Paid Leave Has Given New Yorkers Financial Stability and Peace of Mind, but Too Many in America Are Still Struggling Without It
Dispatches from the Paid Leave for All Bus Tour: New York, New York
Blog Post
Paid Leave for All Campaign
Aug. 4, 2021
From August 2-13, 2021, Paid Leave for All will be rolling through 14 stops in 10 states to share and hear stories from workers and businesses, to celebrate state successes, and to amplify the need for paid family and medical leave for all working people and families in the United States. Read more about the 2021 Paid Leave For All Bus Tour here.
New York, NY, Aug. 3 — Today Paid Leave For All brought their cross-country bus tour to Marcus Garvey Park in Manhattan, where I was proud to join an incredible roster of speakers for the New York City leg of the tour. We highlighted the success of New York’s paid family and medical leave program, which A Better Balance played a leading role in passing, calling for a federal paid leave policy that allows all Americans to take time off work to care for themselves and their loved ones.
Other speakers on the New York City leg of the bus tour included the city’s First Lady Chirlane McCray who spoke passionately about the need for a federal paid family leave program, Tina Tchen, head of Time’s Up, Rubi Jones, a small business owner who is fighting for paid leave for all those in the beauty industry and Amber Tamblyn, an actress who has been vocal on the need for paid leave. Dawn Huckelbridge, campaign director of Paid Leave for All emceed the program setting the theme: the time is now to pass paid leave for all workers in our country.
We at A Better Balance have seen how successful New York’s paid leave law has been, and it was an honor to amplify the stories of working parents like Samantha and Amir, New Yorkers who understand firsthand the impact of this crucial legislation.
Samantha works in a grocery store on Long Island and needed to take time off to care for her son with special needs. She was able to use New York’s Paid Family Leave program to take the time she needed off work without losing income. “Parents and families across the country deserve the same protections that I have here in New York,” Samantha told us, compounding the importance of fighting for a federal paid leave policy.
In the words of Amir, a father and early childhood education professional from Brooklyn who used New York’s Paid Family Leave to take time off to care for his son’s health needs, “Passing a federal paid family leave act will result in financial stability, peace of mind, healthier families, a stronger economy, and ultimately the freedom for parents and caregivers to better protect their family, which feels like the most American thing we can do.”
Still, we hear from working parents all over the country every day who lack these vital protections. For this reason, we are dedicated to fighting to ensure that all caregivers can be there for their loved ones in times of need, without sacrificing their economic security. We are thrilled to be joining Paid Leave For All in calling for a national paid leave policy from coast to coast.
Visit PaidLeaveforAll.org and follow Paid Leave for All on Instagram and Twitter for more information on the bus tour and on ways to get involved in winning paid family and medical leave for all.
The views and opinions expressed by the authors of this series are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New America.