Stand Up to Halliburton: Vote "Yes" on the Franken Amendment

May 25, 2013 Subject: I am writing to tell you that I support the Franken Amendment to the defense appropriations bill. This important amendment would require defense contractors to drop mandatory employment arbitration of employment discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault claims in order to do business with the U.S. government. Please work to keep the Franken Amendment intact in the final defense appropriations bill. The Franken Amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill (Amendment number 2588, H.R. 3326) passed the Senate 68-30 on Oct. 6, 2009, but is not in the House version of the bill. As you work to reconcile the two versions, please listen to your constituents instead of the defense contractor lobbyists who are fighting hard to have the Franken Amendment stripped out or watered down. It is outrageous and appalling that the government would consider continuing to do business with defense contractors like Halliburton/KBR who are fighting to prevent victims of sexual assault and discrimination from receiving their fair day in court. In one particularly egregious case of mandatory employment arbitration, Jamie Leigh Jones, a defense contractor employee in Iraq, was drugged, gang-raped, and then confined to a guarded shipping container when she reported the incident. Ms. Jones and her employer, KBR, have been locked in a three year court battle just to determine whether Ms. Jones has the right to even bring a lawsuit at all. The government shouldn’t let women like Ms. Jones be victimized twice—first by being assaulted or discriminated against in their workplace, and then by being denied the right to have their day in court. Please do everything you can to make sure the Franken Amendment stays in the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill. Sincerely, We will add your signature from the information you provide.		First Name* Last Name* Email* Street* Street 2 Street 3 City* State/Province* Select a state Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Armed Forces (the) Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory Other Zip/Postal Code*