Act quickly to include permanent paid leave in the next COVID-19 relief
package.
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION

Dear Friend,

I'll get right to the point: Paid leave saves lives, during the pandemic
and always. Congress let it expire in December. We must include it in the
next COVID-19 relief package.

[ [link removed] ]→ Join us to tell Congress this isn't negotiable, and they need to act
quickly to pass permanent paid leave immediately.

Emergency paid leave was one of the first things Congress passed in a
bipartisan vote last March in recognition of how important paid leave is
to beating this public health crisis, however that law was very limited in
who it covered AND it expired at the end of December, leaving millions of
families and caregivers without this critical support. Families like
Amanda’s from New Hampshire: 

Amanda has a 5-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son with special needs.
Amanda worked at an auto dealership for 13 years before the pandemic. Her
husband is an HVAC technician. When the pandemic hit, her children's
daycare closed and her son lost access to in-person therapies and
services, dramatically increasing Amanda's caregiving responsibilities and
her stress. Her employer was not accommodating, and she did not have
access to paid leave. She was forced to leave the job she loved to meet
her kids' needs.

Stories like Amanda’s are why we need Congress to pass President Biden’s
American Rescue Plan. The Biden-Harris plan includes the reinstatement and
strengthening of emergency paid leave as a critical part of COVID relief.
This will save lives by preventing the spread of the virus, conserve
health care resources, and save the jobs of workers and families across
America. 

But we don't just need paid leave during *this* pandemic: We must demand
that Congress pass it AND a permanent paid leave program quickly so we’re
never unprepared for a crisis again. 

[ [link removed] ]→ Tell Congress: Act quickly to include permanent paid leave in the
next COVID-19 relief package.

The research is clear: Paid leave saves lives and helps flatten the curve.
In places where workers gained access to the limited emergency paid sick
leave Congress passed last year, there were 15,000+ fewer cases per day.
[2]  And, this is even with a new program that was never fully advertised
or implemented. And we know that access to paid leave is an important part
of vaccine rollout. 

Paid leave saves jobs and keeps women and caregivers in the workforce.
Emergency family leave remains important as millions of families are
struggling without child care or in-person school.  In the December jobs
report, women accounted for all 140,000 jobs lost. [ [link removed] ]  Women of color
have been bearing the brunt of the economic devastation the pandemic has
brought. Some 82,000 Black women and 31,000 Latinas lost their jobs in
December alone according to jobs reports. [ [link removed] ]  Many more women and moms
were forced to leave the labor force in the face of virtual schooling,
dwindling child care options, and our nation’s lack of paid sick days and
paid family leave. Overall, there are nearly 2.1 million fewer women in
our country’s workforce today than were in it before the pandemic began.
[ [link removed] ]  If cases continue to peak, more schools and daycares will close. Paid
leave can keep women and caregivers in their jobs and attached to their
own benefits. 

Further, paid leave is a cost-effective tool for public health and
economic recovery. We can’t afford not to act. Even before the pandemic,
workers and their families lost an estimated combined $22.5 billion in
wages each year due to a lack of paid family and medical leave. [ [link removed] ]  The
lack of access to paid leave also leads to higher costs in unemployment,
hospitalizations, and health care, and compounding financial losses.  

[3]*Click here to add your name to our letter to Congress urging them to
act quickly to pass permanent paid leave.

Twenty eight years ago this week, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
was signed into law. That important safety net has helped millions of
people, but it was always meant to be a first step because it wasn’t
*paid* leave.  

Twenty eight years and one pandemic is long enough to wait to make good on
the promise to pass paid leave. In 2021, no working person should have to
choose between putting food on the table, or quarantining to protect their
coworkers, families, or their own health.  

Whether it’s to care for a newborn you swear already smiles, a mom who is
severely ill, or a spouse battling cancer, or COVID or both, being there
for family is what matters. We need permanent paid leave for all, and we
need it now.

[4]Add your name to our letter and we’ll deliver it this week. Be sure to
forward this email to your friends and family so they can take action too.

Together we’re a powerful force for women and families.

-Ruth, Karen, Taylor, Kristin, and the whole MomsRising.org/MamásConPoder
Team

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?
[5][link removed]

References:

[1,2] Health Affairs: [6]COVID-19 Emergency Sick Leave Has Helped Flatten
The Curve In The United States
[3,4] [ [link removed] ]National Women’s Law Center
[5] Center for American Progress: [ [link removed] ]The Rising Cost of Inaction on
Work-Family Policies
[6] CNBC.com: [ [link removed] ]Nearly 2.2 million women left the workforce between
February and October


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