With paid leave on the line, Senators Gillibrand, Murray, Wyden, Blumenthal join families in all-day event for paid leave on Capitol Hill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 2 2021
Leading House champions Chairman Neal, Chairwoman DeLauro, Chairman Scott and others joined Senators, Families in urgent plea to include paid leave in the final package.
WASHINGTON D.C. – November 2, 2021 – Today, paid leave supporters and families from all across the country hosted an all-day event spotlighting the human costs of not having a national paid leave policy. Over 20 Senate and House champions – including Senators Gillibrand, Murray, and Wyden, Chairman Neal, Chairwoman DeLauro, Chairman Scott and others – joined in this all-day effort urging Congress to return paid family and medical leave to the Build Back Better legislation before final passage.
Families, parents, and caregivers all over the country shared how a lack of paid leave had impacted their lives – whether they were trying to care for a newborn in the NICU, seek treatment for substance use disorder, or recover from postpartum depression. Spokespeople from leading caregiving, health, economic, racial and gender justice, and workers’ rights organizations also read hundreds of paid leave stories aloud.
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) said, “Our country deserves to be like other countries in the world that respect their families, that respect their loved ones, and say we are here for you. I’m in this fight with you. I am not going to give up. We are going to keep going every day until we get this done.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said, “The societal investments today that are necessary for all workers to be working are affordable day care, universal Pre-K, and national paid leave. They are three legs of a stool, and each one is essential. Without one, the stool will fall. And that is the stool that is holding up American families. So I promise you in this moment, as we negotiate this bill, paid leave has to be a part of it.”
Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) said, “During the last Congress, I worked across the aisle to make sure that the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provided 2 weeks of emergency paid sick leave and 10 weeks of job-protected emergency family leave for workers caring for their children. Although these provisions made a difference, they have expired. People are looking to Congress once again to enact permanent, job-protected paid family and medical leave. As Chair of the Committee on Education and Labor, I’m committed to working with Patty Murray and the Senate to make sure that we pass this legislation to make sure our families are protected.”
Khrista Messinger, a paid leave speaker from West Virginia said, “I recently lost a friend to addiction. He didn’t have access to paid leave or time for rehab, and he lost his life because of it. Senator Manchin has said that addressing the opioid addiction crisis in West Virginia is one of his top priorities. He should start by passing paid family and medical leave so that everyone can access care and treatment that they deserve.”
Members of Congress that spoke to the crowd included: Senator Patty Murray (D-WA); Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR); Representative Judy Chu (CA-27); Representative Bobby Scott (VA-03); Representative Richard Neal (MA-01); Representative Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06); Representative Gwen Moore (WI-04); Representative Jimmy Gomez (CA-34); Representative Barbara Lee (CA-13); Representative Nikema Williams (GA-05); Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07); Representative Steven Horsford (NV-04); Representative Linda Sanchez (CA-38); Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12); Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09); Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01); Representative Carolyn Maloney (NY-12); Representative Lloyd Doggett (TX-35); and Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03).
Advocates who shared their personal experiences included: Khrista Messinger of West Virginia; Alison Coleman of Maryland; Amy Jo Hutchison of West Virginia; JoAnna Vance of West Virginia; Christina Townsend of Virginia; Kathy Paz-Craddock of Virginia; and Amanda Makulec of Washington D.C.
Spokespeople of leading advocacy organizations included: Molly Day, Executive Director of Paid Leave for the United States (PL+US); Dawn Huckelbridge, Director at Paid Leave for All; Carol Joyner, Labor Project Director at Family Values at Work; Vicki Shabo, Senior Fellow at New America; Laura Narefsky, Counsel at National Women's Law Center; Christine Sloane, Director of Anti-Poverty Advocacy at Center for American Progress; Blythe Thomas, Initiative Director at 1,000 Days; Andrew Lewis, UXLA; Judy Rabhan, Chief Policy Officer at National Council of Jewish Women; Emily Andrews, Director of Education, Labor & Worker Justice at CLASP; Hannah Matthews, Deputy Executive Director for Policy at CLASP; Alex Townsend, Assistant Director of Federal Government Affairs at AFSCME; Claire Manning, Director of Advocacy & Mobilization at The Arc of the United States; Cait Zogby, Co-Founder and Chief Community Officer of MotherNation; Ilene Stein, Deputy Legislative Director of SEIU; Gina Arias, Director of Healthcare Industries at TIME’S UP Now; Sarah Brafman, Director, D.C. Office & Senior Policy Counsel at A Better Balance; Jason Resendez, Executive Director of UsAgainstAlzheimer's and Co-Director of Paid Leave Alliance for Dementia Caregivers; and Julie Vogtman, Director of Job Quality & Senior Counsel at National Women's Law Center.
Despite paid leave being cut from the initial Build Back Better framework released last week, negotiations in Washington are still ongoing and Congressional leaders still have time to ensure that the 130 million Americans without a single day of paid leave have access to paid time to welcome a newborn into their family, say goodbye to a dying loved one, or recover from their own serious illness.
A recording of the event is available HERE, and additional photos of the event can be found HERE.