Paid Leave on the Debate Stage

by Sammy Chavin-Grant (she/her), FV@W Federal Strategy Director

During Tuesday evening’s Vice Presidential debate, I heard THE question every care advocate wants to hear: “If elected, what will your Administration do regarding the childcare crisis and lack of national paid leave?”

This is the question that millions of families want answered: What will be done to address the fact that we live in the *only* industrialized nation without a national paid leave guarantee? What will the aspirational leaders of this nation do to address the 73 percent of civilian workers without access to paid leave?

The great news is that we at FV@W have 20+ years of evidence and experience to guide what any elected official should do. With our network of partners, we have won 64 paid sick and safe days laws and 14 state paid family and medical leave programs, impacting over 64 million workers and their families. And we know what effective paid leave looks like and are working to make that a reality.

We need a federal paid family and medical leave program. And Tuesday night’s debate revealed that many people on the national policy scene are unclear on why we care advocates always say “paid family AND medical leave.” We know that unpaid leave under the FMLA is not exclusively used for parental leave, but in fact, 73 percent of the time it’s used for individual health reasons or caregiving for others.

When we discuss a national paid leave program it is essential to use specific language. Families cannot accept anything less than a comprehensive paid family AND medical leave program. This program MUST include:

Coverage for all reasons for care: parental, care for yourself, care for a loved one, safe time to recover from domestic violence/stalking, and military-related needs
Job protection so your job is guaranteed to still be there after you take leave
Enough wage replacement to ensure that all workers can afford to access the program
The FV@W gold standard of an inclusive family definition of blood or affinity

We know what works for working families, and now it is time for our elected officials to deliver policy solutions that meet our needs. It was incredibly reaffirming for our care movement to see our issues brought to the forefront of the race to fill the highest offices in the land. At FV@W we know that families face these issues every day, and we know that everyone, no matter what state they live in, where they work, who they love, or how they vote will need to give or receive care at some point in their lifetime.

Vice presidential debate questions about child care and paid leave show that our movement has the momentum to win, which makes now a great time for you to join us. Are you someone who has a care story to share, or are looking for a way to use your voice to create a reality with paid leave? Join our movement, and together we can continue building power, and create the reality we all deserve, where everyone can afford the time they need to care.