Issue of the Week: The ‘Heartless’ Changes to Family and Medical Leave Act
Plus Hero of the Week
Think again.
Walker and his fellow Republicans are attempting to weaken the state’s very popular Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which would affect all workers in the state. That’s why the governor received a “heartless” award on Valentine’s Day from 9to5: National Association of Working Women.
Although Republicans are trying to pitch the legislation as a trade-off between federal and state FMLA provisions, their pending bill would actually decrease protections for workers who are caring for sick relatives, newborns or adopted children.
While Wisconsin currently allows workers to choose to use their paid vacation time for care-giving leave, Republican legislators want to allow the employer to make that decision. Republicans would only allow intermittent leave for some types of care-giving reasons. That would hurt workers with loved ones with chronic illnesses who need help in short periods of time during the course of a year. And the Republican-backed bill would also penalize part-time workers who take time off to care for a loved one. Wisconsin currently allows workers to be eligible for FMLA coverage if they had worked 1,000 hours in the previous year. That covers part-time employees who work 20 hours a week. But Republicans would bump that up to 1,250 hours worked in the previous year, or 25 hours per week. If you work fewer hours, you’re out of luck when your loved one gets sick.
Republicans shouldn’t make life more difficult for already stressed-out workers who are taking on the challenge of caring for a loved one or new child. Their changes are heartless, indeed.
Heroes of the Week
La Casa de
Esperanza Volunteers
In 1966, a small group of church members founded La
Casa de Esperanza (410 Arcadian Ave., Waukesha) to make a positive change in
the community by creating services for migrant workers who had difficulty
assimilating due to substandard housing and a lack of bilingual educational
opportunities.
With an emphasis on the Hispanic population, La Casa
de Esperanza continues to help low-income individuals achieve full social and
economic participation in society. The nonprofit offers a myriad of programs,
including a health counseling clinic, youth activities, political advocacy,
family self-sufficiency services, a child-care center, career assistance and a
housing complex for low-income seniors. All of these programs rely on the
commitment of volunteers.
Readers who wish to help La Casa de Esperanza with
tutoring, mentoring or outreach work are encouraged to call 262-832-1550 or
visit www.lacasadeesperanza.org.
Hey, I got a brainstorm, since the conservative backlash is all the rave these days...
We want defense of marriage? Not just as a physiological man and woman. To bring back marriage so it is desirable again, then fix the IRS marriage penalty! Got to make a simple "filing Joint" be worth at least as much as the 2 working parent 2 kid "shack-ups" that have each working parent file as Head of Household and claim one kid apiece.
Of course, that doesn't work well when there is not enough day-care affording jobs to go around to keep both adults working. We need to get back to where one person's income is enough to support those 2 kids and a stay-at-home house-wife. Takes out enough of the workforce to solve the unemployment numbers problem. So, how can we make that happen through a new tax code?
We also want to REDUCE or eliminate taxes on the working class, families especially. So try this whacky idea...
No W2 taxes on the highest wage earner of a married couple, collect normal taxes on that second income only (and on mailbox money dividends and such). Collect normal taxes on single women and single men (and single parents). You can bet your last two dollars that this will drive men and women to pair up in a legal marriage. This will virtually end divorce, and this will also remove the over-supply of workers from the labor force.
The removal of the supply of workers will cause demand to go up, will cause paychecks to go up as well... probably well above that needed to support a full family on a single paycheck.
It will also dramatically cut back on much of the side service jobs, much less need for daycares and nursery schools.
It will also solve the classroom discipline problems and class size problems, plenty of volunteer room mothers (and room fathers?) available to lessen the number of paid, educated teachers needed.
Less need to send so many people through college, so it will even help "waste" along those lines. Send your smartest, whether they be men or women (don't just send men).
Ya think it will work?