Parents for Paid Leave

Gathering Stories: Did you have paid family leave?

What kind of paid leave did you get when your child came into your life?  Most of the families we know had to use a combination of sick and vacation days with additional unpaid leave to get any time off with their child.  Others have done the same to care for a sick loved one.  And those are the ones lucky enough to have sick and vacation days.  What did you have?  How did it work out?

We're gathering stories here to paint an anecdotal picture of how this issue looks for Oregon families, how we're arranging maternity and paternity leave, caring for our newborns, adopted children and other loved ones.  Each family - each birth, really - has its own unique interaction with paid leave.  But usually it's a factor, somehow.  How did it affect your choices? 

Please tell your story as a comment to this post.  They will be helpful in conveying how much our lack of paid leave is affecting our choices, our workplace productivity, and our families.

Support Paid Leave for Federal Employees

Most people think federal employees have terrific benefits.  And they are good in many respects: paid sick days?  Check.  Paid vacation days?  Check.  Health insurance?  Check.  Sounding pretty good.  But.  No paid family leave.  Hmmmm.  Not so good.  But a bill was just introduced in Congress to change that for the nation's 2.7 million feds.  Moms Rising is working on this one.  They write:

The U.S. government employs over 2.7 million people, but it's not a family-friendly employer.  Did you know that the U.S. government doesn't offer their employees any paid parental leave days after the birth or adoption of a new child?  Not one day.

Federal employees are essentially employed by each of us--after all, our taxes pay those salaries and we elect the "bosses." That means that you have the power, with your vote, to be the type of employer who supports families and a family friendly country -- and you can start working to make that happen right now by telling your Congressperson to support the Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act.   

What would the Act do? The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act (H.R. 5781) would give all federal employees 4 weeks of paid parental leave.  When we pass this bill, over 2.7 million workers in the United States will have the right to paid parental leave, and we will be setting a standard for creating truly family-friendly workplaces for the rest of the nation to follow.  Instead, it is forcing its own workers, the very civil servants we rely on, to choose between family and a paycheck.

Wanna Learn More?  The National Partnership for Women and Families has excellent general information about paid family leave, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the legislation and has a good summary on her web site.

Call-In Play Date on 6.14 at 10 am

Please help us support the new federal legislation calling for 12-weeks of paid family leave for families nationwide!  We will be hosting a "Call Your Congressperson Play Date" at Urban Grind NE on Saturday June 14th at 10 am.  If you've never called your Congressperson before, it's easy, quick, and fun. 

We'll bring the telephone numbers of Portland-area representatives, and a short script describing why we, as parents, want to support the recently proposed federal paid family leave bill (HR 5873).  All you have to do is bring your cell phone (if you have one), and leave a message for your congressperson to ask them to co-sponsor this bill.

Kids are welcome, and there is a play space to keep them busy while you make your call.   After our calls, we'd love to talk to you about what you'd like to see included in the Oregon paid family leave bill.  If you're interested, you can also find out more about joining this group. 

Cant be there? If you can't make it, we would still like our congresspeople to see a major show of support on that day, so please call from wherever you are on June 14th and ask them to co-sponsor this bill.  We'll provide the phone numbers and a basic script on this site as the event approaches. 

Thank you for your support of families.

Help Make Paid Family Leave a Reality

A few months ago a grassroots group of Portland-area parents formed the group now known as Parents for Paid Leave.  We come from a variety of backgrounds, but all of us feel that paid family leave, particularly after the birth of a child, should be accessible to all Oregon families.  Our current efforts are in response to previous legislative efforts in Oregon during the '07 session, and current federal legislation. 

New members are always welcome.  Please help us make paid family leave a local and federal priority in '09.  Email for more information.