Advocating for Paid Family 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 lived a shared 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 aggressive fight to pass PFML here in MA.
Winning a strong statewide bill in 2016 meant this trauma was not in vain.
As the national fight 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 have cried in front of Congress, Senators, at a Ways and Means committee hearing. That changed for the first time on August 2, 2021. I will remember September 2, 2013 (the day I returned to work after giving birth on August 12th) as the most hopeless feeling of my life. I will remember August 2, 2021, the kickoff date of the PL4A bus tour, as the most hopeful.
I arrived to Copley Square in front of the historic Boston Public Library gazing at the glory of the tour bus beautifully and loudly painted with the most important, life changing phrase that exists today: Paid Leave for All. I was in awe seeing the crowd and elected officials, celebrities to me, and PL4A leaders like Dawn Hucklebridge and Raven Dorsey who I’d known only on Zoom — 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 farfetched dream: it’s within reach and undeniably supported.
As I looked to my left I did a double-take. There was an icon, Marty Walsh. legendary former Boston Mayor and current Secretary of Labor, with real Secret Service staff. Then 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 PL4A is federal law. The feeling of hope in the air crushed the past feeling 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 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 MA and for continuing that work under President Biden. I started in a way only someone else from this state can know the genuineness of the words about to be expressed; “No bullshit, I really want you to know…”
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.
