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Chuck Schumer must make the Senate vote on protections for pregnant workers, before it's too late [1]
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Date: 2022-08-16
But somehow, it hasn’t come up for a floor vote in the Senate, despite having passed the House in 2021. Now, time could be running short. Writing at The Nation, Bryce Covert notes that in 2010, the Paycheck Fairness Act had the votes to pass, but it didn’t get a vote before the election. When it came up in the lame duck session, it was two votes short. Advocates are pressing hard to be sure the same thing doesn’t happen to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Schumer says he supports the legislation, and he has taken steps to get it passed. Sen. Rand Paul blocked unanimous consent at one point. Efforts to attach it to larger must-pass bills failed. But with those options exhausted, it just needs its own vote.
“It is clear that the necessary path forward for the bill now is for Senator Schumer to bring it to a floor vote, which he could do at any time,” Dina Bakst, co-president of A Better Balance, told Covert. The problem is, “at any time” so far isn’t translating into action. “Every day Senator Schumer holds this up, more vulnerable workers are forced to put their health at risk,” she said.
Vulnerable workers like these:
As of now, 13 Republican senators will supposedly vote for the bill. That’s pathetic for a party that prioritizes pregnancy, but it’s par for the course for a party that also doesn’t support paid parental leave, universal health care, an expanded child tax credit, an increased minimum wage, or a host of other policies that would help real-life pregnant people.
Senate Republicans are out of step with Republican voters on this one, again. According to that Data for Progress poll, 87% of Republican likely voters strongly or somewhat support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. But the reality is that if 13 Republicans will really vote for this bill, then Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can and must make it happen—and if it doesn’t happen, that’s on him.
“It’s not enough to bring reproductive rights bills to the Senate floor that everyone knows will fail but ignore or deprioritize reproductive justice bills like the PWFA that have the votes to pass,” Vania Leveille, senior legislative counsel at the ACLU, told Covert. “It’s not enough to say, ‘Oh, we care about this, but our hands are tied.’ In this case, your hands aren’t tied, and you’re still not moving.”
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RELATED STORY FROM ALL THE WAY BACK IN 2012: U.S. lags on sick leave and pregnancy protections, but the fight is on to change that
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