Paid Leave Wins at the Ballot Box; Action Fund’s Paid Leave Champions Successful in 183 of 247 Races; Nine Still to be Decided
/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Partnership Action Fund Will Urge the 116th Congress to Prioritize Paid Family and Medical Leave
This year, the National Partnership for Women & Families Action Fund launched its first-ever election ads, supporting “paid leave champions” running for the United States Senate and House who publicly supported a national paid family and medical leave program as part of their campaign platform or have co-sponsored key legislation as sitting members of Congress.
Analysis of election returns show that, of the 247 House and Senate candidates highlighted by the National Partnership Action Fund, 183 won their races, including 152 incumbents who support the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, and 31 challengers or candidates for office in open seats whose campaign platform included a commitment to support paid leave for new parents as well as those dealing with serious family or personal medical issues. Eight races are still too close to call and one is slated for a post-Thanksgiving runoff.
Among the successful candidates are Democrat Abby Finkenauer, who defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Rod Blum (Iowa-1), and Democrat Lauren Underwood, who defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Randy Hultgren (Ill.-14). The Action Fund purchased digital ads in favor of Finkenauer and Underwood. Both representatives-elect advocated for comprehensive paid family and medical leave as a key policy that will help support working families.
According to a forthcoming analysis of the presence of workplace policy issues in candidates’ platforms from the National Partnership for Women & Families (the Action Fund’s 501(c)(3) arm), 29 percent of all candidates in competitive races – for House, Senate and governor – included paid leave in their platform, compared to 25 percent in 2016 and just 4 percent in 2014.
Voters across party lines support a comprehensive national paid family and medical leave program and want Congress to prioritize it, according to the results of a recent national survey commissioned by the National Partnership For Women & Families and conducted by the non-partisan research firm PerryUndem and the Republican research firm Bellwether Research. This national voter survey found that more than eight in 10 voters support a national paid leave law, and seven in 10 voters said they would be more likely to vote for a congressional candidate who supports a comprehensive national paid family and medical leave program.
“It is unacceptable that in 2018 millions of working people are forced to choose between economic security and their health or the health of a loved one, but Tuesday’s results provide more evidence that paid family and medical leave is a winning issue,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the Action Fund. “It is past time for lawmakers to catch up to the public’s needs and demands and pass a comprehensive paid family and medical leave policy like the FAMILY Act. With Democrats re-taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives and both parties now trained on 2020, we call on Congress to take swift action on a common-sense national paid leave law.”
Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics find that only 17 percent of all working people have access to paid family leave through their employer and less than 40 percent have personal medical leave through an employer-provided short-term disability program. Evidence from paid family and medical leave programs in several U.S. states shows that paid leave is good for workers, families, businesses and taxpayers.