Friends:

Today marks 29 years since the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This was a huge step forward for American families, giving certain employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for family and medical reasons.

FMLA is still on the books today—but it guarantees unpaid leave only. Most Americans simply can’t afford to go months without pay while caring for themselves or a loved one. Plus, FMLA applies only to private employers with 50 or more employees—leaving out as much as 44% of the U.S. workforce.

In short? America remains the only industrialized country in the world without national paid family and medical leave. 

Kirsten has been leading the fight to change that for nearly a decade:

Kirsten has been working relentlessly alongside advocacy organizations, colleagues, grassroots activists and this community to pass paid family and medical leave.

And here’s the good news: We know that a majority of Americans support paid leave, along with the President.

But change doesn’t happen overnight. We must continue speaking out about why paid leave is good for American families, good for the economy, and essential to our country’s recovery in the wake of the pandemic.

So please: Can you add your name to stand in support of paid family and medical leave? We’ve set a goal of 15,000 signatures TODAY to make our voices heard.

Thank you for keeping the faith and keeping up the fight.

-Team Gillibrand