Author Archive
Posted August 3rd, 2011 by Vicki Shabo
Roughly four million women give birth in the United States every year – and most choose to breastfeed (74 percent). After all, the nutritional value of breast milk is well documented. Numerous studies show that breastfeeding protects mothers and children from a range of acute and chronic health conditions. But with two-thirds of today’s working [...]
Posted May 25th, 2011 by Vicki Shabo
Philadelphia’s workers are hoping the city will soon take a critical step toward changing the way workplaces honor families. As early as June, the Philadelphia City Council could approve a law that provides workers the right to earn paid sick time to recover from illness or care for a family member. With more than 210,000 [...]
Posted September 12th, 2010 by Vicki Shabo
Grandparents are the glue that holds many families together—yet our workplace laws don’t honor their critical role. Grandparents play a more vital role than ever in building strong families and caring for our nation’s children. In addition to providing emotional and financial support, millions of grandparents act as primary caregivers for their grandchildren — a [...]
Posted July 30th, 2010 by Vicki Shabo
Last weekend and earlier this week, I was in Louisville, Kentucky talking about paid sick days and economic security with both labor leaders and state legislators who champion issues important to workers. Advocates who lead paid sick days campaigns routinely praise organized labor’s hard work on these issues—and it is obvious why. I had the [...]
Posted July 28th, 2010 by Vicki Shabo
Every day in the United States, more workers than many of us imagine face an impossible choice: go to work sick, or forgo a paycheck and risk job loss or workplace discipline. More than 40 million private sector workers in this country do not have access to even a single paid sick day. And when it [...]
Posted February 24th, 2010 by Vicki Shabo
The Family and Medical Leave Act turns 17 today. At the National Partnership, we are like proud parents. We remember the long fight to pass it, and the moment on February 5, 1993 when we stood beside President Clinton as he made it the very first bill he signed. For the first time, we had [...]