Yesterday, I stubbed my toe and found myself hopping on one foot, saying "Ouch, ouch, ouch!," while my children looked on with amused expressions. My daughter, age eight, blurted out, "Look it's 'Pain Family Leave!'" Of course, my toe immediately felt better and I had to giggle. But some corporate interests really do think paid family leave is a "pain"—and shame on them!

*Sign our petition and also share your thoughts and experiences with businesses after reading this full post. To share your experiences, just click the blog title above, or click on the "Read full post" link below. Then scroll down to the end of web page--through all of the comments/blog text--to the "Post a Comment" section. Fill in the blanks with your text. Then when you are finished don't forget to click the "Post Comment" button at the very bottom of the page.

More and more Americans want a safety net in the form of paid family leave, and they are prepared to pay for it themselves. Yet, despite the fact that this policy has been shown to significantly reduce infant mortality and the number of families in poverty, the Chambers of Commerce in several states have come out in opposition. This year, in Washington State, the Chamber of Commerce tried to kill such a bill and failed. In New Jersey, their Chamber of Commerce is lobbying against paid family leave right now. Here's an excerpt from a recent newspaper article, "Joan Verplanck, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, warned that could worsen New Jersey's already bad reputation as a place to do business. 'We look at this as one more nail in the coffin,' she said."

SIGN THE PETITION TO TELL THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, "Have a heart! Allow Americans to create and pay for a safety net for themselves and their families": http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signU...

We will use this petition with stories (see below for how to submit your story) to remind the Chambers of Commerce of the value paid family leave brings to the businesses they represent. And if you are a business owner, or if you are a member of your local Chamber of Commerce, be sure to give them a call, or send a letter, telling them that their opposition to this important program is shameful.

WHY SHAMEFUL? Employees want to pay for more security in their lives, which is both responsible and community-oriented. (FYI: Most of the current proposals call for this policy to be paid out of a very small employee paycheck deduction, not by businesses). That the representatives of business would undermine middle and lower income families' efforts to create their own safety net is reprehensible.
Tough words, but the truth of the matter is that all of the nations with the top economies have some form of paid family leave. In fact, there's a clear argument that passing family-friendly policies isn't only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do economically.

Many of the best U.S. companies already provide paid leave because it good for the company to retain valued employees and create a culture of mutual care. And, California has already passed and implemented a paid family leave policy without a negative impact on businesses. Providing these family-friendly policies is a win-win for employees and businesses; and that's why only four out a Harvard study of over 170 countries don't already have this policy in place (the U.S., Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea).

BE A PART OF THE CHANGE: We know many MomsRising members are business owners and leaders in their professions who believe that unthinking opposition to policies that support America's working families is shortsighted and will threaten our nation's competitiveness. Let's tell the Chamber that it's shameful for them to forget that they need to represent us too!

*Don't forget to sign the petition, and to forward this email to friends and family to sign as well, now at: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signU...

(Please also spread the word and ask friends to sign the petition as well--in particular, please forward this email to family and friends who have small businesses, or who are in management, so that they can sign on the petition, and also share their stories per below.)

YOUR STORY NEEDED: If you have a story about how paid family leave was good for your company or for you, please tell us about it by emailing business@momsrising.org In addition, if you have a story about needing family leave we want to hear that too. We'll share these stories so that the corporations which oppose common-sense support for individuals and families understand just how costly it is to neglect the needs of employees, friends, and co-workers.

And, share your stories on this blog post as well.

Best - The MomsRising Team

P.S. THANK YOU: You are really building a movement! Thanks to you, MomsRising is now over 100,000 members strong—and is growing by 500 to 1,000 members each week lately due to friends telling friends.

*To express our appreciation, we made you a Thank You e-card. To see it, go to: http://www.momsrising.org/bouquetecard

(After you watch your card, feel free to share the love by using the MomsRising Thank You card whenever you need to send thanks to friends and family—it's a great way to send a smile. We now have a MomsRising E-card Selection Page at: http://www.momsrising.org/ecards ).