This Is Our Moment

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)

Yesterday, Carol Joyner, director of the Labor Project for Working Families at Family Values @ Work, joined House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a number of special guests to give remarks at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The pop-up press conference was one of many scheduled during Paid Leave For All’s national bus tour. The bus tour and press conferences call on Members of Congress to prioritize paid leave and universal childcare in the reconciliation package being debated, and throughout August recess. Below are Carol’s remarks, as prepared for delivery:

“Thank you, Dyana and our Paid Leave for All activists and Members of Congress for bringing us together today and sounding the call for comprehensive paid family and medical leave. This is our moment to end the collective embarrassment and national shame that the richest nation in the world has failed its people because we lack paid time to care. This is our moment to ensure that we all get the paid leave policy we need.

I want to celebrate the decades of work that brought us to this moment. Over the years, our movement has built national and statewide coalitions, engaged tens of thousands of working people who have been harmed by the lack of care, and passed paid leave laws in 10 states, including the great state of DC. We’ve continually improved the model, strengthened the movement, and increased the momentum to build a system of care.

These local activists always had their eye on a federal program. We must make certain that this PLFA Bus Tour is a glorious culmination of the road they’ve paved, to pass national paid family and medical leave and finally ensure we all have the care we need. 

As their work has shown, we need to guarantee at least 12 weeks of paid time from the start for every working person to bond with a new child, care for themselves, or for a loved one with a serious medical condition.

The state wins have demonstrated that we need to recognize all families and allow people to be there for each other whether they are related by blood or affinity. 

They’ve made the case that a paid leave program must ensure a progressive wage replacement so that you can afford to take the time off and still pay your bills, and know you’ll be able to return to your job.

Our nation is at a crossroads right now. I see it every day, I know you do too. We are fighting to build a more just society that ensures the right to vote, our ability to reverse climate change, racial and gender justice and so much more. Core to all of this is the fundamental human right to care for those we love. 

Thank you for fighting for the right to care, and for sending our paid leave bus tour onward!”

Watch the full livestream below!