For over a generation now, millions of working Americans have struggled to find a balance between work and family. The economic crisis our nation is experiencing has been particularly devastating for workers, giving the need to pass legislation that will help ease the burden on working families a renewed urgency.
"I know this hearing is about good family policies but everything comes back to money, something nobody seems to have enough of these days," said Rebia Mixon Clay, SEIU member and homecare worker from Chicago, in her testimony this morning before the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Clay joined labor relations experts, economists, and workers' advocates in today's Capitol Hill hearing to explore family-friendly policies, such as grants that support state paid leave programs, expansions to the Family and Medical Leave Act, and paid sick days in tough financial times.
In a recession where men are losing their jobs at a much faster rate than women, women are increasingly becoming the main--or sole--breadwinners of the household. And the fact remains that women still consistently earn less than men (roughly 80 cents to every dollar), which means that women and families are simply making do on less.
Although more than 60 percent of private-sector workers already have access to paid sick days, lower income workers are much less likely to be offered paid sick leave. Clay told the Subcommittee that that although she is paid for only eight hours of work, taking care of her brother with cerebral palsy is a full time job and that she frequently had to choose between a paycheck - the only income in her household - and taking care of her dying husband. "I couldn't afford to take any unpaid time off to focus on my husband, because the three of us were surviving only on my income."
More than ever, workers like Reba cannot afford to lose a job due to work/family balance challenges. "There are people like me in every town across this country, people who are working hard and doing their best to provide for their families. Our stories are different but our hope is the same - that you help give us change that works. We cannot fix everything overnight but we can't give up."
Read Rebia's full testimony here.
Reba currently serves on the Executive Board of her local, SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana and is one of SEIU's member lobbyists here on Capitol Hill, speaking to lawmakers about creating change that works for their families and communities--affordable healthcare for all, the freedom to form a union, and an economy that works for everyone--not just those at the top.
