The letter below was delivered to Governor Malloy and Connecticut Legislators.
March 9, 2016
To Governor Malloy and the Connecticut Legislature:
With the 2016 Connecticut legislative session in full swing, more than 100 women in leadership across the state are speaking with one voice: it’s time for paid family leave. We represent clergy, businesses, unions, organizations, voters, and taxpayers across the state, and we stand with them in support of the creation of a comprehensive, statewide paid family and medical leave system. In order to attract and keep a skilled workforce in our state we must seek innovative policies to help Connecticut remain competitive. Paid family leave will not only attract workers and businesses into the state, but also create an environment that retains and supports the next generation.
In addition to supporting a healthy business climate, paid family leave is one of the most important economic and health issues for women across the United States and here in Connecticut. In over 70% of married couple families with children under the age of 18 in our state, both spouses are in the workforce. We know that women still remain the primary caretakers for both our parents and children. This means that without paid family leave, too many women are forced to leave their jobs to take care of new children, while others return to work too soon after having a baby and long before it is healthy and advisable to do so. It also means that any time someone else in the family – our spouse, our child, or our parent – gets sick and needs care, we will likely be the ones sacrificing our jobs and giving up our pay to be there to care for them.
We know that the current lack of paid leave is unsustainable; it drives women out of the workforce, contributes sorely to pay inequality, and decreases a woman’s lifetime earnings.
Connecticut has an opportunity to be a leader on this critical issue. Other states, including California, Rhode Island and New Jersey have successfully implemented paid family leave programs years ago, and states like New York, Massachusetts, and others are moving in the same direction. As one of the first states in the country to pass an unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) we should continue to lead the nation by becoming the next state to create a system of paid family and medical leave. As we look for policy solutions this year to breathe life into Connecticut’s economy, attract and retain younger families and workers, and bring stability to our families, paid family leave is a necessity.
Women are driving Connecticut’s economy forward – we, and the families we love, should not have to endure another year without paid family leave.
Sincerely,
Rosa DeLauro
U.S. Representative, CT-03
Elizabeth H. Esty
U.S. Representative, CT-05
Denise Merrill
Secretary of State, Connecticut
Beth Bye
State Senator
Mae Flexer
State Senator
Terry Gerratana
State Senator
Marilyn Moore
State Senator
Cathy Osten
State Senator
Linda Gentile
State Representative & Deputy Speaker of the House
Susan Johnson
State Representative
Kelly Luxenberg
State Representative
Mary Mushinsky
State Representative
Robyn Porter
State Representative
Kim Rose
State Representative
Hilda Santiago
State Representative
Toni Harp
Mayor
City of New Haven
Wildaliz Bermudez
Councilwoman
City of Hartford
Sauda Efia Baraka
Board of Education
City of Bridgeport
Jill Barry
Councilwoman
Town of Glastonbury
Heather Dean
Member
Representative Town Meeting, Fairfield
Susan Eastwood
Clerk
Board of Finance, Ashford
Hoween Flexer
Member
Board of Education, Killingly
Mary Fortier
Councilwoman
City of Bristol
Julia A. Haverl
Selectwoman
Town of Andover
Jennifer Hochberg
Member
Representative Town Meeting, Fairfield
Mary Lee A. Kiernan
Member
Town of Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation
Tina Marie Manus
Councilwoman
City of Stratford
Antoni Moran
Councilwoman
Town of Mansfield
Eloisa M. Melendez
Councilwoman
City of Norwalk
Mary Jo Nosal
Selectwoman
Town of Old Lyme
Lynne Ide
Councilwoman
Town of Windham
Holly Robinson
Board of Education
City of Danbury
Ruth Smey
Member
Representative Town Meeting, Fairfield
Karen Wackerman
Member
Representative Town Meeting, Fairfied
Pamela Allon
Founder
The Center for Postpartum Support, LLC
Ingrid Alvarez
Connecticut State Director
The Hispanic Federation
Amy Armstrong Clarke
Supervisor of Pupil Services and Special Education
Middletown Board of Education
Susan Barrett
Police Commissioner
Town of Fairfield
Erin Benham
President
Meriden Federation of Teachers
Amy R. Blackwood
Executive Director
John J. Driscoll United Labor Agency
Nancy Boone
Executive Director
Connecticut Alliance for Basic Human Needs
Tammie Botelho
Vice President
Local 134L USW
Linda Braiely
Vice President
Waterford Federation of Classroom Teachers
Debra Bristol
Parent Educator
The Family Resource Center
Gloria Brown
Retired President
Connecticut Education Association
Marilyn Calderon
Executive Director
Connecticut Parent Power
Laura Cordes
Executive Director
Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence
Elaine Davis
Member
Democratic Town Committee, Fairfield
Shellye M. Davis
Divisional Vice President
MERA
Veronica DeLandro
Executive Director
Aurora Foundation for Women and Girls
Elisha M. De Jesus
Director of Athletics, Student Activities, Physical Education & Health
Middletown Public Schools
Amy Di Mauro
President
National Association of Social Workers, Connecticut
Shirley G. Dickes
Recording Secretary
District 26 & C.A.N.E.L. Lodge 700, Machinists Union
Nora Duncan
State Director
AARP Connecticut
Yolande Eldridge
Principal
Middletown Public Schools
Judith Ewing
Member
Democratic Town Committee, Fairfield
Kate Farrar
Acting Executive Director
Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund
Adrienne Farrar Houel
President & CEO
Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises
Joelle Fishman
Chair
Connecticut Communist Party
Mary Jane Foster
Vice President, University Relations
University of Bridgeport
Lindsay Farrell
Executive Director
Connecticut Working Families
Patricia W. Fusco
Divisional Vice President
AFT Connecticut
Aurelia “Rory” Gale
Owner
Hartford Prints!
Susan Garcia Nofi
Executive Director
New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc.
Debra Greenwood
CEO & President
The Center for Family Justice
Donna Haghighat
Co-President
American Association of University Women, Connecticut Chapter
Jan Hochadel
President
AFT-CT
Ruthann Horvay
Director
Winsted Family Resource Center
Wanda Howard
Vice President
United Steelworkers Local 12160
Karen Jarmoc
CEO
Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Barbara Jo Warner
Executive Director
Capitol Child Development Center
Sharlene Kerelejza
Executive Director
Chrysalis Domestic Violence Services
Betty Kuehnel
Board Member
United Labor Agency
Julie Kushner
Director
UAW Region 9A
Amy Labas
Director of Athletics and Activities
Plainville Public Schools
Keri MacLean
ELA Language Arts Curriculum Supervisor
Middletown Public Schools
Enza Macri
Associate Superintendent
Middletown Public Schools
Elizabeth Marafino
President
Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans
Colleen C. May
Vice President
Meriden Federation of Teachers
Gwen Mills
Political Director
UNITE HERE
Katie Montalbano
Vice President
C&M, CWAL Local 1298
Lucy Nolan
Executive Director
End Hunger CT!
Frances Padilla
President
Universal Healthcare Foundation of Connecticut
Fran Pastore
CEO
Women’s Business Development Council
Janice Pawlak
President
Middletown Federation of Teachers
Lori Pelletier
President
CT AFLCIO
Jennifer Phaiah
Math Curriculum Supervisor
Middletown Public Schools
Sarah Prager
Founder & Director
The Quistory Project
Kierstin Pupkowski
Community Affairs Director
WTNH
Fran Rabinowitz
Interim Superintendent
Bridgeport Public Schools
Nicole M. Rothgeb
President
Connecticut Employment Lawyers Association
Ellen Russell Beatty
Professor Emeritus
Connecticut State University
Gina Sasso
Project Coordinator
Stanley Black & Decker Inc.
Martha H. Shoemaker
President
Waterford Federation of Classroom Teachers
Kathleen N. Skoczen, Ph.D.
Ex-officio President
Shoreline League of Democratic Women
Rose Stamilio
Principal
Qualitas Healthcare Consultant Services
Janet Stolfi Alfano
Executive Director
The Diaper Bank
Mary Stone
Member
Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee
Jennifer Straub
Principal
Frances T. Maloney High School
Judy Tabar
President & CEO
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
Yanil Teron
Executive Director
Center for Latino Progress
Carolyn Treiss
Executive Director
Permanent Commission on the Status of Women
Sandra Treviño
Executive Director
Junta for Progressive Action
Deborah Ullman
CEO
YWCA Hartford Region
Cindy Wolfe Boynton
President
National Organization for Women, Connecticut Chapter
Michele L. Vancour
Chair
Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition
Jennifer Vendetti,
Vice President
Postpartum Support International, Connecticut Chapter
Vicki Veltri
Healthcare Advocate
Office of the Healthcare Advocate
Colleen M. Weiner
Principal
Middletown High School
Mary X. Yordon
President
Norwalk Federation of Teachers
Suzanne Zahner
Principal
Spencer School
