Paid Family Leave

March 3, 2011

Just the other day, two of us were on the phone celebrating our recent victories for mothers who choose to breastfeed. We had a happy conversation about how millions of mothers recently were granted the right to clean spaces to pump milk at work and reasonable breaks to do so, and how all mothers...

MomsRising Together

Ashley Boyd

Paid Family Leave

February 25, 2011

There are some mysteries so dark, so staggeringly enigmatic, that the brain simply shuts down when forced to ponder them. Take, for example, the fact that we in the allegedly pro-family United States have almost no paid parental leave and very little open flexible work . As is so often pointed out...

MomsRising Together

Smith Jeremy Adam

Paid Family Leave Health Care Open Flexible Work

February 24, 2011

By Galen Sherwin, Staff Attorney, ACLU Women's Rights Project Returning to work after having a new baby can pose real barriers for women who are breastfeeding. Consider the following real-life examples: When one employee returned from maternity leave, her employer criticized her for needing to...

MomsRising Together

Roger Baldwin

Paid Family Leave Health Care

February 23, 2011

Millions of US workers – including parents of infants – are harmed by weak or nonexistent laws on paid leave, breastfeeding accommodation, and discrimination against workers with family responsibilities, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Workers face grave health, financial, and...

MomsRising Together

Janet Walsh

Paid Family Leave

February 16, 2011

From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org Valentine's Day ushers in the most unromantic topic of the federal budget this year, and President Obama's proposed spending plan has now been unveiled. Much wrangling and intense debate is...

MomsRising Together

Valerie Young

Paid Family Leave Health Care

February 7, 2011

When I was pregnant with my first baby, I spent a fair amount of time daydreaming about what maternity leave would be like: Leisurely walks in the park, spending time gardening in the back yard while my baby slept peacefully in her bouncy seat, restful hours spent cuddling a smiling gurgling cooing...

MomsRising Together

Ruth Martin

Paid Family Leave Open Flexible Work

February 5, 2011

Cross-posted at the National Partnership for Women & Families . 18 years. That’s how long the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has been in place. It was the first bill President Clinton signed into law and it remains one of the proudest accomplishments of his presidency. The FMLA is...

MomsRising Together

Portia Wu

Paid Family Leave

February 3, 2011

The good news: Since California unions and community organizations helped pass Paid Family Leave legislation in 2002, over one million people have used the program, which provides up to six weeks of partial wage replacement for workers who take time off to bond with a new child or care for a...

MomsRising Together

Jenya Cassidy

Paid Family Leave Open Flexible Work Health Care

February 2, 2011

By Portia Wu, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families , and Megan Renner, executive director of the United States Breastfeeding Committee . Every year roughly four million women give birth in the United States, and most of them (more than three-quarters) start out...

MomsRising Together

Portia Wu

Paid Family Leave

February 2, 2011

Outrageous and unacceptable! As early as this week legislators in Madison are poised to strip benefits from the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (WIFMLA) and turn back the clock to a less family-friendly time. This would mean that among other things, many part time workers would no longer be...

MomsRising Together

Ruth Martin