Those hoping for the United States to finally mandate paid family and medical leave are on pins and needles this week as the senate battles over the terms of the Build Back Better legislation. Last week, many were outraged when it was announced that funding for paid family leave was cut from the bill completely. Now, democratic leaders are negotiating to get paid leave put back into the bill. As the tug-of-war continues, many are taking to social media to share why paid family leave is essential for American families to thrive.
The original Build Back Better legislation allotted 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. Through tense negotiations over the past two weeks, that number was trimmed to four weeks and then cut down to zero in an effort to gain the support of Senator Joe Manchin, who has raised objections to including paid family leave in the bill and whose vote is necessary to pass the legislation. On Wednesday, November 3, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that a plan for four weeks of paid family leave is back on the table though debates will continue.
The back and forth over the inclusion of paid family leave has left many feeling frustrated and longing for the U.S. to catch up with the rest of the world. Currently, the U.S. is one of only six countries in the world — and the only wealthy country — without a national paid family leave program in place, according to a New York Times analysis of data from the World Policy Analysis Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Currently, the U.S. is one of only six countries in the world — and the only wealthy country — without a national paid family leave program in place.
On Twitter, many are expressing their frustration with elected leaders and why they believe it is beyond time for paid family leave to be a guarantee.“I hate how stories are framed as a ‘win’ or ‘loss’ for Democrats or Republicans,” tweets Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments. “Paid family leave getting killed isn’t ‘a blow to Biden.’ It’s a blow to parents who have to pay $2,000 a month for daycare and a blow to kids who will grow up without bonding with their parents.”
Others are sharing the reality of postpartum recovery and the toll it takes on mothers when they don’t have guaranteed paid maternity leave. “I interviewed a school bus driver who went back to work days after giving birth,” sociologist, author and mom Jessica Calarco writes. “Her partner was unemployed. She had just started her job and didn’t qualify for paid or unpaid leave. Climbing into the driver’s seat, wearing heavy pads to catch the bleeding, was her only choice.”
“When pregnant people grow a baby they also grow a whole new organ (placenta) which they expel at birth, leaving an organ-wound inside,” Emily Best, founder and CEO of Seed & Spark writes. “Just curious: if you dropped a kidney out of your body, how many weeks minimum would you like to heal just from that physical trauma?”
One mom reminded followers that paid family and medical leave doesn’t just help families following a birth. It’s also a program that guarantees families can take time off if they or their children or other loved ones are in need of immediate care. “I worked full-time through six months of chemo because I couldn’t afford not to,” she writes. “Paid leave isn’t only for the birth of a new child — it’s for the unexpected crises that come along when we’re least expecting them.”
According to the White House’s own fact sheet, paid leave can reduce the financial burden of illnesses, limiting medical bankruptcies and easing burdens on low-income families. Paid leave also helps businesses retain skilled and trained workers and increases labor force participation from women, which is especially important given that the COVID pandemic has forced millions of women out of the workforce. Additionally, research shows that babies can benefit from spending more time at home with their parents post-birth.
Even if four weeks of paid leave is back on the negotiation table, the U.S. would still lag far behind other countries. Globally, the New York Times reports the average amount of paid maternity leave offered to birthing parents is 29 weeks. Four weeks is not only a fraction of the time allotted to people in other countries, it’s also not enough time for many babies to be old enough to attend day care.
As Twitter user Rebecca Piazza writes, “A reminder when we’re discussing four weeks of paid family leave that most daycares won’t take infants until 6-8 weeks at the earliest.”
Though many U.S. families likely need more paid family and medical leave than is being offered, even four weeks of mandated paid family and medical leave has the potential to improve working conditions and work-life balance for so many Americans. From the reactions on social media, it’s clear so many are feeling the burden of living and working without this crucial social safety net. If Congress can come to an agreement, it would represent a major and necessary first step in addressing a problem that has plagued the U.S. workers and families for many years.
