The Target corporation has been positioning itself as a champion of its employees. They’ve gotten public praise for supporting diversity and inclusion and increasing wages and benefits in response to the pandemic. But the truth is that those benefits leave out a shadow workforce of tens of thousands of people, many of whom are Black and Brown women--who power Target's growing and profitable grocery delivery service, Shipt.
Shipt has seen demand increase so much that the company has hired 100,000 people in the last few months to keep up, as the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how people shop for groceries. Increasingly, consumers are relying on home delivery services, and home delivery service is a major reason that Target's revenue is up during the pandemic.
But shoppers working for Shipt do not get the paid family and medical leave they need to care for a sick family member or recover from extended illness. The only paid sick leave that the company provides is restricted to shoppers who are officially diagnosed with COVID-19 or are put under a mandatory quarantine--and even that's limited to 50% pay for 14 days. And that assumes you can get a test, which we know is challenging in many parts of the country.
Shoppers working for Shipt are organizing to demand better paid leave, and UltraViolet and PL+US (Paid Leave for the United States) are working together to lift up their demands. If enough people speak up, we can pressure Target to ensure that Shipt shoppers get the same paid family and medical leave benefits that Target employees receive. Will you sign the petition?
McDonald’s employees are on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic. As an essential service provider, the fast-food giant continues to operate every day, while many employees don’t have access to paid sick days or paid family leave—forcing them to make an impossible choice between their job and protecting their health and their family’s health. The majority of McDonalds 800,000 employees are women and people of color--some of the same communities that are least likely to have access to paid leave. To make matters worse, trendlines on COVID-19 infection rates in the U.S. show that the pandemic is hitting Black and Hispanic communities hardest. That’s why we’re joining our friends at the Fight for $15, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to amplify the voices of McDonald’s employees and demand that paid sick days and paid family leave is provided to ALL employees who wear a McDonald’s uniform.
While many of us are sheltering at home, FedEx employees are working harder than ever on the frontlines of this pandemic. However, many of them are still denied essential benefits, like paid sick days and paid leave. Forcing workers to choose between their paycheck and their health isn’t just wrong, it’s dangerous.
That's why we’re demanding that CEO Frederick Smith extend paid leave to each of FedEx’s 300,000 employees and contractors. Will you add your name to our petition, to show your support for those working tirelessly during a global pandemic without proper protections?
While many of us are sheltering at home, FedEx employees are working harder than ever on the frontlines of this pandemic. However, many of them are still denied essential benefits, like paid sick days and paid leave. Forcing workers to choose between their paycheck and their health isn’t just wrong, it’s dangerous.
That's why we’re demanding that CEO Frederick Smith extend paid leave to each of FedEx’s 300,000 employees and contractors. Will you add your name to our petition, to show your support for those working tirelessly during a global pandemic without proper protections?
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act is a good start, but it leaves up to nearly 20 million people behind.
We need you with us, as we demand urgent support for the working families left behind by this act.
Demand that your member of Congress continue to fight for paid family and medical leave for ALL.
This is a turning point in our national fight for universal paid leave, with strong support coming from both sides of the aisle. The stakes have never been higher, the need more clear, or momentum more on our side.
This legislation marks serious progress, but currently exempts companies with more than 500 employees from providing these protections. That leaves half of the private workforce still without any access to paid leave. And that means there’s still more work to do.
Time is running out to show working people in America that Congress understands the urgency for policies they need to provide and care for their families.
Chairman Neal has shown great leadership in the past and is one of the FAMILY Act cosponsors. We now need him to hold a hearing and markup in the House Ways and Means committee by the end of the year!
People across the country are working hard to make ends meet, yet the nation fails to provide the support they need to manage the demands of job and family, and that businesses and our economy need to thrive.
Just 19 percent of the workforce has paid family leave through their employers, and just 40 percent has personal medical leave through an employer-provided short-term disability program.
The Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act would create a national family and medical leave insurance program to help ensure that people who work can take the time they need to address serious health and caregiving needs. It would help support working families' economic security, promote gender equity in workplaces, create a more level playing field for businesses of all sizes and strengthen our economy.
The FAMILY Act is a national paid family and medical leave plan voters want and our country needs. Tens of millions of workers and their families can't afford to wait any longer.
I’m a dad, and I just welcomed my second child, Emma, this week! And while I’ve worked for iHeartMedia for eight months, I still do not have access to a single day of paid parental leave to care for Emma.
iHeartMedia, formerly Clear Channel, is the largest owner of radio stations in the country - reaching millions of listeners across the United States every day. But for a company that touches so many families and households, they are surprisingly behind the times when it comes to its paid leave for its employees.
iHeartMedia only provides time for childbirth recovery. That means no time for dads like me to bond with a new baby or support a partner recovering from childbirth, no time to care for a seriously ill family member, and new mothers are forced to have to sign up for Short-Term Disability in order to reap the benefits of any type of leave towards childbirth.
I love working for iHeartmedia. I’m both a Software Engineer and a DJ, so my work touches on both of my passions, technology and music. I am lucky enough to work on an AMAZING project where, for the most part, my team is very flexible when it comes to our work schedule, which is why I feel and believe that iHeartMedia can do MUCH better when it comes to paid family leave. I’m surprised that we are falling behind so many of our competitors when it comes to this benefit.
I know that iHeartMedia is an awesome company, and I know they can do better for dads like me, and all new parents. That’s why I’m asking that the company show bold leadership in the industry and expand the paid family leave policy to include ALL parents.
Kevin, iHeartMedia Employee, and PL+US Advocate
To Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeartMedia
As the largest owner of radio stations in the country, and employer to over 18,000 hard working men and women, iHeartMedia has the power to lead the industry with a bold paid family leave policy. New parents should have the time they need to recover or help their partner recover from childbirth and to bond with their new baby. We’re asking that iHeartMedia take the lead, and expand your paid family leave policy to include ALL parents.
I’m a dad, and I’ve got another baby on the way (due in two months!) and while I’ve worked for iHeartMedia for eight months, I will not have access to a single day of paid parental leave when our newborn arrives.
iHeartMedia, formerly Clear Channel, is the largest owner of radio stations in the country - reaching millions of listeners across the United States every day. But for a company that touches so many families and households, they are surprisingly behind the times when it comes to its paid leave for its employees.
iHeartmedia only provides time for childbirth recovery, no time for dads like me to bond with a new baby or support a partner recovering from childbirth, no time to care for a seriously ill family member, and new mothers are forced to have to sign up for Short-Term Disability in order to reap the benefits of any type of leave towards childbirth.
I love working for iHeartmedia. I’m both a Software Engineer and a DJ, so my work touches on both of my passions, technology and music. I am lucky enough to work on an AMAZING project where, for the most part, my team is very flexible when it comes to our work schedule, which is why I feel and believe that iHeartMedia can do MUCH better when it comes to paid family leave. I’m surprised that we are falling behind so many of our competitors when it comes to this benefit.
I know that iHeartMedia is an awesome company, and I know they can do better for dads like me, and all new parents. That’s why I’m asking that the company show bold leadership in the industry and expand the paid family leave policy to include ALL parents.
Kevin, iHeartMedia Employee, and PL+US Advocate
To Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeartMedia
As the largest owner of radio stations in the country, and employer to over 18,000 hard working men and women, iHeartMedia has the power to lead the industry with a bold paid family leave policy. New parents should have the time they need to recover or help their partner recover from childbirth and to bond with their new baby. We’re asking that iHeartMedia take the lead, and expand your paid family leave policy to include ALL parents.
Earlier this fall, PL+US members walked the halls of Congress to make sure our leaders know what families really need. When you email your congressperson, you’re telling them that the people they’re meeting with are backed up by the thousands of PL+US members across the country who want high quality paid leave.
We’ll never get what we want if we don’t ask for it. Now is the time, as the paid leave conversation is heating up at the national level, to make it clear that families need a policy that works for all working families.
By emailing these findings to your congressperson today, and inviting them to meet with PL+US, you’re setting the stage for a much broader, more powerful debate that will lead to a truly high quality paid family leave policy for all, that helps the families that need it most. Send this message to your member of congress today.
Dear Todd Jones, CEO of Publix:
Paid family leave provides working people time to be with their families when they are needed most: when welcoming a newly arrived child, caring for a seriously ill family member, or addressing one's own illness. Publix is a top employer, yet fails to provide employees this critical benefit.
PL+US’s third annual ranking of paid family leave policies at the largest employers in the U.S. finds Publix is ranked the worst when it comes to offering paid family leave to its employees. There is clear momentum in the private sector and Publix has quickly fallen far behind their competitors. In the last year alone, 20 companies ranging from Starbucks to Walmart have expanded their paid leave policies.
The benefits of paid family leave are well documented. Businesses that have implemented better paid leave policies have done so noting the advantages of employee recruitment, retention, and reduced turnover costs.
Publix’s policies also have a major impact on the lives of employees. Paid family leave is proven to benefit both child and maternal health outcomes and reduces infant mortality.
Publix offers NO paid family leave to its 190,000 employees. That’s zero days off after childbirth, zero days to care for a dying parent, zero days for chemo treatments.
Employees can change company policies when they take action together. We've seen Publix employees successfully convince the company to update the dress code to allow beards using a Coworker.org campaign and on the issue of paid leave, PL+US has helped Starbucks baristas win more generous family leave in their workplace.
Publix current policy is failing employees and falls far behind industry standards. As CEO you have the power to lead by offering all of your employees at least 12 weeks of paid family leave.
My son was born with kidney cancer. At five days old, he had surgery. Families need a paid family leave program that includes caregiving.
Working inconsistent hours, not getting paid a living wage, putting my health and safety at risk, and that of my unborn child, is just wrong.
Have you ever had to take family or medical leave, or needed someone to care for you? Share your story with us!
Does your company have a paid caregiving policy? We want to know all about it. Take our survey!