Tell Congress We Need Paid Family/Medical Leave This Year

From Moms Rising (https://www.momsrising.org/):

We need your help to show Congress how critical paid family and medical leave is for working families and our economy. Sign on now at https://action.momsrising.org/sign/militarypaidleave and let members know we want paid leave for all passed this year.

Right now, Congressional House and Senate members are negotiating the Build Back Better Act and working on how best to support OUR families. In the midst of an ongoing pandemic, we are dealing with rising COVID cases, experiencing increased deaths among Americans due to the Delta variant surge,[1]  a labor market that has yet to fully recover, and nearly 7.5 million people who lost their unemployment benefits after the pandemic extension ended on Labor Day. [2]  Many families are barely getting by.

Passing paid family and medical leave within the Build Back Better Agenda is a once-in-a-generation investment for all families and a boost to our businesses and economy. Paid family and medical leave to bond with a new child, heal from childbirth or one’s own serious health issues, provide care and support for a loved one with a serious health crisis or deal with a loved one’s military deployment will go a long way towards helping families and businesses thrive during these uncertain times.

And military families are no strangers to uncertainty.

When a service member is notified of an impending call or order of active duty to a foreign country, families are severely impacted. Both spouses and service members maintain that deployments are the most stressful part of military life [3] while children are often impacted negatively from the effects of parental absence and constant relocations. [4]

Access to paid family and medical leave would allow military families time to make financial preparations for their households, legal arrangements like declaring a power of attorney and updating caregiving and family care plans to include making childcare arrangements. Military families need access to paid family and medical leave too.

→ We need your help to show Congress how critical paid family and medical leave is for military families. Sign on and let members know we want paid leave for all passed this year.

We need immediate action. We need family friendly policies that will help combat the high cost of child care and early education, expand access to long term care for older adults and people with disabilities and provide paid leave to people who need to care for a new child, care for themselves or a family member with a serious illness or address a loved one’s military deployment. Studies show again and again that these policies boost businesses and our economy alike. In fact, Moody’s Analytics recently found that building a care infrastructure would boost our GDP by 10 -15 basis points in the long run. [5]

Paid family and medical leave can be the key difference between merely existing and thriving. It’s not simply an economic issue, it is a racial justice issue AND it is an equity issue. While paid leave is available to some workers, that is not the case for many Black and brown families. [6]  Employees without paid family and medical leave are deciding how to both work and care for their children and loved ones who have serious illnesses. It is an unacceptable choice yet families make it everyday.

→ The Care Infrastructure is just as important as the physical infrastructure. Tell Congress that families need a Care Economy, we need paid family and medical leave for all.

Black, Indigenous, People of color have been hard hit by the pandemic and economic instability. Any paid leave policy needs to center equity, gender, and ensure that all families are able to take advantage of the program and utilize it for all leave taking purposes to include dealing with a loved one’s military deployment. A policy that does not provide adequate paid time off for those most at need, will not help workers or their families.

 → Demand that Congress pass a robust and fully funded comprehensive paid family and medical leave program this year.

We know that Congress is currently deliberating a paid family and medical leave program that will be included in the reconciliation package. They are on the right track. This policy is a worthwhile investment in American families, in businesses, and in our economy. It should address the needs of all working people, be inclusive, equitable and provide sufficient leave time for all leave taking reasons including caring for one’s own medical issues, family caregiving and parental leave.

All families need access to an equitable, robust and comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.

Thank you for championing paid leave for all!

P.S. Personal experiences are powerful and can make a HUGE difference in helping elected leaders understand how public policies impact families so they can move change. We want to hear more from YOU! Can you take a second and follow the link below to share your personal story about how having, or NOT having, access to job-protected paid leave has impacted your family in the pandemic? https://action.momsrising.org/survey/Caretaking_Stories

References:

[1] Americans are dying at almost 10 times the rate of July; US to provide 500M more doses to developing nations: COVID-19 updates
[2] Pandemic unemployment benefits expired on Labor Day. Could they be renewed?
[3] How Military Families Respond Before, During and After Deployment
[4] The Impact of Military Life on Children form Military Families
[5] The Macroeconomic Consequences of the American Families Plan and the Build Back Better Agenda
[6] CBCF Panel Pushes Nationwide Policy for Paid Family Leave