Polling Shows Overwhelming Support for Laws That Help Families Thrive

Recent polls coordinated by SiX in states across the country show that state policies that will help families thrive are overwhelmingly popular. SiX tested support for policies that would ensure equal pay, overtime pay, paid sick leave, paid family leave and childcare funding in North Carolina, Maine, Washington, Arizona, Virginia, Maryland and Colorado. Those opposed? Wealthy special interests.

Equal Pay

Equal pay is supported by 84% of North Carolina voters, 79% in Maine and 92% in Washington. In all of these states, voters understand that wages have not kept up with the cost of living and, for women and people of color, the wage gap exacerbates that challenge.

Overtime Pay

After concerns from people in their states, several legislators are advocating laws to strengthen overtime pay for workers who work more than eight hours a day or 40 per week. Voters in North Carolina (84%), Maine (79%), Washington (92%) and Arizona (90%) strongly support these stronger laws.

Earned Paid Sick Leave

Voters in North Carolina (73%) and Maine (70%) believe workers should have access to paid sick leave.

Paid Family Leave

The federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed 26 years ago, ensuring many American workers don’t lose their job when caring for family members, including the birth or adoption of a child. Voters believe they shouldn’t lose their paychecks while they take care of themselves or their loved ones. Respondents in Maryland (83%), Virginia (84%) and Arizona (83%) support paid family leave.

Child Care Funding

More and more data shows a crisis for families trying to make ends meet and accessing child care amid rising costs. Voters understand that a strong workforce must include helping workers with child care costs. Some families must leave their jobs in order to care for their children because the cost of childcare exceeds the income of one parent. In single-parent households, this is not an option. When businesses lose workers to child care, they lose institutional memory and expertise and must deal with unnecessary turnover. Voters in North Carolina (72%), Maine (68%), and Washington (77%) support increased funding for childcare to support both families and businesses.

Healthcare

The opioid epidemic gripping our nation is of great concern for voters.  Policies that address the crisis through education and funding are strongly supported by voters in Colorado (74%), North Carolina (8.0/10), and Virginia (8.0/10).  

Voters also want state legislatures to address the rising cost of  healthcare. Across the country voters support policies like Medicaid buy-in Arizona (69%), Colorado (78%), Maine (6.89/10), Virginia (7.5/10) and North Carolina (7.4/10).

Funding Public Education

Voters view access to a world-class public education as necessary for opening doors and leveling the playing field for future generations. Voters in Maryland (72%) and North Carolina (7.7/10) support the expansion of  Pre-K programs and voters in Arizona (85%) and Maine (8.13/10) support strengthening funding for public education.


The Labor Movement is #FightingforFamilies in Every State

By: AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler

In her response to President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Stacey Abrams encapsulated the sentiment of our current times when she said, “Under the current administration, hard-working Americans are falling behind, living paycheck to paycheck, most without labor unions to protect them from even worse harm.”

The easiest and most effective way to reverse this trend is to support and expand collective bargaining. A bigger, stronger labor movement is the surefire path to higher wages, better benefits, safety at work and a voice on the job. Not to mention, the issues far too many working Americans are still fighting for—equal pay, paid family leave and protection from discrimination, to name a few—are more likely with a union card.

Nearly seven million women have a voice on the job thanks to our union membership, and collective bargaining has helped to narrow the pay gap between men and women. A typical woman in a union job makes $231 more a week and is far more likely to have health benefits and retirement security.

But we are not satisfied. Not when 87% of American workers don’t have paid family leave. Not when parents have to choose between a paycheck and welcoming a newborn into the world or caring for an elderly parent. Not when queer and trans people can still be fired for who they are in more than half of all states. And not when sexual harassment continues to corrode our workplaces and communities.

The labor movement is committed to winning justice, both through our contracts and progressive public policy, in every state across the country.

Even before #MeToo became a worldwide rallying cry, the labor movement began looking at ways to change ourselves from within. The AFL-CIO took a long hard look at our own behavior and adopted a strict anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy. We also enacted a comprehensive Code of Conduct, which is the first order of business at every single meeting and is supported by an ongoing education program to change the culture of our unions and workplaces. From movie studios and newsrooms to restaurants and hotels, organized labor has drawn a clear line in the sand.

We’ve also bargained countless union contracts, in red and blue states, over the years to support and protect LGBTQ workers, ensuring that all members have equal access to key benefits and are free from discrimination and violence on the job. For many LGBTQ Americans, a union card is their only form of protection at work.

Advancing fairness and justice benefits all working people, regardless of where we work or live. That’s why we’re #FightingforFamilies and supporting the paid family and medical leave legislation recently introduced in 20 states, from Virginia to Minnesota. Workers also advocated for policies that recently raised the minimum wage in five states, including three which are now on a path to $15 per hour.

We’re leading the charge to raise the federal minimum wage, which hasn’t been increased in almost a decade. And, we’re supporting policies that protect LGBTQ workers and pregnant women on the job.

Yet today, this simple fact remains: Forming a union is the most direct and effective way to secure equal pay, paid family leave, more flexible schedules, protection from discrimination and a seat at the table. Forming a union is the best way to fight for families.

Join us. Together, we can change the status quo for families in every state, across our country and the world.

State Legislators Commit to MeToo Policy Advances in #20Statesby2020

By Andrea Johnson, Senior Counsel for State Policy, National Women’s Law Center

When #MeToo went viral in October 2017, there was a scramble by state and federal lawmakers to meet the bravery of the survivors coming forward and enact meaningful, substantive policy reforms to stop and prevent sexual harassment. Our phones at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) rang off the hook with calls from state and federal legislators urgently trying to figure out what they could do to address sexual harassment in their communities. We spent much of 2018 flying and video streaming into states from California to Rhode Island, and Colorado to Texas, to testify in front of newly formed sexual harassment committees and task forces. In a few short months, well over 100 bills were introduced in state legislatures to toughen protections against harassment in workplaces and schools. And at least 11 states enacted legislation to strengthen transparency, accountability, and prevention measures in workplaces.

Underlying this scramble was no doubt a concern that MeToo was just a moment, not a movement. That the political will to enact long overdue reforms to our sexual harassment laws would soon die out.

But as state legislative sessions began again this year, over 300 state legislators representing 40 states and the District of Columbia came forward and loudly declared that they are committed to supporting survivors and working to address sexual harassment.

These legislators—hailing from all corners of the country and both sides of the aisle—signed a letter of commitment to strengthen protections against sexual harassment and violence at work, in schools, homes, and communities by 2020. In signing this “#20Statesby2020” initiative, they pledged to work with survivors and the communities most seriously affected by sexual violence—including women of color, immigrants, and LBGTQIA individuals—to create concrete solutions to end sexual abuse.

State legislators have been at the forefront of the policy response to MeToo and they know real change requires a sustained commitment from lawmakers to addressing the long list of needed policy reforms. They also know that last fall, voters demanded leaders who champion safety and dignity for all survivors. And now with historically high numbers of women serving in state legislatures, many with their own MeToo stories, state legislators know they must continue to push for MeToo policy reforms; they cannot wait for Congress to act.

In the first few weeks of 2019, we have already seen state legislators working to strengthen protections against sexual harassment, and in some states, all forms of harassment and discrimination in the workplace:

At a time when partisan politics seems to have reached a fever pitch, conservative and progressive legislators alike, in states from South Carolina to Oregon, have been speaking out and pushing for long overdue reforms to our anti-harassment laws, many of them motivated and united by their own MeToo stories. They also recognize that fighting for MeToo policy reforms is about #FightingForFamilies. If we are fighting for good jobs and economic security for families, we must be fighting to stop sexual harassment because it directly threatens the ability of those targeted to get and keep a good job, to succeed at work, and to care and provide for their families.

We commend those who are #FightingForFamilies in our state capitols and seeking to build a better world in the #MeToo era. We look forward to seeing the progress that 2019 brings as we strive towards #20Statesby2020.

To Achieve Economic Freedom, Young People Need Access to Reproductive Care, Including Abortion

By: Victoria Torres, 1 in 3 Campaign Activist with Advocates for Youth

Victoria Torres, 21, is 1 in 3 Campaign activist with Advocates for Youth, a national organization dedicated to uplifting policies and programs that allow young people to make the best decisions about their own reproductive and sexual health. 

As a peer wellness educator and activist for over six years, I’ve seen first-hand how financial barriers to reproductive health put families, especially low-income families, at risk.

The high school I attended offered sexual health education and contraceptives, but like many programs encouraged abstinence. The reality is that teens are having sex and young people need comprehensive sexual health programs that teach us the full range of reproductive health.

I am a first-generation Latina who comes from a low-income background. My mother is from Mexico—she came to America looking for a better life and to get away from the generational poverty she lived in. My dad is from Puerto Rico. And even though my parents are no longer together, they have always wanted more for me. Money has always been an issue, but my mother was doing all she could to make ends meet.

In my culture, talking about sex and birth control is forbidden. There’s an unspoken rule about sex – don’t have it. I had to find resources and answers to my questions on my own. And at 19 years old and a sophomore in college I became pregnant. I was sexually active and the recommended birth control for my body size cost more than $120 per month. I could not afford it and took the generic $20 option. I was also an uninsured college student because my university insurance cost more than $1,200 a year. As a struggling college student there was no way I could afford it.

When I found out I was around three months pregnant I automatically knew I did not want to be a parent. I was still in school and wanted to get my degree. I knew that abortion was something I wanted. When I sought out resources I came across Aid for Women, a crisis pregnancy center that gave me misleading medical information and basically tried to talk me out of my abortion. It was incredibly belittling and hurtful. All I wanted was an abortion and someone who knew nothing about my background tried to make me feel like I was in a crisis, which I knew I wasn’t. In that moment I needed access to healthcare, not their judgement.

I reached out to Planned Parenthood and was able to get the care I needed. There they offered a sliding scale payment process so I didn’t have to pay as much.


Now at 21 years old, I’ve had two abortions and do not regret either of them. For my second abortion, I remember a nurse came out and said, “line up if you’re here for the abortion.” She corrected herself and called out a list of numbers that were associated with a pregnant individual. I stood in line with 11 other women, all of whom identified as women of color. I felt empowered and unafraid because most of us were talking about how this wasn’t our first abortion. There’s an extra level of stigma associated with having more than one abortion but being open about the financial barriers and stigma helped me understand I was not alone.

My ability to make my own reproductive health decision on abortion was focused on costs. I knew I wanted the procedure. The question was not if I should or should not have an abortion, instead it was whether I could afford it. For many, the unforeseen costs associated with having an abortion, such as transportation, foregone wages, and childcare if needed, put many people in the tough decision of deciding whether or not to carry a pregnancy that they know they don’t want. I know that if I was unable to overcome the financial barriers of getting an abortion, I would have been stuck in the generational poverty that my mother was trying to get away from.

Reproductive and sexual freedom is at its core an economic issue, and we need to provide young people with the information and resources they need to make the best decisions about their own reproductive and sexual health.

Momentum Building toward Pay Equity: States are a Key Part of a Multi-Pronged Effort

By Kim Churches, the chief executive officer of the American Association of University Women.

We’ve been hearing the same grim story about the gender pay gap for far too long: Working women take home, on average, 20 percent less than working men—and the gap is even wider for women of color. While the median annual salary for American men working full time is $52,146, for women, it’s just $41,977.

In 2019, the fact that such an inequity still exists is nothing short of outrageous.

But I am an optimist, so I prefer to focus on the progress that’s being made to close the pay gap—and the good news is that we’re seeing a lot. Over the past few years, federal, state and local policymakers—as well as employers around the country—have taken concrete steps to help narrow the gap. And a roadmap is beginning to emerge that shows we can conquer this problem once and for all.

Some of the most exemplary work is happening in state capitols, where legislators are listening to women and their families and declaring that enough is enough. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, dozens of state legislatures proposed and enacted legislation addressing pay inequality, and in 2018 a whopping 40 states and Washington, D.C., offered legislative solutions to the gender pay gap, with six states successfully enacting new laws. These legislative solutions range from banning the use of salary history in the hiring process and ensuring that workers can discuss their salaries without the fear of retaliation, to establishing strong remedies so that employees who have been wronged can recover lost wages and employers who have violated the law are deterred from doing so again.

Such a high level of activity indicates that state officials understand that the pay gap is real and that they need to take action to close it. Already, in the early days of the 2019 state legislative sessions, over 30 states have introduced bills to combat the gender pay gap. These bills are sponsored by a diverse set of members on both sides of the aisle. If history repeats itself—and here at the American Association of University Women (AAUW) we are working hard to make this a reality—at least a handful of states will successfully pass legislation this year.

There are promising signs on other fronts, as well. Earlier this month, federal lawmakers introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, a much-needed initiative to close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and add new provisions to stop pay discrimination. Every Democrat in both the House and Senate is an original co-sponsor of the bill, and it has Republican support in the House.

We’re also seeing momentum building in the private sector. More and more employers are abandoning policies requiring pay secrecy and proactively undertaking salary audits and other initiatives shown to help narrow the gap. They’re discovering that what’s good for American families is good for their business.

At AAUW, we’re working to support all these efforts. Our research reports—including The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap and Graduating to a Pay Gap—give policymakers and advocates the crucial information they need to understand and explain this pervasive problem. Our government relations staff is assisting elected officials by creating and helping to pass strong policies. And our members around the country are working within their communities to advance change.

AAUW is also working directly with individual women to help narrow their own pay gap: Our Work Smart salary negotiation workshops have equipped thousands of women across the country with tools and resources to help them negotiate for the salary and benefits they deserve. Last fall, we introduced Work Smart Online to expand the reach of the program. With partnerships already underway in a number of states and local areas, we’re ambitiously aiming to train millions more women nationwide by 2020.

The pay gap is a long-standing and complex problem, but there’s widespread agreement that the time has come to solve it. Not only is equal pay a matter of basic fairness, it is also good for everyone: According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, closing the pay gap would cut the poverty rate for working women in half and lift 2.5 million children out of poverty. It would strengthen families and communities, lead to economic growth, and foster global competitiveness.

We know what we need to do. Thanks to exemplary leadership on a state level, we have a good idea of how we can do it. Now let’s commit together to getting it done.

While Federal Gridlock Dominates the News, State Legislators are Fighting for Families

By Jessie Ulibarri, Executive Director of the State Innovation Exchange

While many pundits and politicos have been focused on Washington this week, we at the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) are focused on the progressive legislators who are fast at work in state capitols advancing legislation to improve the lives of working families. That is why we created our #FightingForFamilies Week of Action: to highlight the work of state legislators who are taking on greedy special interests and fighting for people from all walks of life.

When it comes to education, health care, and raising incomes, the vast majority of policy change will happen on a state level.

And it is working! In New Jersey, a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 was signed by Gov. Murphy and expanded paid leave (up to 12 weeks, from six) is already on his desk. And in North Carolina a bill was introduced last Friday to expand Medicaid and provide health care for more than 600,000 people.

These are not just progressive issues! Polling conducted in nearly a dozen states shows broad bipartisan support for economic issues like lowering cost of health care, investing in education, raising wages and increasing access to paid sick days.

This week also marks the 26th anniversary since the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law, guaranteeing many American workers unpaid time off from work to care for sick family members or to welcome a child through birth or adoption. While a majority of Americans understand that job security in the face of medical challenges is one of the things critical to make life better for working people, we know this federal measure falls short of what is needed for families to thrive. Today, state legislators are leading the fight for the next step: paid family and medical leave--because no one should have to choose between caring for a loved one and their paycheck.

And it’s not just paid family leave, across the country progressive state  lawmakers are advancing a progressive agenda that that centers the needs of working families – issues like paid sick days,, equal pay, expanding overtime pay, combatting wage theft, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, increasing access to affordable housing and raising the minimum wage.

Progressive state legislators, in conjunction with SiX, are showing what responsive, transparent and accountable government should look like. For example, state lawmakers in Ohio and West Virginia hosted Facebook live town halls, in Maryland, there was a “Fight for $15” press conference and progressive legislators in Minnesota hosted a press conference focused on wage theft. Legislators in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Maine, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania are hosting tele-town halls that will connect with tens of thousands of Americans this week. In states across the country, people are being heard and lawmakers are acting on the priorities that impact families most.

Federal gridlock might dominate the news, but working families can’t wait any longer for bold action. State legislatures show that a different and more immediate path is possible. Progressive state lawmakers demonstrate daily the power of an inclusive and accessible democracy, and the world should take note.

Jessie Ulibarri is the Executive Director of the State Innovation Exchange. Before this role, he served as a Colorado State Senator, where he represented the community in which he was raised, including the trailer park where he spent his earliest years of his life. He currently lives with his family in Pennsylvania.

States Are Fighting for Families by Advancing Paid Leave, Building Momentum Toward a National Policy

By Ellen Bravo and Vicki Shabo

Ellen Bravo is a co-founder and director of Family Values @ Work, a network of broad coalitions working for—and winning—policies such as paid sick days and family leave insurance.

Vicki Shabo is vice president for workplace policies and strategies at the National Partnership for Women & Families.

When the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) reached President Bill Clinton’s desk 26 years ago today, similar laws had already passed in multiple states. The FMLA was an important first step in transforming our workplaces and culture – and it wouldn’t have succeeded without state laws laying the groundwork for progress.

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Advocates for paid family leave in New Jersey.

The FMLA has allowed millions of working people to manage their care responsibilities without risking a job or health coverage; and in 26 years it has been used more than 200 million times. Despite its popularity, it is clear: unpaid time is not enough. In fact, nearly 40 percent of the workforce is not eligible even for unpaid leave under the FMLA, and millions more simply cannot afford to take unpaid time away from their jobs. The need for paid family and medical leave will only grow as our workforce and population ages and the number of available family caregivers shrinks.

State legislators and the organizations that serve them, like the State Innovation Exchange, aren’t waiting around for federal lawmakers to address this looming crisis. Just as they led on unpaid leave, states are fighting for families again, acting as laboratories for paid family and medical leave programs. Today, paid family and medical leave laws are in place and working well in four states – California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. State and citywide paid leave programs will soon be in place in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts and Washington as well. Each program is sustained through small payroll contributions from employers, workers or both, so people can draw a wage while providing care for themselves or a loved one.

Just weeks into new legislative sessions paid leave bills have been introduced in 20 state legislatures, including Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont - all bolstered by broad and diverse coalitions.. Legislators have also filed policies in deep red states like Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

It is not surprising that lawmakers across party lines are eager to ensure working people in their states have access to paid leave given the positive outcomes the programs are yielding in states with established funds. Studies in Rhode Island and California found that the states’ paid leave programs help families care for a new child and arrange child care. Research on New Jersey’s paid leave program show that, for low-income families, mothers who use the paid leave program breastfeed longer than those who do not. These programs also help working people care for aging relatives. California’s statewide paid leave law is credited with reducing the use of nursing homes.

Businesses in states with paid leave laws benefit as well since paid time to care can have a positive impact on employee morale, increase productivity and improve employee retention, especially among workers who are paid low wages.

The state policies also provide guidance on designing policies that are more responsive to the needs of working people, especially people with jobs that pay lower-wages, communities of color and part-time workers. For example, state innovation shows that creating higher wage replacement rates for lower-wage workers; broadening the range of family members eligible to provide care to an ailing loved one; and ensuring that the jobs of part-time workers and employees of smaller companies are protected when they take leave are all essential to promoting program use, gender and racial equity and workers’ economic security.

While we celebrate state-level progress, and expect more victories in 2019, overall access to paid leave in this country remains far too rare. No matter where they live or work, everyone deserves time to care for themselves or a loved one without risking their economic security. Yet only 17 percent of all working people have paid family leave through their job and less than 40 percent have personal medical leave through an employer-provided short-term disability program. Disparities in access to paid leave between lower- and higher-wage workers are actually growing.

Working families in the United States need a national paid family and medical leave policy that covers all working people for the full range of caregiving needs reflected in the FMLA; provides a meaningful duration of leave and a substantial share of their wages; protects workers from retaliation for taking leave; and is sustainably funded without harming other essential government programs. The Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act is the only federal proposal that aligns with these criteria. Members of Congress should support the FAMILY Act to strengthen our nation’s families, businesses and the economy.

As federal lawmakers work toward paid leave for all, we urge them to look to state paid leave models, research and best practices. Every statewide law proposed, every expansion considered and every bill signed builds momentum toward a strong, comprehensive national paid family and medical leave policy.