Paid Family Leave

WHEREAS, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among 41 higher-income countries, the United States is the only one that does not mandate any paid leave for new parents. A country that believes in family should do all it can to support families, and one of the most important, equitable ways is through paid family leave; and

WHEREAS, paid family leave can and should cover a range of situations families encounter and it encompasses multiple types of leave including:

• Medical leave to provide protected paid time to cover a worker’s own serious health condition;
• Equitable parental leave, which includes paid coverage for birth and recovery, paid coverage inclusive of birthing and non-birthing parents, bonding with a new child, adoption or foster child leave, pregnancy loss, and may be previously referred to as maternity leave, paternity leave or bonding leave;
• Caregiving leave for workers who are taking care of a loved one with a serious health condition;
• Deployment-related leave when workers or their loved ones are called to active-duty military service;
• Leave when a worker or their loved one is a victim of sexual or domestic violence; and

WHEREAS, the lack of national paid family leave protections can take a joyous event such as the birth or adoption of a child and make it an economic hardship and can also make a serious illness more stressful because of financial harm; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. maternal mortality rate is far worse than other high-income countries, and this injustice disproportionately affects Black Americans; and

WHEREAS, without paid family leave, most Americans are financially unable to take time off from work for caregiving. One in four U.S. mothers returns to work within just two weeks of giving birth, and the average non-birthing parent takes one week off after the birth of a child; and an estimated one in five retirees has left or been forced to leave work earlier than planned to care for a family member; and

WHEREAS, paid family leave increases positive health outcomes for children and families, including lowering maternal mortality and increasing rates of breastfeeding, vaccination and participation in early doctors’ appointments. Research also shows paid family leave helps recovery times for those suffering from serious illness; and

WHEREAS, the AFT has long endorsed the FAMILY Act 2024, which, if passed, would establish a national paid family leave system inclusive of nearly all workers; and

WHEREAS, as of the enactment of this resolution, just 14 states and the District of Columbia have enacted state paid family leave programs, some of which include employees working in public schools, colleges, universities, state and local governments; and

WHEREAS, paid family leave enjoys overwhelming bipartisan public support. However, only 27 percent of workers in the United States have access to paid family leave through their employers; this is particularly significant given the fact that 47 percent of American workers are women; and

WHEREAS, many AFT affiliates have fought tirelessly to win paid parental and family leave benefits at the bargaining table. Achieving national or state paid family leave systems would help all working families, both union and unorganized, and would alleviate the need for unions to bargain for a benefit that should be guaranteed to all workers by the federal government:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will continue advocating for federal legislation that establishes a national paid family leave system, including the FAMILY Act. Concurrently, the AFT will support affiliates engaging in state and local efforts to enact state paid family leave programs; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will support affiliates as they fight for paid family leave benefits at the bargaining table by providing technical support and facilitating the exchange of lessons learned between affiliates.