John,

Americans want to get back to work. But the lingering effects of the pandemic are keeping people out of the workforce. At the same time, employers are having trouble recruiting and retaining employees.

Fortunately, we have the tools at our disposal to strengthen the labor force for working people and businesses, increasing workers’ incomes now when they really need it.

Write to your members of Congress right now and urge them to include affordable child care and home and direct care, paid family and medical leave, and a green jobs program in a package to put working people back to work that can pass the Senate with a simple majority vote!

Parents are struggling to afford child care and return to the workforce, after many, especially women, were forced to leave their jobs during the pandemic to care for their own children. In fact, according to the National Women’s Law Center, in February 2022, women were still short over 1.4 million net jobs compared to two years prior.¹

According to another study, the child care crisis is resulting in $57 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue each year.²

At the same time, even as access to quality affordable child care is out of reach for millions of families, early educators are some of the lowest paid professionals in the U.S. Many are leaving the field, contributing to the child care shortage.

Congress must act to provide a long-term investment to child care that dramatically expands access and affordability, and increases pay for child care workers.

Click here to send a message directly to your members of Congress demanding they act!

The United States is the only industrialized country in the world to NOT have a national paid family and medical leave program.

Paid leave would help level the playing field for small businesses, with two-thirds of small business owners supporting this critical policy.³

With employers struggling to fill positions with skilled workers, we should give our economy and families a boost by finally passing paid family and medical leave―allowing millions of people to rejoin the workforce.

Write to your members of Congress and urge them to pass paid family and medical leave this year!

From droughts and wildfires to torrential rain and flooding, the climate crisis is real and impacting communities in every region of the country―particularly BIPOC communities and people with low incomes.

The Biden administration has proposed a Civilian Conservation Corps, which will employ over 300,000 people. Additional green jobs would be created through a Reentry Employment Opportunity program, a new youth employment program, YouthBuild, Jobs Corps, and apprenticeships.

Together, we’re fighting for policies that put people back to work, which support working people and businesses alike. Please, take action today.

Thank you,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FINAL-NWLC-Resilient-But-Not-Recovered-3.29.22.pdf
² https://strongnation.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/602/83bb2275-ce07-4d74-bcee-ff6178daf6bd.pdf
³ https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/167e816a/files/uploaded/Paid+Leave+for+All.small+business.pdf