2018 Elections Signal Progress for Paid Leave

What do Tuesday’s election results mean for the states in the Family Values @ Work network? We can sum it up in two words: we’re celebrating!

Despite watching some big disappointments and holding our breath as other results are still being counted, many of our state campaigns had a great night. The change in leadership in Congress also means we’ll see movement on federal paid time to care bills. Our groups were proud to be part of large waves of activists driving progress and getting people to the polls.

Here’s a quick overview of what happened and what it means for us:

The flip of a chamber in Colorado, Connecticut, Maine and New York and the addition of seats to create super-majorities in Oregon and Vermont means our champions are in position to promote new paid leave policies in all of those states. Many of these folks ran on the issue.

We have sympathetic new governors in a number of places, including blue states like Illinois and New Mexico, red states like Wisconsin, states like Nevada where our coalition is organizing for a statewide paid sick days initiative and Michigan where they need a supportive governor to fight efforts to gut the paid sick days law.

We’re thrilled that Florida voted to restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals; that Colorado affirmed the state’s commitment to equality for all by removing slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime from the state’s Constitution; and that Massachusetts voted to protect transgender people from discrimination in public spaces like restaurants, hotels and hospitals.

Our folks are also celebrating the election of historic numbers of women of color in Congress, progressive voices who will help ensure a paid leave bill values all care and all families. Likewise we’re delighted to see the public support for incumbents like Sen. Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin who handily beat her opponent, an ALEC member who helped steal Milwaukee’s paid sick days. The chief sponsor of a federal bill to undermine every paid sick days law has lost her seat. And we’re saying good-bye to some really bad guys, including several state reps in Texas – the person leading the fight to take away paid sick days wins, another who called ICE on protesters, a third who tried to discriminate against trans individuals.

We’re proud that our leaders know many of the successful candidates personally, have worked with them in state legislatures or other capacities.

As you know well, elections are just one step – the real work goes on year-round, building the power for meaningful reforms and for long-term systemic change.