California to New Jersey

Here's a link to check out: the movement to create paid family leave in New Jersey.

Read this, and let's all figure out how to support this effort. Currently, only workers in California have automatic paid family leave, wage replacement that comes from the state, not from the luck of having the 1 in 5 jobs that pay family leave. Yes, that's right. Only about 20 percent of workers in the US have jobs that offer paid maternity or paternity leave.

The fact that it may spread to New Jersey is a big deal. It creates momentum. It creates political models for activists in other states to follow. And the thing is, this element of public support for families actually ends up having the support of the business community, because, surprise, family leave is expensive, and these programs spread the cost throughout the state, so that even the most highly paid workers would pay only $2.75 a week. It may be the first, and most possible piece of a larger family friendly programme to attain.

So read all about New Jersey's paid family leave movement. Because aside from jokes about turnpikes and the like, Jersey in many ways is one of the more progressive states in the union.