Sure, flowers, greeting cards, and chocolates are all nice gifts . But what do mothers really need?
Let’s start with paid family and medical leave. The U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that do not guarantee paid maternity leave – and to make matters worse, millions of mothers can’t earn even a single paid sick day to use when they get sick or a child has the flu.
How about workplace policies that belong in the 21st century, instead of a Mad Men era? Or policies that would bring our nation’s laws in line with the rest of the world?
That’s why AAUW supports the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act), which would create a national insurance program funded by employee and employer contributions. The FAMILY Act would provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for situations such as their own serious illness, the serious illness of a child, parent or spouse (including a domestic partner), and the birth or adoption of a child.
Urge Congress to support the FAMILY Act. Send your message today to start the drumbeat of #WhatMothersNeed!
Across the country, people are working hard to make ends meet and provide for their families, yet our nation fails to provide the support people need to manage job and family – and the support businesses need to maintain healthy and productive workplaces. The FAMILY Act would strengthen the economic security of working people, their families, and businesses – and when individuals, families, and businesses are secure, our economy as a whole benefits.
The program created by the FAMILY Act would be funded by employee and employer contributions that would amount to less than $1.50 per week for the average worker, or two cents for every $10 of an employee’s salary.
What does that mean for real people, like AAUW member Stephanie Hnatiw? It means Stephanie could take paid time off to care for her adult daughter in a wheelchair who struggles with cluster seizures, instead of using her vacation days or having her husband use his unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). “The Family and Medical Leave Act was very important to my family, and the FAMILY Act will make it even better for families,” Stephanie says. “I want future generations of women and their families to have it better than I had it.”
So, for all of the moms you know who struggle without basic family friendly workplace policies – we appreciate your sacrifice, but it shouldn’t have to be so hard! Stand with working families today by urging your members of Congress to support the FAMILY Act.
It’s #WhatMothersNeed – it’s that simple.
Commissioner’s Message
Be a Seed for Change 
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