Family Values @ Work Applauds MA Governor Baker’s Signing of Paid Leave Bill

Statement by Co-Directors Ellen Bravo and Wendy Chun-Hoon

“On behalf of the Family Values @ Work network, we congratulate Raise Up Massachusetts and all their partners for leading the way as Massachusetts joins the growing number of states across the country passing paid family and medical leave with bipartisan support. Governor Baker’s signing of the bill into law today will mean nearly 3.1 million new workers in Massachusetts will have access to paid family and medical leave once the law is implemented.”

“Raise Up Massachusetts built a strong and diverse coalition of community, labor and faith groups, with support from many business owners and health care professionals. Activists were prepared to take paid family leave to the voters via a ballot initiative in November if the legislature failed to pass a strong bill. Representatives of business lobbies agreed to join negotiations. More and more business leaders know that offering paid leave is good for the bottom line, and increasingly elected officials agree that paid leave is not only good policy, but also good politics.”

“Massachusetts will now have one of the strongest paid family and medical leave bills in the country, giving working people access to up to 12 weeks of job-protected family leave, and up to 20 weeks of medical leave (up to 26 weeks for new mothers).”

“Massachusetts is now the seventh state to have passed their own law, with more wins on the horizon. These are paving the way for a national bill so that all of us can be good caregivers without risking financial security.”