Statement on Joe Biden selecting Kamala Harris as running mate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

We commend presidential candidate Joe Biden on selecting Kamala Harris as the vice presidential candidate. His decision to choose a woman of color as his running mate affirms the power of women leaders and of the movement for racial justice, as well as the centrality of the votes of Black women. 

Family Values @ Work joins with the host of women’s groups who have raised alarms about the many signs of misogyny and white supremacy that have emerged in the discussion of candidates. As a non-partisan network, we will remain vigilant for evidence of racial or gender bias against candidates of either party and urge the media to do so as well.. 

We are heartened to know that, as a result of our movement and of the pandemic, paid leave will be a key topic in this election. With thousands of Americans still dying from COVID-19 every week, and attention turning to school reopenings, now is the time for both parties to lay out detailed plans to secure paid leave for all.

We need leadership to ensure that the United States that emerges from this health, social and financial crisis is drastically different than the one that entered. We need a new economy founded on an infrastructure of caring, equity, and respect.

We need systems that ensure everyone is included in our nation’s prosperity and every working person’s contribution to that prosperity is given due respect and properly valued. We need a government response that takes the side of working people and the vulnerable and guarantees the shared prosperity we have earned, including living wages, access to healthcare and child care, and paid sick days and family and medical leave that allow us to heal, take care of our loved ones, and protect public health.

It is our sincere hope that all of the candidates will share our commitment to these ideals, and will use the time between now and November’s election to demonstrate their commitment to America’s workers, its families, and its future, by commitment to paid sick and safe days, family and medical leave insurance, and other policies that value families at work.

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