Advocates Push Paid Household And Medical Depart As “Crucial” Infrastructure

April 8, 2021

DENVER – As the Biden administration pushes ahead with its plan to tackle the country’s crumbling roads and bridges, a coalition of workers’ representatives says it is time for the US to invest in the country’s care infrastructure.

Ashley Panelli, assistant director of state for 9to5 Colorado, said the COVID-19 health crisis has exposed gaping holes and differences.

Black and brown communities were disproportionately at risk of getting seriously ill with COVID-19, but 40% of people of color do not have access to paid vacations.

“We just don’t have the best care infrastructure in this country,” said Panelli. “And we are definitely the only industrialized country that does not have a paid family and sick leave program.”

Panelli argued that a national paid family vacation policy will help the country weather future crises.

Polls show that an overwhelming majority of voters, including 86% of Republicans, believe that all workers should have access to paid sick, family and sick leave.

Some business groups warn that a paid vacation program would weaken companies already struggling during the pandemic.

Dawn Huckelbridge, head of the Paid Vacation for All campaign, believes that all workers should be able to take paid time off sick leave, welcome a new child into the family or a sick family member to supervise.

She noted that at the start of the pandemic, Congress was the first to pass a temporary paid vacation program. She said the time has come to make the program permanent.

“We need to put in place a comprehensive and permanent federal paid vacation policy to rebuild the care infrastructure in this country and achieve an equitable economic recovery,” said Huckelbridge.

Huckelbridge added that not only do crumbling roads and bridges need a federal boost, but the jobs that come with them too.

She pointed to research showing that one generally paid vacation would create two million jobs and more than $ 22 billion in economic activity a year.

American Jobs Plan Bureau of Labor Statistics Paid Vacation Data Paid Vacation Survey Families First Coronavirus Response Act Study of the Impact of Paid Vacation

This story was originally published by the Public News Service. More information is available at publicnewsservice.org. Subscribe now to the Public News Service’s “2020Talks”, a daily 3-minute podcast that answers all of your voting questions.