Paid family and medical leave is both an economic and racial justice issue, labor organizers say

By Amethyst Davis
NABJ Black News & Views

Black workers have much to gain as congressional leaders continue debates over President Joe Biden’s massive spending plan Build Back Better. But labor advocates worry as leaders whittle away at key policy measures like paid family leave in hopes of selling the bill. (Credit: Shutterstock)

Congressional Democrats are considering scaling down President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill more than they already have to make it more palatable to moderate Senate Democrats, most notably Joe Manchin (D-Wa.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Az.). The $1.75 trillion price tag and tax deductions are among their biggest concerns as federal leaders work to pass a spending bill before the Thanksgiving holiday.

On the chopping block is paid family and medical leave, or leave to take care of a newborn, sick, adopted child, or sick relative. Senator Kristen Gilibrand (D-NY) has already signaled she may not vote in favor of the spending bill if paid family medical leave is not included in the version sent to the Senate.

Some labor advocates argue that it’s both an economic and racial justice issue, fearing that a dwindled down version in the next spending bill could leave Black families further behind on the road to a post-COVID economic recovery.

Approximately 15% of American workers have access to employee-sponsored paid family leave, according to a 2017 study from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey. As of March 2021, that figure jumped to 23%, however, 89% of all workers have access to unpaid family leave.

There are still racial disparities in who has access to and use of paid family and medical leave because of low-paying jobs and current limitations of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, said Katy Youker, Director of the Economic Justice Project at Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

“Another reason Black workers and other workers of color have less access to paid leave is because they are more likely to experience workplace discrimination.” Workers of color can forgo using their leave even if they have access because of fear of employer discrimination and bias, added Youker.

Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-Az.), left, and Joe Manchin (D-Wa.), right, have pointed to the taxes on the wealthy and a $1.75 trillion price tag as reasons they oppose Build Back Better in its current form. Senate Democrats have a slim margin and cannot risk many, if any, defectors. (Credit: Kent Nishimura via L.A. Times/Rex/Shutterstock)

Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in 2020 to provide paid family and medical leave to most workers for COVID-19 related situations, such as quarantine, contracting COVID-19, or tending to a relative who had contracted the disease.

However, the FFCRA, which ended on December 31, 2020, wasn’t adequate enough as it provided two or three weeks of leave, yet many people, such as those experiencing longhaul-COVID, remain sicker for much longer, said Youker.

This type of economic policy gains traction as congressional leaders gear up to defend their seats ahead of 2022 midterms. Moderate leaning Democrats fear highly progressive, and expensive — policies could cost them voters.

Historically, paid family and medical leave has been associated with a left-leaning policy platform, however, it now finds support from Democrats and Republicans. A recent poll commissioned by Paid Leave for All Action, an advocacy group that organizes paid family medical leave, shows that 88% of overall voters support paid family medical leave.

The same polling data shows when Democrats support paid family leave while Republicans oppose it, undecided voters are more likely to vote Democrat by nearly 50 points.

Workforce segregation has been a driver of the disparate economic fallout of the pandemic. Black workers are disproportionately likely to work in industries with historically stagnated wages and more likely to be essential workers. Where work from home was not possible, Black workers have found themselves on the front lines of the pandemic, risking increased exposure to COVID-19.

The National Partnership for Women and Families reports that better employment benefits, including paid family leave, correlate with higher earnings after they are used, said Youker. Increased access to paid family and medical leave could provide a bandaid to the racial wealth gap, added Youker, because barriers to wealth-building, including homeownership, mean Black families “[…] are less likely to absorb the shock of sudden job loss or a medical emergency.”

The average white household has an estimated $189,100 in wealth. A Black household holds $24, 100, or 12.7% of the wealth of a white household, according to 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances figures from the Federal Reserve.

Moderate Democrat leaders fear a massive spending bill could hamper their re-election prospects as 2022 midterm campaigning gets underway. Public opinion data, however, shows more progressive policies like paid family and medical leave are finding support with voters overall. (Credit: Louis Velazquez / Unsplash)

Even in the face of these disparities, some still contend that race-conscious policies could threaten political success or grassroots efforts on economic issues. Leftist organizing spaces have been criticized for building solely around the interests of white men, neglecting the specific concerns of Black, women, and queer workers.

Marc Bayard started the Black Worker Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. with the aim of centering Black workers in conversations and policy change about wealth and income inequality in the U.S.

“Black and Brown workers are the ‘new working class.’ They work in rural, low-wage industries and will be the majority of the working-class [population] by 2023,” said Bayard, referencing a 2016 Economic Policy Institute report that shows policy efforts to reduce inequality must shift to keep up with sweeping workforce demographic changes.

That reality has created discomfort amongst unions and funders, but centering the experiences of Black workers innately helps others because of how deeply entrenched systemic inequality is for Black people, said Bayard. However, that doesn’t work the other way around, Bayard remarked.

“That statement of a rising tide lifting all boats doesn’t work if your boat has a leak,” said Bayard, who previously organized with Occupy Wall Street in New York City.

An Institute for Policy Studies analysis of Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances data reveal a steep gap in white wealth and Black wealth. The absence of wealth in many Black households can make it harder to tap into reserves to deal with financial or medical emergencies. (Credit: Institute for Policy Studies / Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances)

Economic policy has always been critical for Black workers and race has never been separated out since 1619, said Bayard, when Europeans brought the earliest enslaved Africans to America.

“Domestic workers, [specifically] are ‘hidden figures,’’ said Bayard. Women largely make up the industry, which was hit hard by the pandemic as entering a stranger’s home meant risking COVID-19 transmission.

Black women, specifically, make up a significant portion of care workers. The BWI’s flagship report And Still I Rise shows Black women, specifically, win union elections at higher rates than their white counterparts.

Black women struggle to secure paid family and medical leave even for major life events such as childbirth, forcing them out of work. “As a legal aid lawyer, I represented many low-wage workers who were fired simply because they needed time off from work because they or a family member had a serious health condition,” lamented Youker.

Strong paid family and medical leave policy means elected leaders could further tap into the Black women voters, who have now been dubbed the backbone of the democratic party, said Bayard.

An analysis from the Center for American Progress shows approximately 68.1% of Black mothers are likely the primary or sole breadwinner in many Black households than their white counterparts (37.2%).

In these cases, the absence of strong paid family and medical leave means Black women must labor through a medical crisis or opt out of the workforce, putting them further behind economically.

“Paid sick leave impacts all of us,” said Bayard, charging that the pandemic should prompt society to reject the nobility previously associated with working while sick.

Amethyst J. Davis is an NABJ Casey Fellow covering health and COVID-19. She is a proud daughter of Cook County. Follow her on Twitter @APurple_Reign.

This report was made possible with the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Share This article on

Leave a Reply