California Lawmakers Approve Sept. 25 Dolly Parton Day After Aug. 25 Death

Q: Beyond the music, what surprising feminist labor movement inspired the iconic song behind California's newly minted Dolly Parton Day?

It was inspired by the 9to5 movement, a women-led labor organization launched in Boston in the early 1970s by office workers Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy. That group organized clerical workers—many of them secretaries—who were fighting low pay, sexual harassment, limited promotion opportunities and routine workplace disrespect. Their slogan-driven campaigns, including demands for “Raises Not Roses,” pushed for equal pay, overtime compensation, maternity benefits, childcare and fair treatment in offices where women did much of the work but had little power. The organization’s activism helped inspire the 1980 film *9 to 5*, for which Dolly Parton wrote the song. Jane Fonda has said the movie drew on the real experiences of women in the 9to5 network. Parton’s anthem then carried those frustrations and ambitions into popular culture, turning a workplace protest message into a mainstream hit. So the story behind California’s Dolly Parton Day reaches beyond music: the title nod to “9 to 5” also points back to a feminist labor campaign that helped make office sexism and pay inequity a national conversation.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 1

SB 931 cleared California lawmakers on Tuesday, setting Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day and sending the measure to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is expected to sign it.
Aug. 25 spurred a rush to pass the bill, first introduced Jan. 29, with lawmakers adding amendments over the weekend honoring Parton’s music, faith and philanthropy.
Sept. 25 was chosen as a nod to “Nine to Five,” while the bill also highlights Parton’s Imagination Library, which brought books to millions of California children and made the state the first to offer a fully bilingual English-Spanish selection.
Tennessee already marks Jan. 19 as Dolly Parton Day, and a Pennsylvania lawmaker said he plans to propose Sept. 25 recognition there, suggesting the California move could spread.