President Holway Attends White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility
April 6, 2010
National President David Holway last week joined the President, First Lady and their policy teams at the White House for a special Forum on Workplace Flexibility. The invitation was extended by the White House Council on Women and Girls, which is overseeing the work/life agenda for Vice President Biden’s Middle Class Task Force.
"A lot of good ideas were discussed at this forum and the Obama administration is showing a real commitment to making the work/life balance better match the needs of working women and men," said Holway. "Workers across the country, in the private sector and public, are struggling to bring home a paycheck and at the same time, care for their kids, or elderly parents, or pursue the additional education that will help them advance in their careers. With access to technology, there's just no reason why people should encounter all these hurdles and stresses to meet their work and life goals."
Many workers are forced to choose between taking care of family and personal issues or neglecting those issues to ensure they get the paycheck they desperately need. The Family and Medical Leave Act gives employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but many workers can't afford to go 12 weeks without a paycheck. Recognizing this, President Obama proposed to include in his budget a $50 million State Paid Leave Fund at the Department of Labor that will provide competitive grants to help cover start-up costs for states that choose to launch paid leave programs. Some states already have such a program; the grants will allow the programs to expand across the country.
President Holway lauded the Leave Fund proposal and lobbied Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to include a provision in the proposal that will require state governments to partner with unions in their development of the Leave Fund.
"None of this is going to happen overnight," said Holway. "But the fact that concrete proposals were made, and union leaders and CEOs were invited to the table, tells you that change is on the horizon. How we define 'the workplace' in five years is going to be much different from how we define it today."
Adding to that sentiment, OPM Director John Berry said in his opening remarks, "Today, flexibility is the new email—there are employers that have it, and those that will."