Amy Traub

Letter to the Editor of the Week

This week's letter to the editor comes from yesterday's Chicago Tribune, where Jenny Whittner of Women Employed points out that one of the best ways to honor mothers this Sunday is to fight for an economy that works for all working families.

Appreciating mothers

As we celebrate Mother's Day, let's remember some of the mothers who are working today. These moms are waiting on us at our Mother's Day brunches, taking care of elderly family members, providing emergency health services, taking our reservations, and ringing up our purchases. They are among the forty percent of mothers who work full time and earn less than $25,000 a year. Their jobs provide few basic benefits such as health care, sick pay, paid vacation and retirement benefits. They have little flexibility to care for a sick child or deal with an emergency at school.

If we really want to honor mothers, we can have fair workplace policies that provide every working person, not just those in higher-paying jobs, with paid sick time and paid family leave. We can put a stop to the scandal of a $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage. We can make sure that everyone, regardless of where they work or what they do, has access to the health care that they need. That would truly be a celebration of mothers.
-Jenny Wittner
Associate Director, Women Employed

Jenny Wittner, we salute you! The graphic, by the way, comes from Moms Rising, an organization fighting for a more family-friendly America -- in the sense of "kids need healh care" not "let's censor the internet." Check them out.

Amy Traub: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 12:57 PM, May 12, 2006 in Economic Opportunity | Economy | Employment | Health Care | Letter To The Editor of the Week | Middle-class squeeze | Progressive Agenda
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