*Sign our petition and also share your thoughts and experiences with businesses after reading this full post. To share your experiences, just click the blog title above, or click on the “Read full post” link below. Then scroll down to the end of web page–through all of the comments/blog text–to the “Post a Comment” section. Fill in the blanks with your text. Then when you are finished don’t forget to click the “Post Comment” button at the very bottom of the page.

More and more Americans want a safety net in the form of paid family leave, and they are prepared to pay for it themselves. Yet, despite the fact that this policy has been shown to significantly reduce infant mortality and the number of families in poverty, the Chambers of Commerce in several states have come out in opposition. This year, in Washington State, the Chamber of Commerce tried to kill such a bill and failed. In New Jersey, their Chamber of Commerce is lobbying against paid family leave right now. Here’s an excerpt from a recent newspaper article, “Joan Verplanck, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, warned that could worsen New Jersey’s already bad reputation as a place to do business. ‘We look at this as one more nail in the coffin,’ she said.”

SIGN THE PETITION TO TELL THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, “Have a heart! Allow Americans to create and pay for a safety net for themselves and their families”: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signUp.jsp?key=2300

We will use this petition with stories (see below for how to submit your story) to remind the Chambers of Commerce of the value paid family leave brings to the businesses they represent. And if you are a business owner, or if you are a member of your local Chamber of Commerce, be sure to give them a call, or send a letter, telling them that their opposition to this important program is shameful.

WHY SHAMEFUL? Employees want to pay for more security in their lives, which is both responsible and community-oriented. (FYI: Most of the current proposals call for this policy to be paid out of a very small employee paycheck deduction, not by businesses). That the representatives of business would undermine middle and lower income families’ efforts to create their own safety net is reprehensible.
Tough words, but the truth of the matter is that all of the nations with the top economies have some form of paid family leave. In fact, there’s a clear argument that passing family-friendly policies isn’t only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do economically.

Many of the best U.S. companies already provide paid leave because it good for the company to retain valued employees and create a culture of mutual care. And, California has already passed and implemented a paid family leave policy without a negative impact on businesses. Providing these family-friendly policies is a win-win for employees and businesses; and that’s why only four out a Harvard study of over 170 countries don’t already have this policy in place (the U.S., Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea).

BE A PART OF THE CHANGE: We know many MomsRising members are business owners and leaders in their professions who believe that unthinking opposition to policies that support America’s working families is shortsighted and will threaten our nation’s competitiveness. Let’s tell the Chamber that it’s shameful for them to forget that they need to represent us too!

*Don’t forget to sign the petition, and to forward this email to friends and family to sign as well, now at: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signUp.jsp?key=2300

(Please also spread the word and ask friends to sign the petition as well–in particular, please forward this email to family and friends who have small businesses, or who are in management, so that they can sign on the petition, and also share their stories per below.)

YOUR STORY NEEDED: If you have a story about how paid family leave was good for your company or for you, please tell us about it by emailing business@momsrising.org In addition, if you have a story about needing family leave we want to hear that too. We’ll share these stories so that the corporations which oppose common-sense support for individuals and families understand just how costly it is to neglect the needs of employees, friends, and co-workers.

And, share your stories on this blog post as well.

Best – The MomsRising Team

P.S. THANK YOU: You are really building a movement! Thanks to you, MomsRising is now over 100,000 members strong—and is growing by 500 to 1,000 members each week lately due to friends telling friends.

*To express our appreciation, we made you a Thank You e-card. To see it, go to: http://www.momsrising.org/bouquetecard

(After you watch your card, feel free to share the love by using the MomsRising Thank You card whenever you need to send thanks to friends and family—it’s a great way to send a smile. We now have a MomsRising E-card Selection Page at: http://www.momsrising.org/ecards ).

It’s a timely, articulate argument about why, “Working mothers can’t pamper their stress away–their balancing act needs a political fix.” Read it, then act!

Speaking of inspired, check out what two MomsRising members, Yvonne and Ken, are doing for their New Year’s resolution in the text below.

*A New Look for a New Year by Yvonne and Ken:

“At the end of every December, our family picks themes to represent our upcoming year. The theme is a way to help each of us focus on something we want more (or less) of in our lives. Last year Yvonne’s theme was “Start no new projects.” Ken’s was: “Better balance between time spent at work and time spent at home.” At the end of the year, we keep looking ahead and find something new to work towards. 2007 brings us the first unified theme since our marriage.

We will accomplish this by becoming human MomsRising t-shirt wearing billboards until paid family leave passes in our home state. Yep, we each will wear a MomsRising t-shirt every day, until a paid family leave bill is passed in Washington State.

If we are going to the gym, we fly our MomsRising ripped muscle Rosie. Off to work? MomsRising Rosie goes with us. In mid-January, when we are off to visit the kid’s great grandparents, we will be fitting into the Scottsdale Arizona social scene with our matching MomsRising Rosie. At the fancy holiday party for Ken’s work, guess who is getting a little bit of craft glitter for Yvonne’s outfit? Right again, Racy Rosie our MomsRising mascot.

Happy New Year! — Yvonne and Ken”

We’ll keep you in the loop about Yvonne and Ken’s progress. Be sure to check out their regular blog postings on the MomsRising homepage, and we’ll also send you updates from time to time.

*To share your ideas, click the blog title above or “Read full post” link below, then scroll down to the end of the blog text and Post a Comment.

The holiday season is a great time for making people smile, and also for helping grow the size of our movement. You, our members, are the key source of great ideas and power behind the dynamism of MomsRising.

We’re inspired by some of the great things other groups are doing: Environmental Defense is sending members a new holiday song to share with others, and is holding a YouTube video contest; The Center for a New American Dream is creating small ornaments for people for whom donations are being given on behalf of; and some other groups are providing members with custom e-holiday cards–cute and clever pictures have a way of getting passed along!

Please put on your creative thinking cap! Is there something MomsRising could offer members for the Holidays? What would tickle your fancy? Do you have ideas about fun ways to invite more friends to join us? Ideas for e-card graphics or great sayings to go with a holiday greeting are also greatly appreciated.

We’re excited to hear your ideas!

DELTA AIRLINES STATEMENT: “Delta Air Lines supports a mother’s right to breastfeed her baby onboard our aircraft. We regret the decision to remove the passenger from Flight 6160 as it was not in keeping with Delta’s high service standards, and we are coordinating with Freedom Airlines to ensure that they deliver the level of service we expect for all of our customers.”

NEXT STEPS: Right now, Delta Airlines is contemplating officially supporting the Breastfeeding Promotion Act which is currently before Congress. So please give Delta a call to thank them for taking a strong stand on behalf of breastfeeding mothers, and encourage Delta to actively support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act. Getting more signatures on the petition helps let our leaders know that citizen support is strong.

*To sign the petition (and ask friends to sign on), go to: http://www.momsrising.org/breastfeeding-petition

MomsRising is committed to making it possible for all mothers who want to breastfeed their children to be able to do so. In an effort to build a country that’s truly family-friendly, MomsRising supports policies and programs that allow mothers to make that choice—including policies like paid family leave and flexible work options.

Together we’re building a more family-friendly America. Thank you! – The MomsRising Team

I almost got kicked out of a Flower & Garden Show for nursing my son ten years ago, but that pales in comparison to actually getting kicked off an airplane–as happened recently to a mother on a Delta Airlines flight in Vermont.

Fox News quotes her as saying, “It embarrassed me. That was my first reaction, which is a weird reaction for doing something so good for a child.”

So please sign the petition, and forward the link to friends so they can sign on too: http://www.momsrising.org/breastfeeding-petition

Now let’s hear the stories!!!

Contrary to what some believe, flexible work options aren’t a utopian ideal. In fact, many companies are finding that when they stop managing by the clock, and start managing by work results, as Best Buy did, they see better employee job performance, better employee retention, and lower training and recruitment costs. It can be a win-win situation for all.

Let’s imagine together a world where we can set our own work hours, and where we have the flexibility within the work week to do things like stay home with sick children and still have the same overall work output.

Read all about it at:

http://www.momsrising.org/manifesto/chapter3

And, we opened a new forum so you can discuss these issues with others. Check out the forum here.

Join us online. Read the chapter. Tell your maternity story. Hear others’ stories. Pass it on!

Frankly, America is behind the rest of the world when it comes to helping new parents. We are one of only 4 out of 168 countries studied that doesn’t offer some type of paid leave for new moms. (We join Lesotho, Papua New Guinea, and Swaziland as countries without this type of leave). It’s time to step up to catch up.

The current absence of paid family leave has rippling consequences, particularly because childcare costs between $4,000 and $10,000 per year in our country, and we have a stagnant minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, which adds up to only $10,712 per year. The cost of childcare often exceeds pay. The end result is that a quarter of families with children under six live in poverty, and many others are struggling.

Paid family leave will help families avoid these economic crisis, and has also been shown to significantly reduce infant mortality. It’s just plain common sense policy.