Golden Must Act: A letter from the Maine Paid Family Leave Coalition

August 23, 2021

Dear Representative Golden,  

If we have learned anything during the pandemic it is that care work, whether paid or unpaid, powers our communities. Childcare, family care, and paid family and medical leave work together to ensure that parents, infants, and children have the quality connection and support they need to thrive. It’s time for Congress to make these needs a priority. 

As members of the Maine Paid Leave Coalition, we are asking you to support a bold budget resolution and reconciliation package that focuses on the human infrastructure that holds Maine communities together. 

Most Mainers do not have access to paid family leave through their employers, and one-quarter of women take 10 or fewer days of leave after giving birth. Low-wage workers are less likely to have access to paid family and medical leave, and also less likely to have access to affordable, high quality childcare. The budget resolution and reconciliation package is a chance to turn that tide. Childcare, family care, and paid family and medical leave work together to ensure that parents, infants, and children have the quality connection and support they need to thrive.

Right now, we have an opportunity through the budget resolution and reconciliation package to truly invest in care. An equitable, inclusive paid family and medical leave program and a high-quality childcare system will give all families the quality care they need to thrive. 

Any infrastructure package must be more than just roads and bridges––it’s building what we need for our communities and our families to thrive.

As the Maine Family Leave Coalition, a coalition of organizations representing tens of thousands of Mainers, we are asking you to stand with us and commit to the infrastructure that supports the health of babies, older people, families, caregivers, those in recovery, front line workers, employers, and communities. 

Sincerely, 

The Maine Paid Leave Coalition
www.mainefamilyleave.com 

Birch Moon Midwifery, LLC

Birth Roots, Inc.

EqualityMaine 

Maine Association for the Education of Young Children

Maine Association of Certified Professional Midwives

Maine Center for Economic Policy 

Maine Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics

Maine Children's Alliance

Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence

Maine Council on Aging

Maine Equal Justice

Maine Family Planning

Maine People’s Alliance

Maine Women's Lobby

Mainers for Working Families

Moose Ridge Associates

National Association of Social Workers, Maine Chapter

Paid Leave for ME

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

ReVision Energy

Southern Maine Workers' Center

The Honorable Amy Roeder, Maine House of Representatives

The Honorable Rebecca Millett, Maine House of Representatives