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ABLE Action Alert!!!
At ABLE's Public Meeting last fall we presented ABLE's platform
for 2008, focusing on Healthcare Reform, Quality Public Education,
Immigration Reform. Our education platform included supporting the
Parent Protection Act, which will allow parents 24 hours of non-paid
leave each year for attendance at school conferences and other
activities related to their children's education.
On Thurs. Feb. 7 the House Industrial Relations Committee held a
hearing on HB 901. A broad range of speakers including
representatives of parents, teachers, nurses, doctors, the faith and
disabilities communities spoke in favor of the bill. HB 901 was
assigned to subcommittee.
On Mon. Feb. 11 the Atlanta Journal Constitution published
the following editorial supporting the Parent Protection Act.
Please contact your state legislators and ask them to vote for the
Parent Protection Act!
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Monday, February 11, 2008
Unpaid Parental Leave Needed
Among Gov. Sonny Perdue's priorities for 2008 is a $14.25 million program to prod parents to become more involved in their children's school. But many parents aren't able to get involved because they can't get off work.
"My parent didn't come to my sixth-, seventh- or eighth-grade
award night," explained Qasim Ghulam-Ali, an Afghani immigrant who
attends school in DeKalb. "My mom couldn't come ... because of her
job. If they find out that she is not there she would be fired."
House Bill 901 would help such parents. It requires employers to allow parents up to 24 hours of unpaid leave a year to handle routine medical appointments and school activities. Thousands of cashiers, factory workers and minimum-wage earners have no such ability now and sometimes resort to lying and calling in sick. Five representatives of various business organizations spoke against the bill at a House hearing last week, recycling stale arguments that mandated leave would cripple small firms, trigger job cutbacks and undermine commerce. Such arguments from the business community deserve skepticism because they've proved false in the past. In 1979, business groups predicted that few companies would hire women if Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which required health insurance plans to cover pregnant workers. Today women are about half the U.S. work force and hold more than 56 percent of professional jobs. Predictions of economic Armageddon also followed passage of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which entitles workers to 90 days of unpaid leave to care for newborns, critically ill family members and even themselves. A survey by the National Commission on Family and Medical Leave found that most businesses reported "no noticeable effect on productivity, profitability and growth." Lawmakers expressed concern that HB 901 intruded on business. "I'm a little hesitant about mandating what businesses should do, even though it's a very good cause," said state Rep. Bobby Reese (R-Sugar Hill). Yet government has no compunction about telling parents what to do; at least 12 mandates in state law require parents show up at school or secure medical attention for their child. Furthermore, government already compels businesses to provide leave for activities deemed important to civic life, such as voting or serving on a jury. "The state has mandates that parents get their kids immunized," said Dr. Daniel Blumenthal, a pediatrician. "It's reasonable that the state mandate that employers give parents the opportunity to do that. I have seen many children who do not receive their immunizations on time because their parents cannot leave their job." If nothing is more important to educational success than parental involvement, as Perdue claims, then HB 901 makes that possible. - Maureen Downey <mailto:mdowney@ajc.com> , for the editorial board
For
more information contact Ana Garcia-Ashley at 414-708-3777 |
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