I just took action with MomsRising to send a quick email to my state legislators urging them to move quickly to pass the Family Medical Leave Insurance bill. I knew you'd want to take action too!

Click here to send an email:

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/WA_FMLI_hurdle/?source=taf

And see below to read more about the bill.

Thanks!

=========== Forwarded message ===========

Dear Friend

Help us make sure that HB 1457 - the Family Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI) bill - gets across the finish line in Olympia this legislative session! [1]

Click here to send a note to your state legislators urging them to act quickly to support HB 1457 - the FMLI bill - and move it to the House floor for a vote!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/WA_FMLI_hurdle/?source=taf

Together we’ve made some great progress on HB 1457 - the FMLI bill - this session. We’ve had several MomsRising members testify about the need for FMLI, we delivered stuffed storks and story books about FMLI to legislators and we’ve sent hundreds of emails in support of this common sense, family-friendly policy. Thanks to all of your work, we got the bill passed out of the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee.

Now we’ve got to get across the next hurdle – out of committees and headed to the House floor for a vote – by the end of the week!

Urge your legislators to act quickly to support FMLI and schedule it for a full House vote!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/WA_FMLI_hurdle/?source=taf

Why is FMLI so important?

Paid family leave gives kids a healthier start. It gives families the economic security they need to stay out of poverty at a critical time. It can even benefit businesses’ bottom line. This saves everyone--from parents to taxpayers to businesses--money in the long-run.

That's right. Studies show that paid family leave after the birth of a child combats poverty, gives children a healthy start, lowers infant mortality by more than 20% [2] and helps lower the wage gap between women and men. [3]

Yet, in the United States, only 49% of mothers are able to cobble together paid leave following childbirth by using sick days, vacation days, disability leave, and maternity leave. And 51% of new mothers lack any paid leave -- so some take unpaid leave, some quit, some even lose their jobs just when they need them most. [4] No wonder having a baby is a leading cause of "poverty spells" in our nation!

In addition, a number of studies have shown that maternity leave has a positive impact on how long women breastfeed and thus on the long-term health of the child and mother. This is important because major medical authorities recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for their first six months because of significant health benefits for both mother and child. Despite the government's Healthy People 2010 breastfeeding goals, only 13.6% of U.S. infants are exclusively breastfeeding and only 43% are breastfeeding at all at six months of age. [5] Recently the U.S. Surgeon General called paid family leave policies important for families and babies’ health – linking the ability of new moms to take paid leave to increased rates of breastfeeding. [6]

Paid family leave isn’t just good for families – it also benefits employers. A recent study of the California Paid Leave program showed that most employers found that the Paid Family Leave had a positive effect on productivity, profitability/performance, turnover and employee morale. [7] In addition, paid family leave helps level the playing field for many small businesses which wouldn't normally be able to afford leave since the majority of legislative proposals for paid family are paid for by small employee paycheck deductions and NOT by businesses. It's a win-win.

But while 177 other countries have some form of paid leave for new moms after the birth of a child, the U.S. isn't one of them, an omission that sets up our families for failure. [8]

*Send a quick note – right now – to your state legislators and urge them to bring the FMLI bill forward for a full House Vote!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/WA_FMLI_hurdle/?source=taf

*And please forward this email to at least three friends in Washington State who you think might take action too.

Together we’re a more powerful voice for women and families.

-Kristin, Ruth, Sarah, and the while MomsRising team

P.S. Can you take a moment to share your experiences with family leave (or your experiences with a lack of family leave)? What did you--or your friends or family members--do when a new child arrived? http://www.momsrising.org/submit/mrstory/paid-family-leave?source=taf



[1] WA House Bill 1457: Implementing Family and Medical Leave Insurance

[2] Sakiko Tanaka, “Parental Leave and Child Health Across OECD Countries,” Economic Journal 115, no. 501 (2005)

[3] Waldfogel, Jane “Understanding the 'Family Gap' in Pay for Women with Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives 12, no. 1 (1998), 137-156

[4] Bureau of Labor Statistics Press Release: Employment Characteristics of Families 2009, May 2010

[5] Centers for Disease Control, Breastfeeding Report Card—United States 2010

[6] Department of Health and Human Services Press Release, “Everyone Can Help Make Breastfeeding Easier, Surgeon General Says in “Call to Action””, Jan. 20, 2011

[7] Applebaum, Eileen and Ruth Milkman “Leaves that Pay: Employer and Worker Experiences with Paid Family Leave in California” January 2011

[8] Raising the Global Floor