Washington Work and Family Coalition

Sweet Victories: Lessons for 2012

From The Nation | By Katrina vanden Heuvel:

As we head into 2012, there are a lot of questions about where the Occupy energy will go from here. I’m confident it will move in powerful directions–fighting unjust foreclosures and evictions, exploring alternative banking, taking on outrageous student debt, countering the corrosive role of corporate money in politics, and allying in new ways with the growing ranks of poor Americans.

But there are also tangible—maybe not sexy or systemic—reforms that make a real difference in people’s lives and speak to OWS principles, and would benefit from its energy and activism. In 2011, two victories on paid sick leave offer something to build on as we work towards an economy that is more just and fair. Connecticut became the first state to guarantee this common sense protection for working people; and Seattle joined San Francisco and Washington, DC as the only cities with paid sick leave on the books.

As of New Year’s Day, hundreds of thousands of workers in Connecticut no longer have to choose between a paycheck, a job and taking care of a sick child or themselves; and on September 1, when the Seattle law takes effect, an estimated 150,000 workers who didn’t have paid sick days will begin to accrue them—thousands more will earn additional paid sick leave and have the flexibility and protection to actually use it. With more than 40 million workers in the US lacking a single paid sick day—and low-wage, women and Latino workers disproportionately affected—these new laws will also offer more evidence that this humane, decent approach to the workplace is also good for business. That’s important as more states and municipalities look to pass similar legislation.

What makes me angry is that paid sick leave is treated as a left versus right issue, when it’ s really about right versus wrong, and common sense. That was something organizers seized on as they pushed the Seattle bill.

Continue reading “Sweet Victories: Lessons for 2012”

Connecticut Workers Welcome Paid Sick Days

From the Huffington Post | By Ellen Bravo:

This time last year, Desiree Rosado, a school bus driver in Groton, Connecticut, was dreading flu season. “Working without paid sick days, you’re always worried about what will happen if you get sick,” she said. “When my kids caught the swine flu, I missed a week of pay to stay home and take care of them, and I’m still paying off the credit card bills I racked up.”

But as of January 1, Desiree and hundreds of thousands of other Connecticut workers will begin to earn paid sick time under a new statewide paid sick days law — the first in the nation. She’ll be able to use that time if her kids are sick, if she herself falls ill, or to see a doctor for preventive care. In the process, Desiree says she’s gained “real peace of mind.”

For Desiree and workers across Connecticut, paid sick days are one immediate way to see real economic relief, even in the aftermath of a severe recession.

As someone who drives children safely back and forth to school every day, Desiree Rosado knows another benefit of paid sick days. The new Connecticut law, which applies to workers in the service sector, means those who serve our food and care for the young and the frail will not have to put the public at risk when they’re ill.

“No one should have to choose between their family’s health and their job, and no one should get fired just for getting sick,” said Jon Green, Executive Director of Connecticut Working Families, a member group of Family Values @ Work Consortium and lead organization in the broad coalition which helped win this new law. “Beginning this year, hundreds of thousands of service workers will be able to earn paid sick days that so many of us simply take for granted. This is an important but modest step towards a smarter, healthier Connecticut.”

National Science Foundation grant-making supports healthy families – other federal agencies should follow suit

Cross-posted from the Economic Opportunity Institute:

Work-life standards like Seattle’s new paid sick days law aren’t the only way public institutions can support strong, healthy families. Grant-making agencies can also have a significant influence. Take, for example, the new standards recently released by the National Science Foundation (NSF):

Internal changes to a government agency’s home-and-work policy don’t normally warrant a White House rollout and an accompanying Washington Post op-ed. But when the National Science Foundation unveiled plans this week to instill comprehensive support for work-family balance throughout the foundation and its grant work, it was a big step toward redressing the gender gap in U.S. science and engineering.

The new policy isn’t geared exclusively toward women, although they will be its most practical beneficiaries. Researchers will be able to extend or delay research grants to have a baby or adopt a child. They will be able to take time off to care for elderly family members without worrying about losing grant money, research projects or (hopefully) career status. The NSF will even provide funding for research technicians to carry on their work while a parent temporarily leaves the lab.

And because the foundation, with its $6.8 billion annual budget, funds about 20 percent of all federally supported basic research at universities around the country, this new mandate will reach far beyond Washington. (via Miller-McCune)

The new grant-making standards from the NSF are a promising start. Now, imagine the ripple effects if other federal grant-making agencies – like the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and Agriculture – adopted similar standards for their grant recipients, encouraging sensible work-family policies that promote strong families and keep people healthy? Congress doesn’t like it’s moving on federal paid family leave or paid sick leave legislation any time soon, but grant-making standards developed within agency departments are a promising interim step.

Here in Washington State, the University of Washington ranked second in the nation (out of 1216 academic institutions) in total federal science and engineering funding in 2007, according to the NSF. Other Washington schools receiving such funding include: Western Washington University (322); Central Washington University (399); Eastern Washington University (747); and Evergreen State College (934).