Paid Leave, Marty Walsh and Me

Aug. 2, Boston, MA — Advocating for paid family and medical leave (PFML) for All has been a large part of my life for years. In 2013 I returned to work as a preschool teacher, just three weeks after giving birth to my son via C-section. After experiencing this physical and emotional torture — then finding I was only one of MANY parents who shared that experience — I knew I had to do something. The Coalition for Social Justice asked me to share my story with elected officials and local representatives (including former mayor of Boston, current Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh) to help the fight to pass PFML here in Massachusetts.

Winning a strong statewide bill in 2016 meant my trauma was not in vain.  

As the national fight for PFML continues, I’ve had the great honor of testifying at the federal level, representing Family Values @ Work and the Voices of Workers (VOW) of the Paid Leave for All campaign. I will remember September 2, 2013, the day I returned to work after giving birth, as the most hopeless feeling of my life. I have cried in front of Senators at a Ways and Means Committee hearing as I have recounted that feeling. But that all changed on August 2, 2021, the kickoff date of the Paid Leave for All bus tour. I began to feel hopeful again.

I arrived at Copley Square in front of the historic Boston Public Library for the rally. I was struck at the glory of a tour bus, beautifully and loudly painted with a most important, life-changing phrase: Paid Leave for All. I was in awe seeing the crowd and elected officials, who are celebrities to me, and the campaign’s leaders like Dawn Huckelbridge and Raven Dorsey whom I’d known only on Zoom (these are friends who tell you when you have lipstick on your teeth).

As the program began, it hit me that paid leave for all is no longer a far-fetched dream: it’s within reach and undeniably supported by the public.

As I looked to my left I did a double-take. There was a local icon, Marty Walsh, former Boston Mayor and current U.S. Secretary of Labor. I looked down at my sweaty hands and realized I’d forgotten my speech. But I didn’t faint. I spoke from my heart. I don’t need a piece of paper to speak about the humanity given to ordinary people through paid medical leave.

I shared my story, and for the first time retelling it, I didn’t cry. There was an energy in the air that signaled those who stood beside me were going to fight with urgency and dedication and not stop until paid leave for all is federal law. The feeling of promise in the air crushed my past feelings of hopelessness.

At the end of the event, I was able to speak one-on-one with Marty Walsh. The fangirl inside of me had died down and I wanted to tell him something that came from my heart. I started in a way only someone else from this state knows marks genuineness in the words about to be expressed: “No bullshit, I want you to know…”

I thanked him for using his position to fight for the people like me. I thanked him for the work he did in helping pass paid leave in Massachusetts and for continuing that work under President Biden, and I thanked him for helping me feel that when it comes to paid leave for all, my voice has been heard.

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.

Bethany Fauteux lives in New Bedford, MA. She is a leader in the Coalition for Social Justice and the Voices of Workers group of the Paid Leave for All campaign.