Email I get from the ACLU

Support Working Families!

Dear William,


What happens when you need time off to care for an ailing parent?

What do you do if you're pregnant, but you don't get paid maternity leave?


These are dilemmas that New Yorkers confront each day. Juggling work responsibilities and family commitments is part of modern life. But health issues should not force New Yorkers to choose between their paycheck and caring for their families.

That's why we need a comprehensive paid family leave law. Email your Senator today!

Paid family leave would provide a weekly benefit to help an employee care for a new child or a seriously ill family member. This benefit would cost employers nothing, and would cost workers only pennies a week.

Paid family leave will help all working families in New York. But women, who often work full time and shoulder the responsibility of caring for children and ailing relatives, are disproportionately impacted by policies that do not provide paid leave. Paid family leave will help New York women better juggle work, family and financial responsibilities, and will further the goal of true equality in the workplace.

Paid family leave will help employees care for their families without risking the paycheck they rely on, and without creating new burdens on employers.

Time is running out in the legislative session. Please e-mail your Senator today.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your State Senator (if you live in New York)

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Senator, please support paid family leave

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to urge you to support comprehensive paid family leave legislation that will prevent families from having to choose between family responsibilities and financial solvency. The Assembly Speaker has introduced legislation, A.9245, that provides the best coverage. Now the Senate should do the same, and make paid family leave a reality in New York State.

Paid family leave would cost worker just pennies a week, and will create no new administrative requirements or financial burdens on employers.

Paid family leave would make New York a national leader in supporting working families. It would also further the important goals of equality by easing financial burdens that constrain women's choices.

Please support a bill modeled after Speaker Silver's comprehensive paid family leave bill, so New Yorkers will no longer have to choose between their paycheck and caring for their families.


Sincerely,

William Ashton

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What's At Stake:

Too many New Yorkers are forced to decide between their paycheck and caring for their families.

For families today, it is common for both parents to work outside the home, or for the household to be headed by a single parent. Older family members are also living longer, and need more care in the later part of their lives.

Yet there is still no requirement that employers offer paid leave to enable working families to care for new babies or sick family members. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees unpaid leave for family health care issues. But most people cannot afford to forego pay, even in medical emergencies. Studies of workers who did not take allowed time off show that 77 percent said it was because they could not afford to miss a paycheck.

All New Yorkers will benefit from this legislation. But it is especially critical for women, who are often the primary caregivers for their families. Paid family leave furthers the goals of gender equality by reducing the financial burdens associated with caring for a new baby or sick family member. In supporting women’s choices, it also furthers the cause of reproductive freedom.

How paid family leave would work:

It simply amends the existing Worker’s Compensation Program, by extending benefits already available for temporary disability.
It is covered by insurance and paid for by employees themselves through small payroll deductions – so it does not increase payroll costs.
Benefits of $170 per week for up to 12 weeks will cost workers just pennies a week, or just more than $23 a year for each worker.

Campaign Expiration Date:
June 23, 2008