): “Nurse-In” at Bradley, Hartford Courant

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (13 activists, 13 children): numbers reported by participant

Indianapolis, Indiana (well-attended): Moms Hold Breastfeeding Rights Nurse-In at Indy Airport, TheIndyChannel.com, Channel 6 News, RTV6 on the Go

Louisville, Kentucky (at least 9 activists plus children): Louisville Mothers Stage Nurse-In Protest, Courier-Journal

Baltimore, Maryland (at least 50 activists counting children): Video link: Protests Underway at Airports for Breastfeeding on Planes, WJZ-TV Channel 13

Boston, Massachusetts (at least 5 activists plus children): Local Women Join In Show of Support for Breast-feeding Mom, Eyewitness News, WPRI Channel 12

Detroit, Michigan (10 activists plus children): Detroit Moms Join Protest after Nursing Mother Incident, The Deroit Free Press

Columbus, Ohio (12 activists, 18 children): Nursing Moms Protest Delta Air Lines at Port Columbus The Columbus Dispatch

Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (6 activists, 9 children): numbers reported by participant. The mothers were asked to leave after about 15 minutes (a permit to gather was required and it takes three days to get one), but not before the mothers talked to the media!

Houston, Texas (3 activists plus children): numbers reported by participant

Burlington, Vermont (at least 25 activists plus children; 45 according to the attendees): Nursing Moms Take to Airports in Show of Solidarity, WCAX-TV 3 News

Northern Virginia, Reagan National Airport (28 mothers, 70 attendees total): numbers reported by participant

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Confirmed airport nurse-in locations:

Anchorage, Alaska — Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC)
Tucson, Arizona — Tucson International (TUS)
Hartford, Connecticut — Bradley International Airport (BDL)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida — Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
Indianapolis, Indiana — Indianapolis International (IAD)
Louisville, Kentucky — Louisville International Airport/Standiford (SDF)
Baltimore, Maryland — Baltimore International (BWI)
Detroit, Michigan — Detroit Metro (DTW)
Manchester, New Hampshire — Manchester-Boston Regional (MHT)
Albuquerque, New Mexico — Albuquerque International (ABQ)
Las Vegas, Nevada — Las Vegas McCarran (LAS)
New York, New York — New York/Newark Kennedy (JFK)
Columbus, Ohio — Port Columbus International Airport (CMH)
Portland, Oregon — Portland International (PDX)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — Harrisburg International Airport (MDT)
Nashville, Tennessee — Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas — Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Northern Virginia area — Reagan International (DCA) and Dulles (IAD)
Burlington, Vermont — Burlington International Airport (BTV)

The following sites are recent entries and those which are tentative (again, there are some with possibly one or two families attending and they need more participants!):

Phoenix, Arizona — Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)
Fresno, California — Fresno International (FAT)
Sacramento, California — Sacramento Metro (SMF)
San Diego, California — San Diego International (SAN)
San Francisco, California — San Francisco International (SFO)
Santa Barbara, California — Santa Barbara (SBA)
Daytona, Florida — Daytona International Airport (DAB)
Atlanta, Georgia — Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL)
Savannah, Georgia — Savannah Hilton Head International (SAV)
Boise, Idaho — Boise Airport (BOI)
Boston, Massachusetts — Logan International Airport (BOS)
Twin Cities, Minnesota — Minneapolis International (MSP)
Jackson, Missouri — Jackson International (JAN)
Atlantic City, New Jersey — Atlantic City International Airport (ACY)
Albany, New York (Manchester, Vermont participant) — Albany International Airport (ALB)
New York, New York — LaGuardia (LGA)
Toronto, Ontario — Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Houston, Texas — Houston International Airport (IAH)
El Paso, Texas — El Paso International (ELP)
Newport News, Virginia — Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF)

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

“So there is no confusion, I would like to let folks know that we firmly support mothers’ right to nurse their children on board our aircraft. We have no company policies whatsoever that hinder breastfeeding in any way,” said Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “In this instance, a flight attendant who was relatively new to her job made an unfortunate and incorrect decision. We would like to again offer our apologies to the family involved in this incident and reassure our passengers and the traveling public that this matter has been addressed as a training opportunity for all of our frontline employees,” continued Mr. Ornstein. “As the father of two children, I understand the sensitive nature of this incident and would like to express my commitment to educating our employees on this topic.”

To catch up on the story of the woman booted off a Delta flight for nursing without covering up, see National Nurse-In Planned.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Mothering magazine has an exclusive web interview with the mother, Emily Gillette, who says in part:

I’d like to see the idea of breastfeeding introduced in a sentence without having to use words like “climate” or “issue.” I’d like people to stop taking it upon themselves to decide what age is appropriate and what age isn’t for women to continue breastfeeding. I’d like our society to stop comparing breastfeeding to sexual acts, defecation, genital exposure, and treating it like an attention seeking act. I’d like breastfeeding not to have to be a statement of defiance, but a message of love.

More details of the event are revealed:

It was 10:00 at night when, after a three-hour delay, Emily Gillette and her family gratefully boarded flight 6160 from Burlington, Vermont to New York’s La Guardia. Heading to the city to rendezvous with relatives from abroad, Emily took her window seat in the eighth row of a nine-row plane, next to her husband. She began to discreetly breastfeed her baby before takeoff, aware that nursing helps babies regulate air travel’s pressure changes. Within moments, she was asked by the sole flight attendant to cover up with a blanket. Citing her right to nurse, Gillette calmly and politely declined. The flight attendant then told Gillette, “You are offending me,” and proceeded to have a ticket agent board the aircraft to remove Emily and her family. The Gillettes quietly gathered their belongings and left, after unsuccessfully appealing to the pilot and co-pilot for help.

Delta ticket agents (including the agent that told the Gillettes they had to leave the airplane) then attempted to communicate with the crew to reverse the flight attendant’s decision, to no avail. The co-pilot came off the plane and spoke with the family, apologizing for their removal but claiming that there was nothing he could do to change a flight attendant’s decision made in the cabin of an aircraft.

Lactivists at the Mothering magazine message boards are scrambling to organize a national nurse-in at Delta counters around the country on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 10 a.m. For more details see this thread.

Having recently completed a pleasant flight with my 22-month-old nursling (see Traveling with a First Class Nursling), I’m shocked by how Emily Gillette and her 22-month-old were treated. If that happened to me I would be mortified and horribly upset. Does that mean I’m going to trot down to Delta on Tuesday? I don’t think so (although I would have gone to the original nurse-in in Burlington International Airport where the incident occurred). A rookie flight attendant made a terrible mistake. The incident has gotten a lot of attention, the airline has responded, and I’ve signed the petition. There are all kinds of lactivists. I advocate breastfeeding through information, support, and my own example as a mother who readily nurses in public, anywhere and at any time. I suppose if I knew there would be a large group of nursing mothers gathering at my local airport, I might attend, but for now I am content voicing my opinion through my computer.

Will you participate in the national nurse-in, and if so, at which airport?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

To clarify our policy, Freedom Airlines firmly supports a mother’s right to breast feed a child. We understand that air travel presents particular difficulties to a nursing mother as airport facilities and aircraft are not designed to maximize privacy for passengers. Moreover while blankets are available for passengers convenience, we do not expect, (and will not in the future request) that nursing mothers use a blanket to cover their child while nursing. My comment in the original article to the contrary was not an accurate statement of our policy. I thank you for expressing your views to us and truly hope that you find our response both genuine and satisfactory.

While I’m pleased to see a response from the company, I’m disappointed not to see any expression of remorse. The company claims that “the Captain apologized to the passenger and her family and immediately requested that they be re-boarded for their flight (an offer the family refused).” However, nursing mother Emily Gillette said that she was never offered an opportunity to re-board the flight. Delta provided ground transportation and overnight hotel accommodations, and placed the family on a non-Delta flight the next morning.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3