Category: News
Recommended Read | Fall 2013
If knowledge is power, then we better start reading!
There are so many important books about work and family these days, we want to share our favorites with you in case you’re wondering where to dive in. If you’ve got a favorite that you think we should include on our list, let us know — just email lisa@familyforwardoregon.org. Happy reading!
Portland Adopts Sick Time Policy!
On March 13, 2013 the Mayor and City Commissioners of Portland, Oregon voted unanimously (5 to 0) to implement an earned sick time policy that will enable people who work in the city to earn sick time while they work, making Portland the 4th U.S. city to enact such a policy. The state of Connecticut and approximately 145 countries have also adopted paid sick leave standards. This is a big forward step for Portland’s economy – and all the people it touches — that will help employees better manage their work and health simultaneously, without jeopardizing one or the other.
Our testimony for earned sick time in Portland
Seventy-five Portlanders testified in support of earned sick time during a public hearing in Portland City Hall on January 31, 2013. Family Forward Oregon’s Executive Director Andrea Paluso was among them. Here’s what she had to say: “Right now we are facing historic income and wealth inequality in our country. We have never seen a […]
New Report! Evaluating Paid Sick Time in Portland
In January Family Forward Oregon released a report with the Center for American Progress, Evaluating Paid Sick Time: Social, Economic and Health Implications for Portland. In the report, we discuss public health risks, social and community risks, impacts on children’s health and education, how employers are affected by paid sick time, and we take a close look at the San Francisco experience since their paid sick time policy has been in place since 2007. This report is for anyone interested in working family policies, public health, high-road economies, and modernizing workplace policies to really work for families.
Download the full report here: Evaluating Paid Sick Time: Social, Economic and Health Implications for Portland.
2012 was a big year for FFO!
We accomplished a lot in 2012! Here’s a smattering of our great work together: Workplace Flexibility: We hosted our second annual Great Ideas @ Work luncheon, where we honored 25 Oregon employers for modernizing their workplaces to make work work in today’s economy, for today’s families. We also awarded the second annual Family Forward Leadership Award to a true […]
Earned Sick Time for All Oregonians
We have a problem in Oregon: Too few people earn sick time at work, but we all get sick. A shocking40% of private-sector workers and 80% of low-income workers have no paid sick days from their job – not one. Every one of us gets sick occasionally, but not everyone gets the time they need to recover or care for sick family members – and it affects all of us.
And We Have a Winner – Family Foward Leadership Awards
Our 2012 Family Forward Leadership Award goes to Full Access, a nonprofit agency based in Eugene – with services in five Oregon counties – that provides case management and fiscal services for adults with disabilities. The workplace flexibility policies in place for ALL Full Access employees are making work work in a new way — a […]
Announcing 25 Flexible Workplace Award Winners
The future is full of flexible workplaces – because it has to be. Winners: Anvil Media Inc Cascade Employers Association Boly:Welch Consulting and RecruitingCascade Employers Association — Salem, OR Climax Portable Machining and Welding Systems Deloitte – Oregon offices FMYI, Inc. Full Access gDiapers Hawthorne Auto Clinic, Inc. Independent Actuaries, Inc. Isler CPA LLC KPMG […]
Sick Days in the Portland Tribune
On October 11, 2012, Portland Tribune reporter Steve Law shared a story about a Portland woman working without paid sick time. Two of every 5 private-sector workers in and around Portland aren’t allowed to earn paid sick time while they work, which adversely affects their health, their workplaces, and our whole community’s health. Read the full article here. You’ll hear one woman’s story of life without paid sick days and find out about a forward-thinking Portland restaurant that is bucking its industry norm and putting letting its workers earn paid sick time.
NEW REPORT: Paid Sick Days
The Center for American Progress released a new fact sheet on the need for paid sick days in the United States in August, 2012. The report authors point out how our outdated work and family policies aren’t working for today’s families. Read the full post here.
TIMBERS! Let’s watch some soccer, folks.
Now that summer’s (finally!) here, it’s a perfect time to take in a Timbers soccer game with the kids! Don’t miss your chance to get affordable Timbers tickets while also supporting the work that Family Forward Oregon does to create smart workplace and public policies for today’s families. The Portland Timbers have kindly offered us tickets to a Timbers “Reserve” game on Sunday, July 29th at 2 PM. Each general admission ticket costs you just $10, and a portion of every ticket you buy goes to support our work for Oregon families. A clear win-win.