LET MOMS BE MOMS!

 
THIS WEEK- HONOR WORKING MOTHERS BY SUPPORTING LEGISLATION
ALLOWING THEM TO CARE FOR THEIR LOVED ONES WHEN THEY NEED THEM
 
The Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 [HR 5873] has been recently introduced in the House of Representatives.  If this bill passes, it would provide paid family leave for workers that must take time off to take care of an illness, care for a sick family member, a newborn child, or deal with the demands imposed on them by the deployment of a member of the military.
 
Family Leave Insurance bills are already in place in New Jersey and Washington, and similar initiatives are also being pushed throughout many states in the nation.
 
Join LCLAA and MomsRising.org in our efforts
to raise national awareness on this issue 

  • Take a minute of your time to take Action
  • If you care about this issue it is important that you make your voice heard
  • By clicking on the Take Action Icon below this message, you will be able to CONTACT your Congressperson and ask them to support working families by becoming a co-sponsor of the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 (HR 5873)
  • You may edit the letter to be sent to your Congressperson and add your own comments stating why paid family leave is important to you and your family.

 

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Please Support the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

In honor of Mother's Day, I urge you to co-sponsor the recently introduced Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 (HR5873).

If passed, the Family Leave Insurance Act would provide all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period to care for a new child, provide for an ill family member, treat their own illness, or deal with an exigency caused by the deployment of a member of the military.

A Harvard/McGill University study of over 170 countries found that only four don't have some form of paid leave for new moms. The four are the United States, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and Liberia. As one of the most developed nations in the world, this is shameful!

Paid family leave has been shown to drop infant mortality by as much as 25%; and has been shown to help narrow the wage penalties mothers face. These are tremendous benefits for our society that can come from Family Leave Insurance.

Family friendly policies are beneficial to employers as they enjoy increased recruitment, productivity and retention rates as employees appreciate a working situation that allows them to balance both work and family responsibilities.

In the face of the current economic downturn impacting working families nationwide, workers cannot afford to take unpaid leave to care for themselves or their loved ones.

I urge you to help make the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 possible for working families.

Please consider co-sponsoring the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008. The working people of America, mothers and fathers alike, the members of LCLAA and MomsRising.org, are counting on you to help us pass this crucial policy in this Congress.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 07, 2008


Background Information

  • The ability to work without the fear of losing one's job or  for tending to family responsibilities.
  • Public health and safety as paid Family Leave will allow caretakers to tend to the health needs of their children and loved ones by facilitating access to preventive care and avoiding more serious health problems that can be contagious.  We can have healthy workers in our workplaces and health children in our schools.
  • A reduction in absenteeism and an increase in productivity as healthy workers with healthy families will not miss work and produce more.