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D.C. Area Babies
P!SSED! LONG.
I got an email on Thursday about the lactation room access changes - starting Monday (today) the corridor where the room is located was becoming a "restricted" area, and would be locked, requiring lactation room users to call 15 minutes prior to needing access to the room. Ok, that's annoying, but it's doable.
So this morning I call the number provided, which went to voicemail. Twice. I had an all day meeting starting at 8:30am, so I really needed to pump before we got started. I called the woman who sent the email about the access changes, again got her voicemail. I left a message explaining that I needed access to the room, and that no one answered at the number that she had provided. I decided to go over to the room anyhow in case the corridor was not locked, which it was. There was a sign on the door to call Facilities Management to get into the corridor (a different number than what was sent in the email). I called and the operator said he didn't know about that room and would send someone who "might have the keys to that area." That guy showed up and thankfully one of his many keys did open the corridor, so I was able to access the lactation room...5 minutes before my meeting was to begin. So I was late for the beginning of my meeting.
At lunchtime, I called the original number again, and again it went to voicemail, again I called the lactation room coordinator and got her voicemail. Again, I went down to the corridor, which had been propped open by some construction workers. So thankfully I could pump at lunch with no problem.
I should state here that because the lactation room is locked via a code lock, we are able to leave our pumps/expressed milk in the room during the day.
I pump three times daily, so after my meeting ended, I again called the numbers I had previously called and got voicemails (surprise). So I headed down to the corridor, hoping that the construction workers were still working. Nope. The door was locked. So I called Facilities Management, who directed me to call another phone number, who first crassly commented that "all these women are calling the wrong number about this room today" before telling me to call yet another woman, which went to voicemail.
So it's basically the end of my day, my pump and 10oz of my milk is locked (code lock) in the lactation room which is in the locked corridor, I'm engorged, I have to leave work by a certain time to pick up C from daycare and no one is available to unlock the corridor to the lactation room. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
I'm sending an email to the lactation room coordinator to let her know how awesome the new "procedure" went for me today. I'm also seriously contemplating sending a complaint to our Office of Civil Rights. I'm just pissed.
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Re: P!SSED! LONG.
UGH, UGH, UGH. I have no words, but wow, would I be pissed too! I say you send an email/complaint to just about anybody. It was bad enough when you couldn't get into it to pump, but when your pump and milk are in there at the end of the day and you need to not just pump but leave...yep, that was just plain crappy!
Hoping the situation gets fixed for you tomorrow!
Just reading this pisses me off. I would be livid too. What state are you located in and are they violating any laws? I would definitely keep a detailed record of all of the times you called, what number you called, the email you received, etc. They need to rectify this situation ASAP.
ETA: I found this Fact Sheet from the Dept of Labor.
https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.pdf
It sounds like to me that they are not meeting this requirement from the DOL:
The location provided must be functional as a space for expressing breast milk. If the space is not dedicated to the nursing mother?s use, it must be available when needed in order to meet the statutory requirement.
You should be upset. I would be livid!
Maybe this isn't an option for you, but when I was desperate (and I travel during the day a lot,) I would pump in my car. I am not justifying what they did at all-- I just thought maybe that would relieve some of your pain if you really really need it. I am so sorry.
Ugh. I'd be furious. Definitely send them an email, and I'd copy the office of civil rights. If your agency has an office on women and girls (and I'm pretty sure you do - I think I've worked with them), I'd copy them, too.
Is there a room closer to your office that you could take over during pumping times, or do you have to use the lactation room?
My colleague actually emailed the office of Civil Rights on my behalf, and they are trying to set up a meeting this morning to get all the details from me.
I emailed the lactation room coordinator last night and still have not recieved a response.
I called the number to gain access to the room this morning, and low and behold, someone answered. When I went down to the room, the construction workers were there so the door to the corridor was propped open. Not sure where the person was that was supposed to unlock the room for me.
I'm not sure if any other mothers had problems accessing the room yesterday, as once the construction workers were there, they probably kept the door open, but I know I'm not the last pumper of the day normally.
Are you FVCKING kidding me?!?
That is beyond ridiculous and unacceptable.
I hope they make sure that it never happens again. I'm so p!ssed for you.
Off to the beach
DS 7/18/2010
Handy 2.0 Due Early August
2011/2012 Races
12/17/2011 Christmas Caper 10K
2/11/2012 Have a Heart 5K
3/17/2012 DC RNR Half Marathon
4/22/2012 10M Parkway Classic
10/28/2012 Marine Corps Marathon
Please let us know what happens. This is really unbelievable.
I spoke with the director of the office of civil rights, who took the details of my experience, and expressed his apologies on behalf of the department. He said he would put my complaint at the top of his list to handle today.
The lactation room coordinator did call me and apologized profusely. Apparently, she only works Tuesdays & Thursdays, and the other individuals who were supposed to be available to assist in accessing the room were both out yesterday as well. It was a big mix-up, and they accept responsibility.
I was not the only mother inconvenienced yesterday, she indicated that she recieved many complaints from other mothers.
I just recieved an email with a new solution - the corridor will remain open and unlocked until they can install a combination code lock on the door to the corridor. We will be given the combination for the lock so that we don't have to call to gain access to the room. Thank goodness.
I'm glad that they have taken our concerns and have made arrangements to accomodate us as fast as they could. It just sucks that there was such a mix-up in communication/organization yesterday.
That's a BIG building. I'm surprised they can't temporarily relocate the room. Quite frankly, I'm surprised they don't have more than one room, since the building takes up like 2 blocks.
Do you have a Mom's group? We have one here, and it's been useful in advocating for a few different policies over the years.
wow, just wow. I'm so mad on your behalf! I am glad it got resolved!
Well, I'm glad they took your concerns seriously and came up with a solution. I hope they learned their lesson and do better planning in the future.