Archive for the 'Leticia Mederos' Category

A Roadmap to the Economy Working Families Need

Published on September 13, 2012 in Leticia Mederos and Work & Family. 0 Comments

Leticia Mederos, Vice President

Talk about jobs and the economy seems to be everywhere – on television, online and at millions of kitchen tables across the country. That’s because families continue to struggle with economic insecurity, high unemployment and a dearth of decent jobs. And it’s going to take more than one person or policy to get us where we need to be.

That’s why, today, the National Partnership joined with nearly 20 other organizations that research the economy, advocate for good jobs and represent working families to release a concrete, step-by-step plan for strengthening the economy and getting us back on track.

The new report, 10 Ways to Rebuild the Middle Class for Hard Working Americans: Making Work Pay in the 21st Century, offers a clear roadmap to the economy working families need. From establishing family friendly workplaces to stopping wage theft, fixing the minimum wage and helping to ensure greater health and retirement security for families, it offers a comprehensive set of policies that will jumpstart the economy and help rebuild the middle class.

At the National Partnership, we know that policies like paid sick days and paid family and medical leave are a critical piece of the puzzle. Without national standards, countless workers are forced to choose between their jobs and their health or families when illness strikes. It’s not right. It results in unnecessary job loss and turnover that hurts our economy and working families. And it doesn’t have to be that way.

Rebuilding our economy isn’t just about jobs. It’s about creating good jobs that allow workers to provide for their families while supporting local businesses and helping the economy recover and grow. We’re proud to be joining with leading advocacy organizations to put forth a real plan for getting us there.

An America that works for everyone is possible. Together, we can make it happen.

Let’s Remember the Many Ways Grandparents Support Their Families

Published on September 9, 2012 in Leticia Mederos and Work & Family. 0 Comments

Leticia Mederos, Vice President

Today is Grandparents Day, when we pause to honor and celebrate a generation that is making enormous contributions to our families and our country. It’s also a holiday that I just recently learned has an official flower with a striking name: the forget-me-not. Sadly, it got me thinking about how often grandparents as caregivers and breadwinners are forgotten in this country, notably in our public policies.

Grandparents today face significant – and increasing – work and family responsibilities. Nearly four in 10 grandparents in the United States are now responsible for the care of their grandchildren. And more than half of the seven million grandparents who live with their grandchildren are in the workforce.

Grandparents also need and depend on care from family members who have jobs. In fact, in 2009, more than five million unpaid family caregivers in the United States were caring for a grandparent or grandparent-in-law.

But despite this growing pressure on grandparents and their caregivers, under current federal law, neither grandparents who care for grandchildren nor grandchildren who care for grandparents can take job-protected time off to meet their caregiving needs. And it is a terrible and often devastating problem for families.

That’s why lawmakers at all levels need to prioritize and advance family friendly workplace policies that would support grandparents. At the federal level, there are already proposals in Congress that would help tremendously. The Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act and the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act would expand access to unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to grandparents so that both working grandparents and employed family caregivers can take job-protected leave when caregiving needs arise.

But giving grandparents and their caregivers access to unpaid leave isn’t enough. These workers – and all workers – need access to paid time off in order to meet their caregiving responsibilities without jeopardizing their economic security. And that’s why passing national paid sick days legislation like the Healthy Families Act and a paid family and medical leave insurance program are absolutely critical.

So, this Grandparents Day, let’s remember all that grandparents do, and urge our elected officials as well as candidates for office to stand up for the family friendly workplaces policies the nation needs. The forget-me-not may be the official flower of Grandparents Day, but it shouldn’t reflect the ways our policies neglect grandparents’ contributions and needs.

Fair Pay for Home Care Workers Cannot Wait Any Longer

Published on July 30, 2012 in Leticia Mederos and Workplace Fairness. 4 Comments

Leticia Mederos, Vice President

Earlier this year, the Obama administration proposed a promising new rule that would extend basic minimum wage and overtime protections to millions of women and men who provide essential home care to children, parents, grandparents and others in need. It was a welcome and overdue step for our nation’s home care workers.

But despite the broad-based support for this critical measure – made clear by the thousands of you who sent comments to the Department of Labor earlier this year – we have not yet seen progress. And millions of home care workers, their families and the people they care for are worse off as a result.

That’s why workers and advocates are redoubling support for the rule and pressing even harder for its speedy implementation. How? By joining together to circulate a petition to remind policymakers that home care workers, their families and the people they care for cannot wait any longer for fair pay. Take a minute to sign the petition today, and then spread the word to family and friends.

Nearly three million home care workers in this country make it possible for the elderly and people with disabilities to bathe, get dressed, eat, take medications and more, while remaining independent in their own homes and communities. Ninety percent of these workers are women, and nearly half are forced to rely on public assistance to make ends meet because of poverty-level wages and few benefits.

This new rule will help ensure that millions of these women and men are more fairly compensated for their critical work. It will have a profound impact on their families while improving working conditions in an industry that is growing as the country’s population ages, yet has been grossly undervalued for much too long. And it will improve the quality of care for some of our most vulnerable friends and neighbors.

Join us in showing your support for the invaluable care that home care workers provide for children, parents, grandparents and others in need. Sign the petition to extend to them the same minimum wage and overtime protections as the rest of the nation’s workforce.