News
TAKE ACTION: More funds for childcare!
We think our child care affordability problem deserves a BIG conversation and ultimately a systems overhaul. But until that happens, the state should at least adequately fund its program to help low-income Oregon parents afford the child care they need to be able to get and keep a job.
Oregon House Passes Retirement Security Bill!
The Oregon House of Representatives today passed HB 3436B in a 33-25 vote. The bill, chief sponsored by Representative Jules Bailey of Portland and Senator Lee Beyer of Eugene—and supported by Governor John Kitzhaber and Treasurer Ted Wheeler creates a task force to study and recommend a solution that will enable all working Oregonians to […]
Pregnancy & Parenting in the American Workplace: Your Questions Answered
A terrific new book is out from the impressive folks at A Better Balance in New York. It’s called Babygate: What You Really Need to Know about Pregnancy and Parenting in the Workplace and it does two things we think are important to be done together: helps new and expecting parents navigate their own workplaces for the best personal and family outcomes possible and explains why meeting the competing demands of work an family in the U.S. is so much harder than in other countries. It also shows us what’s possible and hopefully inspires readers to jump in and help modernize our outdated work-family policies.
AARP Says: Modernize Workplace Leave Policies
A new report from AARP argues for improving family leave for working caregivers, citing the growing population of older Americans, increasing numbers of family caregivers on the job, and escalating demands and stress on caregivers. Keeping Up with the Times: Supporting Family Caregivers with Workplace Leave Policies points to three policy solutions to ease the burden on both caregivers and employers: unpaid family and medical leave, paid family and medical leave insurance, and earned sick time.
Modern Dads Need Modern Policies
The Pew Research Center recently published a report called ”Modern Parenthood” about the changing roles of moms and dads and how both now struggle to meet the often competing demands of work and family. What they found won’t startle many parents in the trenches today: the roles of moms and dads are converging, especially in dual-income families<b>. </b>Moms are doing more paid work outside the home, dads are doing more unpaid care work inside the home, and both now report work-family conflict in nearly equal numbers (56% of mothers and 50% of fathers) – a real shift from decades past when working mothers bore the brunt of juggling work and family.
Statewide Sick Time: Next Steps
Supporters packed a second hearing for HB 3390 in the House Committee on Rules on June 5, 2013. Many people representing public health and family advocates, health providers, union members, domestic violence service providers, employers and business associations delivered written or personal testimony in favor of the proposed statewide paid sick days policy. During the hearing, Rules Committee Chair Val Hoyle charged Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward and Representative Jessica Vega Pederson, who both testified in support of the bill, with the job of chairing an interim work group with stakeholders to look in-depth at the issue and come back to the legislature with an amended bill.
Childcare Not Affordable in Oregon
The main findings in Oregon State University’s newly released report on childcare affordability and access in Oregon (Child Care in Oregon and Its Counties: 2012) are not surprising: the long-term trend towards higher prices for care and lower wages for those paying the bill and providing the care continues.
Report author Bobbie Weber calculated that between 2004 and 2012, the cost of childcare increased 13% and wages decreased by 9% (15% for single mothers). A finding that reinforces what we already know: childcare is not a good the market provides well and its failings make it harder for parents to work and less likely that kids have equal access to quality early-life learning. The report includes several interesting data points that ought to be a wake-up call:
Our family leave conversation: Urgent & incomplete
There is a growing conversation in Oregon and across our country about family leave — because the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is insufficient in two key ways: it’s unpaid and doesn’t cover all workers. Family Forward Oregon’s Executive Director Andrea Paluso wrote this guest opinion piece to raise awareness about the failings of what we (don’t) have now, and to make sure that anyone thinking about a pathway forward on family leave is working toward a paid program.
Unequal Pay? Unhappy Hour!
June 10, 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act by then-President John F. Kennedy. At that time, women earned $0.58 to a man’s $1. Today? A whopping $0.78. Improvement, yes. Enough of one? Hell no.
Join us for an (un)happy hour to mark this important date & celebrate the passing of SB 744, an Oregon bill that requires a state-specific pay inequity study and recommendations to close the gender wage gap. Recommendations which we plan to see through.
Who CAN afford unpaid leave?
A recent report from the Center for American Progress about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) — released on the law’s 20th anniversary in February, 2013 — is a must read because it reminds us that when this law was passed in 1993 it was just a first step towards what was needed then — and now: paid family leave for every working American. Not unpaid leave available to — but not financially possible for — just 60% of working Americans.
Good News: Equal Pay Bill Passes!
Today the Oregon House of Representatives voted 59-0 to pass Senate Bill 744, which requires the state Council on Civil Rights appointed by Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to study wage inequality in Oregon and report findings to the Legislative Assembly. This report will provide a clear understanding of the barriers to wage equality in our state and include concrete, state-specific recommendations for improvements.