What Children Need fromTheir Parents’ Employers

Ellen BravoMulti-State Working Families Consortium

Presentation for BUILD ConferenceNovember 16, 2006

Being a Good Family Member Can Cost You Your Job

Not enough time to care: children suffer

Affects many, but especially low-wage

Time to Care More than balance:

basics More than stress: crisis Race as well as class Consequences for kids Affects women most,

but low-wage men, too.

Background: 1978 Pregnancy

Discrimination Act: can’t fire women for

being pregnant – but you don’t have to hold their jobs.

pregnancy like other temporary disabilities – but most women work for firms with no short-term disability plans.

Problems with FMLA

Nearly half the private sector workforce isn’t covered

Doesn’t cover siblings, same-sex partners

Doesn’t cover routine illness

It’s unpaid.

Background: Sick Days Half the workforce –

and ¾ of low-wage workers - have no paid sick days.

Many who do can’t use them to care for sick family members.

Background: 1996 “Welfare as we know it” is

ended -- by those who’ve never known it.

What low-wage women used for family leave

TANF is modeled on low-wage jobs – which forced many onto welfare.

Cut rolls, not poverty

Attitudes, Assumptions ‘Aha’ moments in

Across the Boundaries study of low-wage workers:

“Do you have any idea what my life is like?”

Institutional Policies and Practices

Lack of Policies“If the kids are sick, there’s no

place for them to go. The child care center called and said I had to get my daughter. I was fired.”

-DeNice, rural county outside Eau Claire, WI

Problem Policies Cont’d

Lack of Flexibility:

Not allowed to make up time Rigid use of personal days

At the fringes:

Even “best list” companies fall short

Policies for managers only (e.g., lactation)

Depends on manager discretion

Problem Practices Cont’d “Objective” requirements affecting

women differently Example: no tolerance for lateness

Based on stereotyped view of “ideal worker” as someone with car, phone, back-up

Reality for Low-Wage Workers

“I had 4 jobs - I drove a school bus, delivered newspapers, worked with the Girl Scouts, and sold Tupperware. None of the jobs had benefits.

I had to make hard choices about supporting my kids instead of spending time with them. When my toddler was sick, I took her with me on the bus.”

- Julia, Milwaukee

Affects Men As Well Low-wage men,

especially men of color, have least flexible jobs

Many more would be good fathers if not punished at work

Impact on Parents – and Kids

Work can’t pay if it doesn’t last – and it can’t last if it jeopardizes kids.

Cost of starting over.

Impact on Children Lack of bonding time for

infants Kids go to day care

sick. Kids send themselves

to school sick. Health and learning

problems become disabilities.

What’s at Stake for Low-Wage Workers

High cost of being poor Ability to keep a job,

build assets Well-being of children

and families – job churning contributes to highest child poverty rate in industrialized world

Guarantee for All Some smart

employers will do this on their own.

Not all – like asking 2-year-olds to determine when they need a time out.

Solutions: Public Policy Changes

Family Flexibility Make leave more

accessible Make leave more

affordable Guarantee paid sick days Keep consideration for

chronic conditions Expand definition of

family

Multi-State Working Families ConsortiumEight state coalitions: California,

Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Washington and Wisconsin

Collaborating for more effective action, raise public awareness.

Where We Are Now: Opportunities Reframe the Debate

Values: caring, responsibility, opportunity

Who really values families

Put kids in the center rather than the fringes.

Making Progress in the States

Winning forms of paid leave

expanding TDI to include family leave:

California New Jersey New York

creating new form of social insurance:

Washington Massachusetts

Making Progress in the States

Making progress on guaranteeing protection:

Sick days:

San Francisco, Madison Massachusetts All of us

Family Care: Maine

FMLA for school/day care activities:

Georgia Wisconsin

Increased Collaboration

Connecting the dots:

Labor . Women . Children’s groups . Progressive employers . Family physicians . Faith-based . Disabilities groups . Chronic disease . Alzheimers Associations . AIDS groups . Mental health organizations . PTAs . Principals . School boards . Social workers . Cities/counties groups . Citizen Action . Welfare rights/anti-poverty groups . Aging groups . Foster children . Work-family researchers . Legal groups . Parents of adult disabled . Adoption groups . Immigrant advocates . Groups in communities of color . Human Rights groups . Non-profit associations . Insurers . Women’s business associations . AAUW . YWCA . Planned Parenthood . MomsRising

Lay the groundwork for policy change.

Redefining issues – linking what happens to kids, families with what happens to parents at work.

New Opportunities