Tell members of Congress to pass a paid leave for all NOW! TAKE ACTION

Dear Friend,

GOOD NEWS!!!! Last week I wrote to you about how important it is to keep the pressure on Congress to pass a strong reconciliation package that includes comprehensive paid family and medical leave for all. And you all sent a strong and powerful message to Congress -- and it worked! The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee just took a huge step closer to the finish line of winning paid family and medical leave for all when they voted to advance paid leave to the House Budget Committee! Next the Budget Committee must pass it and then the Senate must too, all within the next three weeks. 

Help us build an even bigger wave of change to get this policy through the finish line!! 

This week, I need you to take action again! WE are at a critical moment and every thing we do in the next few weeks will make all the difference. 

→ We need your help urging Congress to pass a fully funded comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.

When a serious health emergency strikes, you need to be there for your family and not just your child, spouse, parent or grandparent but your chosen family too. You know, the folks with whom you have strong bonds, the friends of your heart who are unrelated but are family because you depend on each other in the times that matter. Your chosen family.

The structures and demographics of families have changed significantly over the years, a recent study stated that 35 percent of U.S. children have lived with a relative other than their parent or sibling at some point by the age of 18. [1]  In 2017, a national survey found that almost a third of all respondents took time off from work to care for a chosen family member. [2]  As we try to combat the Delta variant of COVID, navigate child pick-ups and drop-offs and head back to the office, having paid family and medical leave to care for your loved ones in times of a health crisis is critical. 

 → Demand Congress pass a comprehensive paid family and medical leave policy this year. Moms, and working families need paid family and medical leave for all.

In order for paid family and medical leave to be effective, it needs to be equitable so those who need to take leave when a serious illness strikes or a new child arrives can afford to take leave. And equity also means enacting policies that better reflect the makeup of today’s families, and today’s families are diverse and expansive beyond the traditional nuclear family. 

Our communities, especially the LGBTQ+ community, can be impacted by limited definitions of family. Due to current and historical legal barriers, along with painful rejection from families of origin that still occurs, many in the LGBTQ+ community rely on chosen family, and along with individuals with disabilities, they were more likely to report caring for chosen family than were their non-disabled or non-LGBTQ counterparts - 42 percent compared with 30 percent and 31 percent. [3]  Multi-generational living and intergenerational caregiving is on the rise and policies like paid family and medical leave, that recognize all families, are beneficial to our collective well-being. 

→ Sign on and show our members of Congress that we want a robust and fully funded paid family and medical leave policy in the next reconciliation package.

The United States still does not yet have a national paid leave program -- and we are the only industrialized nation that fails to provide guaranteed paid leave to its workers. [4]  This must change now. All families need access to an equitable, robust and comprehensive paid family and medical leave program. Families are having to make impossible choices between being able to put food on the table or being there at critical moments with loved ones or when a new child arrives, while our members of Congress negotiate what goes into the reconciliation package. Let’s use all the tools in our toolkits (including our voices!) to remind them of how important paid family and medical leave is to our families, to our communities, to our businesses and our economy.

*Don’t forget to sign here. And if you have a moment this week, then please use your voice to also call your Senator too by texting WECARE to 747464.

Thank you for your continued support, 

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

PS: This Monday, we’re joining national and state advocates for a Paid Leave Day of Action. We will be calling, emailing and texting members of Congress to demonstrate our collective MomPower and demand for a comprehensive and permanent paid leave program for all working people. 

P.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] Expanding Definitions of Family in Federal Laws  
[2] ibid.
[3] ibid.
[4] Quick Facts on Paid Family and Medical Leave

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