Posted at http://www.chn.org/2017/05/11/moms-dont-need-mothers-day/#.WRSiYfkrIdU
By Lecia Imbery
May 11, 2017
Mother’s Day is this weekend, which means cards have been mailed, brunch reservations made, and flowers purchased. But we know what moms really need to make them, their families and our country healthier and more economically secure – affordable health care, paid leave and sick time, workplace protections, and other policies that support them.
That’s why the National Partnership for Women and Families, the Center for Community Change, YWCA USA, and nearly 50 other organizations (many of them CHN members) are joining together today, May 11, 3-4pm for a #MomsDontNeed/#LasMamásNoNecesitan tweet storm and digital day of action. They are rallying online to discuss what moms don’t need from the Trump administration and 115th Congress, such as…
- Relentless attacks on quality, affordable health care,
- Paid leave policies that do more harm than good,
- Financial insecurity when they or their kids get sick,
- Seventy cents on the dollar compared to dads,
- Lost pay, promotions or jobs due to pregnancy, and
- Unpredictable and unfair schedules
Instead, these mom-supporting groups are raising awareness about commonsense solutions that actually support women and families – policies that CHN supports too – such as…
- The Affordable Care Act and Medicaid,
- The Family And Medical Leave (FAMILY) Act,
- The Healthy Families Act,
- The Paycheck Fairness Act,
- The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and
- The Schedules That Work Act
Let’s face it – our country doesn’t make it easy to be a low-income mom trying to care for her family. Only 14 percent of workers in the U.S. have access to paid family leave through their employers. Because of this, nearly 25 percent of new moms in this country are forced to go back to work within two weeks of giving birth. Today, 41 million workers in the U.S. (about 36 percent of the workforce) still lack access to paid sick days, and nearly three-quarters of workers in the lowest 10 percent of wage earners have no paid time off at all – no sick days, personal days, vacation, or family or medical leave. Moms shouldn’t have to choose between taking care of a sick child and a day of wages. Schedules that change every week or keep workers on call make it extremely difficult to arrange reliable, affordable childcare. Gender pay inequities persist and leave moms with less money in retirement.
Last week, we posted a blog about the head-smackingly named Working Families Flexibility Act that would actually give moms and other workers less flexibility, less time and less pay. Despite strong opposition from advocates, the bill passed the House 229-197; no Democrats supported the bill, and they were joined by six Republicans who also voted no. As you undoubtedly heard, the House passed another horrible bill last week that would leave millions of moms and others without health care, strip pregnancy and childbirth coverage from plans, slash Medicaid, raise costs, and give millions in tax cuts to the wealthiest. The attacks on low-income moms and their families are real.
While there are many ways to honor moms this Mother’s Day, taking action to improve their economic security seems like a pretty great way to me. Join the conversation today from 3-4pm – and keep the conversation going after the tweet storm is over – by using the #MomsDontNeed and #LasMamásNoNecesitan hashtags and using one of the sharable graphics in this blog. You can also use WeTweet.org/Moms to tweet directly at President Trump and your members of Congress (thanks to the National Partnership for setting up this tool).
What other programs should we be investing in to honor and protect America’s moms? Share your thoughts in the comments section below or tweet Congress using the WeTweet link above.
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