Valuing America's working families: A Blog Carnival on Powering the Engine of America's Economic Growth
Our country's greatness was built on valuing America's working families. At MomsRising and Progressive States Network, we believe that in America, more families should be joining a thriving middle class than falling out of it -- powering the engine of America's economic growth and national prosperity in the process.
But our workplace standards are woefully out of date, and women and their families bear the brunt of it. Women's wages in the U.S. are stuck at 77 cents to a man's dollar for full-time year round work, with mothers and women of color experiencing a gap that's larger still. The U.S. lags behind more than 150 other nations on paid family leave and earned sick days policies, both of which are critical to the economic security of women and their families, as well as critical to the health of our national economy. And when it comes to minimum wage, women and mothers take the hardest hits there too: Women represent nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers in industries such as waitstaff, retail, childcare workers, and home health care aides. And, nearly four in ten women minimum wage workers are women of color. And the federal minimum wage is currently stuck at only $7.25/hour. If a worker is allowed to work full time, that still only comes out to $15,080 per year--leaving a family of four well under the federal poverty line. That's not the American dream.
Arizona: Making the choice to support low-wage workers, but we need to do more, by Arizona State Senator Katie Hobbs
Why We Fought So Hard For Connecticut’s Higher Minimum Wage, by Connecticut State Senator Gary Holder-Winfield
Georgia: Public Education is Critical to Economic Security for Families, by Georgia State Senator Nan Orrock
Massachusetts Should be Leading the Way on Earned Paid Sick Time, by Massachusetts State Rep. Kay Khan
Michigan Families Need a Raise, by Michigan State Rep. Rashida Tlaib
North Carolina: Raising the Minimum Wage is a Women’s Issue, by North Carolina State Rep. Susan Fisher
Living Our Values: A Proposal for Paid Parental Leave in North Dakota, by North Dakota State Sen. Tim Mathern
#EqualPayPA: Equal Pay in Pennsylvania, by Pennsylvania State Rep. Erin Molchany
How Paid Family Leave is Benefitting Rhode Island Families, by Rhode Island State Sen. Gayle Goldin
A Progressive Voice in Annapolis, Maryland, by Maryland State Delegate Tom Hucker
Nebraska: Equal Pay for Women Reduces Poverty, by Nebraska State Senator Tanya Cook
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