Sign now to tell our national leaders to commit to passing paid leave NOW! SIGN NOW

Dear Friend,

We’re halfway through the year, which means it's summer. Holidays, graduations, summer breaks, and vacations mark the calendars and even spreadsheets of moms and families nationwide. Do you know what else is filling those calendars and spreadsheets this summer? Neonatal visits, play dates, pediatrician checkups, doctor’s visits, care worker interviews, therapy sessions and countless other caretaking needs. In other words, summer doesn’t mean working moms and families get a break - and we still don’t have one of our biggest summer - and lifetime - essentials: Paid family and medical leave for all.

That’s why MomsRising has joined our partners at Paid Leave for All, Glamour, Parents Together and Caring Across Generations to deliver a letter to Congress urging swift action to pass a comprehensive paid leave program that benefits moms and families, businesses and our economy.

The situation is urgent. The United States is one of only seven countries in the world with no guaranteed form of paid family and medical leave. Only 27 percent of workers in the United States have access to paid family leave through their jobs. And even more shocking, here in America, one in four people who have given birth returned to work within two weeks—bleeding, sleep-deprived, and often still injured.

The situation is urgent.

When life events occur like welcoming a new child to your family, caring for yourself or a loved one when a serious health condition occurs, dealing with the effects of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking or to make arrangements due to the military deployment of a child, spouse or parent; it’s vital that every working person has paid family and medical leave. That’s why we’re calling on you to tell our national leaders to commit to passing a permanent and comprehensive paid leave program for every working person now.

There’s no time to waste! MomsRising has joined our partners at Paid Leave for All, Glamour, Parents Together and Caring Across Generations to call on our national leaders to commit to passing permanent and comprehensive paid leave for all workers. *Sign our letter now!

Let me share a bit more about why this is important: Every day, people are forced to make an impossible choice between maintaining their income or caring for the families they love because they have no paid family and medical leave. Too many parents are forced to go back to work within days or weeks after having babies or welcoming new children into their lives. Too many employers lose valuable employees they could have maintained. And too many caregivers miss out on key moments of their loved ones' lives. Are you fed up? I know I am, but you know what could solve for this? Passing a permanent and comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.

It’s long past time for this policy change. 31 years ago, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act which guaranteed unpaid leave for workers. It was only meant to be a first step, and yet here we are in a country where one in four people who have given birth returned to work within two weeks- bleeding, sleep-deprived, and often still injured, this isn’t okay. It’s evident that there is a human cost to the lack of paid family and medical leave and families are paying the price. All of us will need care or need to support the care or recovery of someone we love. And everyday without paid leave is a day when our families suffer.

That’s why MomsRising has joined our partners at Paid Leave for All, Glamour, Parents Together and Caring Across Generations in calling for a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that benefits moms and families, businesses and our economy.

But all is not lost and we don’t live in a pit of despair. Thankfully, we have champions in Congress who continue to fight for a national paid leave policy, we have advocates who continue to lift up the critical need for paid family and medical leave and we have people like you, who take action, share their personal stories and raise awareness. Paid family and medical leave is one of the most widely supported policies in this country. This is not a partisan issue, this is about family values.

Thank you for joining us and championing paid leave!

--Namatie, Ruth, Kristin, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

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