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Contagion: Not Just a Movie

Posted September 15th, 2011 by

What’s most frightening about the movie Contagion is that it’s NOT science fiction. Flu epidemics are real, and they can spread quickly – especially in the United States, where 44 million people without paid sick days are forced to choose between their financial security and their health when they get sick.  During the recent H1N1 [...]

Posted Under: S: Sick Days, Paid

Rooting for Passage of Paid Sick Days in Philadelphia

Posted May 27th, 2011 by

Every night a second grade teacher washes the top cover of her reading couch because some child has had to come to class with the flu rather than staying home alone. A principal describes the number of high school students who miss school to stay home with a younger sibling because a parent can’t afford [...]

Posted Under: S: Sick Days, Paid

Women’s Stake in Fighting Arizona’s New Law

Posted June 2nd, 2010 by

As the sheriff’s truck followed our van several blocks through Phoenix, I kept thinking what the sight of that vehicle would mean for Silvia or Esperanza or Alejandra or the other women we’d met: Visions of being yanked out of the van and ordered to produce papers. Picturing kids arriving to an empty house. Wondering [...]

Posted Under: Uncategorized

Win for Valuing Families Agenda!

Posted October 28th, 2009 by

President Obama today signed the Defense Reauthorization Act with a provision for expanded family leave for military families. This is an important victory for all families in the U.S. because it acknowledges the value of caregivers in the health of our nation. The new provision, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Chris Dodd and in [...]

What Women Wish Gwen Ifill Could Have Asked

Posted October 9th, 2008 by

Gwen Ifill was hobbled by more than a broken ankle at the vice presidential debate. The rules prevented her from asking any follow-up questions. I work with eleven statewide coalitions representing a million people, all fighting for policies that value families at work. Here are some questions we wish Gwen Ifill had been allowed to ask:

Posted Under: Uncategorized