From Moms Rising (https://www.momsrising.org/):
Because of President Biden’s American Families Plan, we have the best chance to win nation-wide paid family and medical leave that we’ve ever had before. If we keep the pressure on Congress, we could win paid leave for all THIS YEAR.
Go to https://action.momsrising.org/sign/paidleaveNOW to tell Congress to act quickly to pass the American Families Plan and fully implement paid leave as quickly as possible so that the United States will finally have permanent and robust paid leave for all.
President Biden’s paid leave plan “will ensure workers receive partial wage replacement to take time to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, deal with a loved one’s military deployment, find safety from sexual assault, stalking, or domestic violence, heal from their own serious illness, or take time to deal with the death of a loved one. It will guarantee 12 weeks of paid parental, family, and personal illness/safe leave by year 10 of the program, and also ensure workers get three days of bereavement leave per year starting in year one. The program will provide workers up to $4,000 a month, with a minimum of two-thirds of average weekly wages replaced, rising to 80 percent for the lowest wage workers.” [1]
Building off of President Biden’s historic plan, we must push Congress to pass the American Families Plan and fully implement paid leave as quickly as possible so that the United States will finally have permanent and robust paid leave for all.
Paid leave for all is a commonsense, no-brainer policy that is looooooong overdue, but there are still some members of Congress who don’t think paid leave is urgent…
We aren’t leaving anything to chance. That’s why we’re joining with Paid Leave for All and other organizational partners to launch a $6 million campaign to win paid leave this year. [2]
The dollars are important, but without YOUR grassroots support, we won’t win.
Even before the pandemic, many families found themselves forced to figure out how to care for themselves or a loved one when a critical health crisis arose with zero weeks of paid leave. This was hard before the pandemic, but now it’s harder than ever, especially for women, who have lost 5.3 million jobs during the pandemic and particularly women of color who lost most of those jobs. [3] Even before the pandemic, workers and their families lost a combined $22.5 billion in wages each year due to a lack of paid family and medical leave. [4] The lack of access to paid leave also leads to higher costs in unemployment, hospitalizations, and health care, and compounding financial losses to businesses and families alike.
It. Should. Not. Be. This. Way.
The pandemic has made crystal clear what was already obvious. Paid leave saves lives, paid leave saves jobs. It must be passed now.
We are one of the only countries in the world without a national paid leave policy, which meant that when the pandemic hit, we were unprepared. It should be a given that you should not work and spread illness when you are critically sick and recovering, that you should never have to choose between your family and your paycheck, your life and your livelihood. Our families need and want a sustainable paid leave policy in place so that families and businesses are never scrambling for piecemeal solutions when critical illness strikes, a serious family caregiving crisis arises, or a new child arrives.
This bears repeating: Paid leave is the key to our long-term health, stability, and prosperity. Paid leave saves jobs. Paid leave saves lives.
If we want to build back better, paid leave has to be a part of our infrastructure and included in an economic recovery plan, along with other key jobs, small business, and infrastructure priorities.
Care is care is care: Whether it’s to care for a newborn you swear already smiles, to recover from COVID, or a spouse battling cancer, being there for family is what matters. No one should permanently lose their job when an urgent and unexpected family matter arises.
Please share this link with your friends and family so they can take action, too.
Together we’re a powerful force for our families.
PS: Personal experiences are powerful and can make a HUGE difference in helping elected leaders understand how public policies impact families. 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/COVID19_Stories
References:
[1] The White House Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan[2] Politico Playbook: https://www.politico.com/playbook
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