Work and Family
Although the “traditional” family—a father who works outside the home and financially supports the children and a mother whose work is keeping the house and raising the children—has been disappearing for more than a generation, our workplaces and government policies have not kept pace with America’s new reality.
Most children are growing up in homes with both parents working or with single parents. One-third of workers don’t have access to paid sick leave, and only 42 percent have paid personal leave. What’s the impact on public health when working people can’t afford to take sick days during a flu epidemic? Who takes care of a sick child? Who’s home to fix dinner and help with homework? Who can dedicate time to a sick elderly parent?
The recession and jobless recovery have complicated life further for working families, when having to leave work for a family emergency could lead to long-term unemployment.
More about this issue:
On behalf of the New York City labor movement at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis, I’d like to extend thanks to United States Senator Charles Schumer for his tireless work on the stimulus bill.
Today, we mark the 109th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, a catastrophic event in which 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, were killed as a direct result of abhorrent working conditions and woefully insufficient workplace safety standards.
(Updated 5/11/20) The COVID-19 pandemic remains an extraordinarily challenging situation, with New York City workers, as always, on the front lines of the crisis. The labor movement is rising in solidarity to meet those challenges.
The day you have all been waiting for!
(Updated 8/14/20) The Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to have significant effects not only on the health of New Yorkers but on the economy as a whole. With businesses forced to close, workers in all industries are facing unprecedented economic uncertainty.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew the labor and civil rights movements were deeply connected, and both critical to the goal of equality and economic justice for all.