Oregon Paid Family Leave Bill - It's a NO

Last week, on June 28th, I got at email from MomsRising, an update to the state of the Oregon Paid Family Leave Bill, HB2575.  The email read:

It's not over!  Although the Paid Family Leave bill just lost by 1 vote,  it's scheduled for a revote IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS!  Help us find the winning votes. Now's the time to take action.  Making a couple of calls could truly make the difference.

I had gotten the email late in the day.  Would it had made a difference?  Ultimately, the outcome was the same.  The Oregon Paid Family Leave Bill failed to pass.  Oregon would have been the third state to pass Paid Family Leave legislation.

Under the bill, workers in Oregon would begin paying about $21 a year, at a rate of 1 cent per hour worked, into a fund that would provide up to $250 a week in paid family leave for a maximum of six weeks. Qualifying employees would receive the benefit while taking time off work to deal with major family events such as births, serious illness, adoptions and the care of aging parents.

We, as mamas and papas, many of us working outside the home, know how important Family Leave is.  We know how onerous the cost of childcare is.  Paid Family Leave makes sense for us.  It leads to healthier children and healthier families.  It benefits lower-income families for whom the cost of infant/newborn care could easily exceed one's net salary.  It encourages a family-friendly workplace, and doesn't penalize working parents for staying home with their children.  It emphasizes the value of working parents in the marketplace.  We are worth it!

Between now and the next legislative session, what does it take to elevate this issue to employers, employees (working parents and working non-parents alike), and to policy-makers?  It sounds like the Paid Family Leave Bill may have the opportunity to be revisited at a special session in February.  With more public input and public participation, the bill may just have the backing it needs to stand on its two feet and win a passing vote.

Also, if you're interested, MomsRising has devised a nifty little tool to make it easy for us to send a letter to the editor.  Please do so, if you're so inclined!

Comments

[olivia]

Washington State passed a paid leave bill and it takes effect October 1, 2009.
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/188522.html