Washington Work and Family Coalition

Grandparents are the glue that hold many families together

In honor of Grandparents Day on September 12, the National Partnership for Women and Families has released a new fact sheet to remind us of the impact grandparents can have in the lives of working families.

Grandparents are often relied on as critical support systems to families with both parents in the workforce — to be the babysitters, shuttle to school, or stand-in nurse when a child is sick. But not all grandparents are able to provide care — and some are ailing themselves — putting the economic security of working families at risk when a child or aging parent needs care.

There is no federal law guaranteeing workers job-protected leave when they need to take time off to care for an ailing parent or child. In Washington state the Family Care Act allows workers to use sick leave to care or an ill child or ailing parent, but for the thousands of Washington workers without paid sick leave and their parents, this legislation provides no relief.

This fact sheet makes four recommendations for honoring our nation’s grandparents, and fighting for workplace policies that will strengthen the economic security of all working families.

Read the fact sheet »

U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce offers support for paid sick days

The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce has just posted a fact sheet, “How Women-Owned Businesses Can Support Paid Sick Days“, expressing support for federal action to guarantee a minimum standard of paid sick days.

The USWCC statement from Margot Dorfman, CEO:

“The U.S.Women’s Chamber of Commerce supports a minimum standard for paid sick days. Healthy businesses need healthy workers, which is precisely what paid sick days accomplish. Women-run businesses are on the forefront by typically offering such benefits because they understand the needs of working women and their families. Paid sick days are an investment in our families, our workforce, and our health that we cannot afford to do without.” — Margot Dorfman, CEO, Women’s Chamber of Commerce

Find the post here.

Imagining A World With Paid Sick Days

By Linda Meric, from njtoday.net

There are many areas of life in this country where it appears that we live in two worlds. And that’s no different when we consider paid sick days. In the first world, if you’re sick, you stay home from work, take care of yourself, and have the time to get better.

In the second world, if you’re sick, you go to work anyway. In the second world, you go to work, even when your child is sick. You know that if you stay home, you’ll lose pay – or maybe even your job.

As we approach Women’s Equality Day on August 26, the day that marks the 90th anniversary of women’s right to vote, it’s troubling that so many of the workers who live in the second world are women.

The U.S. is one of only four industrialized nations that do not offer a national standard of paid sick days. It just isn’t right. I wonder what the suffragettes, who worked so hard and so long to win women’s right to vote, would say about the lack of this basic workplace standard.