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paid leave
The US Childcare Crisis Is Finally an Election Issue
As one of the only industrialized countries in the world without national paid leave, the United States forces moms in particular to choose between continuing to work or raising our children.
Sep 30, 2024
Every mother in America knows this struggle well: How do you afford to raise a child?
My daughter was born almost 14 years ago, and my family is still financially recovering from the struggle of supporting a newborn. And we’re not alone—American families are spending a greater and greater portion of their income on childcare.
According to the nonprofit Child Care Aware, the average cost of childcare in the U.S. is now more than $10,000 per year—and even higher for infants and toddlers. And the problem is only getting worse. It’s no wonder so many women are choosing not to have children because they say they can’t afford them.
I’ve come to understand my experience as a failure of our elected leaders to provide basic needs like affordable, accessible childcare and paid family and medical leave.
Right before I found out I was pregnant, I was let go from my job and lost my benefits and stable income.
Once my daughter was born, instead of enjoying every moment of being new parents, my partner and I were stressed about our financial situation. I didn’t have a job to go back to, and even if I did, we wouldn’t have been able to afford childcare.
I remember tirelessly googling childcare providers in the area and becoming exasperated at the costs. There was no way that we could afford to pay $300-plus a week just for daycare—we wouldn’t be able to cover our basic living expenses.
The situation became a Catch-22: If I didn’t work, it would be impossible to balance our bills and afford the essentials to raise a child. But if I did, we wouldn’t be able to afford those things anyway, because all the money would be going to daycare.
This is why so many mothers like me are driven out of the workforce. As one of the only industrialized countries in the world without national paid leave, the United States forces moms in particular to choose between continuing to work or raising our children.
The fortunate mothers who do have access to a paid leave program are significantly less likely to quit their jobs and more likely to work for the same employer after the birth of their first child. That’s not just good for mothers—that’s good for employers and our economy as a whole.
As I think back to those days, I remember always feeling sad, not realizing that like 10-15% of new mothers I was likely dealing with postpartum depression. That feeling was only compounded by isolation and the stress of financial insecurity.
Paid leave can help address those mental stressors. According to one study, women who took longer than 12 weeks maternity leave reported fewer depressive symptoms, a reduction in severe depression, and an improvement in their overall mental health. I know I would’ve benefited greatly from knowing that I could take the time to care for my child without worrying about winding up in dire financial straits.
Having a child should be a joyful event, not a deeply stressful one. I’ve come to understand my experience as a failure of our elected leaders to provide basic needs like affordable, accessible childcare and paid family and medical leave.
I’m glad that unlike elections in the past, this crisis has become a major issue. I hope to see a day when no mother has to go through what I did.
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Report Shows How Lawmakers in GOP-Dominated South Harm Workers
"It will be important for Southerners from all backgrounds," one expert wrote, "to stand together and build the coalitions needed to demand policymakers create a new economic development model."
Jul 18, 2024
"For at least the last 40 years, pay and job quality for workers across the South has been inferior compared to other regions—thanks to the racist and anti-worker Southern economic development model."
That's according to a Thursday report by Chandra Childers, a senior policy and economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The new publication is part of her "Rooted in Racism and Economic Exploitation" series.
Previous documents in the series have discussed how "Southern politicians claim that 'business-friendly' policies lead to an abundance of jobs and economic prosperity" but in reality, their failed model is designed "to extract the labor of Black and brown Southerners as cheaply as possible" and has resulted in "economic underperformance."
"Because of the political opposition to unions, when workers try to organize, employers know that they can illegally intimidate them, refuse to recognize the union, or negotiate a contract in bad faith."
Thursday's report dives into various elements of the Southern economic development model, which "is characterized by low wages, limited regulations on businesses, a regressive tax system, subsidies that funnel tax dollars to the wealthy and corporations, a weak safety net, and staunchly anti-union policies and practices."
Childers uses a U.S. Census Bureau definition of the South, which includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
The EPI report highlights that "Southern states have lower median wages than other regions," "low-wage workers make up a larger share of the workforce across the South," and "every state that lacks a state minimum wage" is in the region.
The publication also points out the decline of coverage from employer-provided health insurance and pensions in the South, as well as how workers there "have less access to paid leave than their peers in other regions" and "Southern state lawmakers have also disempowered local communities."
"Across the South, most states have passed so-called right-to-work laws, with the exceptions of Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia," Childers detailed. "Right-to-work laws do not, in any way, guarantee workers will have access to a job if they want one. They simply make it harder for unions to be financially sustainable."
"In addition to right-to-work laws and the overall opposition from political leaders across the region, workers seeking to organize a union typically face intense opposition from employers," she continued. "Further, because of the political opposition to unions, when workers try to organize, employers know that they can illegally intimidate them, refuse to recognize the union, or negotiate a contract in bad faith—with little to no fear of being held accountable by political leaders."
While "there are city and county officials who support higher minimum wages and access to pensions and paid leave for workers" in the South, she explained, their ability to take action is limited by preemption, which "is when state policymakers either block a local ordinance or dismantle an existing ordinance" intended to help the working class.
Childers' report doesn't explicitly point fingers at particular political parties, but the region has been largely dominated by Republican officials during the past four decades covered by the analysis.
While the Republican presidential campaign of former President Donald Trump is clearly making a play for working-class voters by selecting Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as the vice presidential candidate and inviting International Brotherhood of Teamsters general president Sean O'Brien to speak at this week's convention—provoking criticism from progressive politicians and labor leaders—Southern GOP leaders continue to display disdain toward efforts to organize workers.
As Volkswagen employees in Tennessee began voting on whether to join the United Auto Workers in April, six Southern GOP governors put out a joint statement saying they were "highly concerned about the unionization campaign driven by misinformation and scare tactics that the UAW has brought into our states."
EPI said at the time that the governors' anti-union statement "clearly shows how scared they are that workers organizing with UAW to improve jobs and wages will upend the highly unequal, failed anti-worker economic development model of Southern states."
The Chattanooga vote was a success, but the following month organizers faced a tough loss at a pair of Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama, where the UAW is now seeking a new election. Meanwhile, regional GOP policymakers have ramped up attacks on unions, advancing legislation that makes organizing harder.
"To begin to work toward changing the Southern economic development model," Childers argued, "it will be important for Southerners from all backgrounds—across race, ethnicity, gender, immigrant statuses, and income levels—to stand together and build the coalitions needed to demand policymakers create a new economic development model."
The expert urged people across the South to fight for a model that includes a living wage, guaranteed health insurance, pensions, and paid leave.
"Finally, and perhaps most important, workers must be able to come together in a union to demand fair wages and benefits, a safe working environment, and the ability to have a say about their workplace—even when politicians are intransigent," she stressed. "This is a model that would serve the interests of all Southerners."
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Sanders, House Dems Propose Guaranteed 'Paid Time Off for All'
"Americans who put in an honest day's work deserve to take time off," said Rep. Seth Magaziner. "This is a matter of fairness and respect in the workplace."
Mar 20, 2024
With nearly 27 million American workers lacking any annual paid leave days, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday said Congress must "end the international embarrassment" of being the only wealthy country in the world that doesn't ensure people can take time off from work without risking their livelihoods.
The Vermont Independent senator plans to introduce a companion bill to the Protected Time Off (PTO) Act, which was unveiled by U.S. Reps. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas).
"Americans who put in an honest day's work deserve to take time off, and I'm proud to introduce the PTO Act to make this a reality for all," said Magaziner. "This is a matter of fairness and respect in the workplace."
Under the PTO Act, employees who work full time would earn at least two weeks of paid annual leave per year, which they could use for any reason with no loss in pay. Workers would be protected from discrimination for exercising their right to take annual time off. Paid vacation time would be guaranteed in addition to paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave.
"The United States is the richest country in the history of the world—and yet, we fall behind nearly every other developed nation in terms of worker benefits and paid time off. For the millions of American workers, including the vast majority of hourly workers, a day off to care for a sick child or attend a friend's wedding means missing a day's pay—forcing workers to choose between their family, friends, or their own health and well-being, and financial stability," said Crockett. "The PTO Act sets a standard for all employers to adhere to, allowing all workers a set number of PTO days per year and bringing American labor policy closer to that of most of the developed world."
The lawmakers noted that workers in the European Union are guaranteed a minimum of 20 paid vacation days per year, with some countries requiring as many as 25 to 30 days off annually.
Forty-three members of Congress have signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation, and labor advocacy groups and unions including the Economic Policy Institute, the National Employment Law Project, and the AFL-CIO have endorsed the PTO Act.
"We're coming out of the gate with a lot of momentum," said Magaziner. "We're going to keep fighting to get this bill passed and signed into law because Americans work hard and everyone deserves to take a break every once in a while."
Susan Valentine, political director for the hospitality industry union UNITE HERE, said paid time off must no longer be treated as "a perk or a bonus" in the United States.
"It is a fundamental right that every worker deserves," said Valentine. "But too often, workers in the service and hospitality industries don't have access to PTO—perpetuating inequality and reinforcing a system that values profit over people. We must strive for a future where all workers have the opportunity to take off without sacrificing their financial security."
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