Last week, our member Eshawney Gaston from Durham, NC joined our partners at the North Carolina Families Care Coalition, the Raising Wages Coalition, and over a hundred moms, kids, and allies speaking out for paid leave, paid sick days, and raising the minimum and tipped wages! Here is her story:

Good morning. My name is Eshawney Gaston, and I live in Durham. I have three wonderful kids, ages 3, 1, and 6 mos. I’m proud to fight for paid leave and paid sick days with MomsRising, because I know how much these policies would mean to my family and so many others. 
 
I love being a mom. My kids are my heart and soul. But without paid leave and paid sick time, being a mom presents fierce, constant challenges.
 
When I had my oldest, I worked three different restaurant jobs. None provided paid leave. So when I gave birth, I lost one of my jobs – my manager told me I would have to reapply if I wanted to come back. I took unpaid leave from the other two. 
 
So I lost my paycheck at the same time I had a lot of new expenses, like diapers, clothing, and all the other costs that come with a new baby. I drained my savings. I had a c-section and needed time to heal, and my baby had health issues, so he really needed my attention too. Still, I had to rush back to work. I had no choice. We needed my paycheck.
 
And because most restaurant workers have no paid sick days, going to work can be risky. My coworkers have no choice but to come to work when they are sick, because they can’t miss a day’s pay, either. That means when one of us gets stomach flu, strep, or another contagion, we can all be exposed to it.
 
I still had no paid leave when I had my third child, 3 years later. And again, I had to take time off without any pay and go back to work within a couple of weeks of giving birth, because we simply can’t make ends meet without my paycheck. My other kids still need to eat! 
 
When you work low-wage jobs, you’re forced to live paycheck to paycheck. And every time you get sick, or your child gets sick, you risk not being able to put food on the table, pay the rent, or buy shoes for your kids.
 
Taking time off to take your little ones for check-ups, vaccines, and other care that puts them on track to live healthy lives can be impossible.
 
I feel like too many lawmakers don't understand what life is like for families like mine. They don’t have to worry about how they’ll feed their kids or pay the rent. But especially with the rising cost of food and other necessities, plenty of families in my community are facing challenges similar to mine.
 
As parents, we move mountains to meet our kids’ needs. But we need support, too.
 
Moms like me are tired of struggling without basic policies like paid leave and paid sick days. We’re tired of working so hard but still struggling to make ends meet. We’re tired of feeling like lawmakers don’t begin to understand what we’re going through. 
 
I know that North Carolina now provides eight weeks of paid parental leave to employees of state departments and agencies. That’s great, but all workers in our state need that and more, no matter where we work. We need paid leave and paid sick days for all, and we need it now.
 
Thank you.

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