All of the sudden it's better in New Jersey. Ouch. If parents there will now benefit from paid leave, what about parents here? It's bad enough that our neighbors to both the north and south have beaten us to this, but now New Jersey? Clearly it's time to play catch up. And that's where we come in, mamas. Seem early to be talking about '09 politics? Not if the opposition is already. meeting. monthly. Yeah, you heard me. Monthly. Already. So what are we waiting for? Uh, we're not.
That's right. A group of us die-hards met last Saturday at Isabel's house in SE Portland to get this ball rolling. A big thanks to Regan Gray for taking her time to fill us in on the Salem view of what happened in '07 and where it stands now. Intrigued? Good. Join us next month. We liked the opposition's idea of meeting monthly, so we'll be strategizing on the 2nd Saturday of every month till the bill is passed. If we talk a big game, maybe we are a big game. That's the hope, anyway.
Join Us. We meet again on Saturday 5.10.08 from 9 - 10:30 AM. Mark your calendar and check back for the location. RSVP in the comments. And don't forget to bring your kids - that way mine will have someone to play with! Plus, we're gonna have a catchy name. Something like: Oregon parents for paid leave. You like? Got a better one? Do tell. We feel strongly that the grassroots should be involved in this planning effort. We're also fully prepared to bring it on home - we'll e-mail, call, testify, bring our own paid leave stories to Salem. Whatever it takes, mamas, whatever it takes.
Working Together. Happily there are other people who also want to see this happen. Good news since, wonderful as we are, we can't do this alone. Off the top of my head: Children First for Oregon, Moms Rising, Rep. Diane Rosenbaum. Who are we missing? Anyone interested in this effort is most welcome at our 'kitchen' table.
We've written and ranted about paid leave before. We came so. very. close. in the '07 session thanks to the hard work of our pro-family legislators and activists like us. Let's really do it this time, mamas. We're ready for this change and we're up for this challenge. Don't you think?
Thank you for organizing! I have plans on 5.10.08, but will try to be there. I will also pass on the information to other friends that feel passionately about this topic.
Stand for Children would also be a great group to invite to the table.
Posted by: aktomlinson | April 10, 2008 at 10:09 AM
I would LOVE to be there, but I'll be out of the area until the afternoon. :(
I was very grateful to have been able to use PFL last year, after I had my daughter in California. I sure hope we can make this available to Oregon families!
I'll keep watch here, in case the day/time changes.
Posted by: Kim | April 10, 2008 at 01:10 PM
We're going to meet monthly so just catch us at a future meeting! Like Sat 6.14 or Sat 7.12. Also, we will report out here so you can stay in the virtual loop :-) And we can always dialog here about ideas, strategies, etc... - unless the opponents start reading :-) But then, maybe we shoudl invite them to the table... Anyone?
Posted by: LTF | April 10, 2008 at 03:26 PM
Excellent resource to work from: http://www.paidfamilyleave.org/
Posted by: LTF | April 10, 2008 at 04:30 PM
Interested in joining the discussion? E-mail parentsforpaidleave [at] gmail [dot]com and ask the moderator to invite you to the Google Group.
Posted by: LTF | April 22, 2008 at 04:55 PM
If you would like to have Judith Lichtman come to your event and talk about FMLA, please contact me. She is touring the country to campaign for Senator Clinton as it was Senator Clinton who actually worked directly with her when she wrote the National legislation. Please contact me if any of you are undecided voters and would like the actual author of FMLA to visit your home. Thanks- Tess Fields tfields@hillaryclinton.com
Posted by: Tess Fields | May 08, 2008 at 09:20 PM
I'm completely supportive of paid family leave. Frankly, the New Jersey provision of a max of $524/week is unacceptable! That's poverty level ($27,248/year!) I haven't researched this issue, so am not sure how many states have paid family leave or the typical or average rate of pay, but I would hope that an Oregon law could provide better for our families!
Where is the 6/14 meeting going to be (and what time)? I will come if I can.
Posted by: KKH | May 20, 2008 at 11:00 PM
For details on the 6/14 meeting, please read here: http://www.urbanmamas.com/activistas/2008/05/introducing-par.html.
In short, it's at Urban Grind NE from 10-11. Plus, it's a playdate! Bring the kids.
Posted by: LTF | May 21, 2008 at 07:50 AM