The United States is facing an epidemic with devastating consequences for mothers and infants. According to a new report, nearly one in four mothers, most of them low-wage, may be returning to work within two weeks of giving birth. Many others who take more time to heal and bond with their babies are facing financial […]
Author: Ellen Bravo
Ellen Bravo is strategic consultant to Family Values @ Work, a network of 27 state coalitions working for paid sick and safe days, family and medical leave insurance and other policies that value families at work.
A Nobody Going Against a Somebody
In the novel Again and Again, author Ellen Bravo tells the story of Deborah Borenstein, an activist who 30 years earlier saw her friend and roommate, Liddie Golmboch, raped at a fraternity party. The excerpt below is set in 1980 in Upstate New York at Danforth University; Liddie’s assault has only recently taken place and the two […]
Beyond Missoula: A Challenge to Feminists and to Jon Krakauer
Acquaintance rape, the subject of Jon Krakauer’s newest book, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, is a topic feminists have been writing about for decades with barely a head nod from the mainstream media. Now Krakauer’s book is being hailed as “fascinating,” “excellent,” and “a passionate, maddening jeremiad.” How should feminists […]
Mission Possible—And Necessary and Long Overdue
If we listened to corporate lobbyists and conservative politicians, we’d spend our time dodging imaginary chunks of falling sky. Make sure all workers can earn paid sick days? Higher wages and equal pay? Protections for pregnant workers and an insurance fund so they and their partners have income when they give birth? Affordable, quality care […]
A Post-Mother’s Day Wish: 21st Century Workplace Policies
This article first appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online. My husband normally doesn’t participate in the media interviews I do. But three decades ago, when our kids were 2 and 5, a conservative woman wrote an op-ed in the local paper declaring all problems in the family, from alcoholism to teenage suicide, were due to […]
Sen. Patty Murray: A Champion for Paid Sick Days
The Healthy Families Act has a new sponsor, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and she’s proving to be not just a backer but a champion for paid sick days. A few weeks ago, Sen. Murray surprised many observers by introducing a non-binding budget amendment calling for workers to earn seven paid sick days—the terms of the […]
Philly Workers Finally Get Paid Sick Days
Yesterday Philadelphia became the 20th location in the U.S. to enact a law guaranteeing that workers can earn paid sick days (in this case, one hour for every 40 worked). It’s the third time the Philadelphia City Council has passed such a measure, but the first time the mayor has signed it. This third time […]
In Pennsylvania, You Can’t Turn Progressives Against Each Other
Divide and conquer. That’s what the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) tried to do this year in order to stop local governments in Pennsylvania from ensuring workers could earn paid sick days—or even unpaid leave. But it failed big-time, thanks to the strong stand of progressive legislators and the smart organizing of a broad coalition, […]
California Takes Small But Healthy Step Toward Paid Sick Days
Six and a half million Californians had reason to celebrate on September 10 when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act (AB 1522). For 44 percent of the state’s population who don’t earn a single paid sick day, this simple act moves them a step closer to catching up with the rest […]