Union leaders, workers, and community members rally in support of Allegheny County paid parental leave proposal
On Saturday morning in Swissvale, parents, UPMC Magee Women's Hospital unionized nurses, and other community members gathered to show their support for Allegheny County Council's proposal to create universal paid parental leave for workers.
The gathering came after the county board announced sweeping changes to the proposal earlier this week, which brought the weeks of leave offered from 18 down to 12.
Those changes were put in place after months of public feedback.
The groups who came out in support of the proposal, they said they're fighting for local families while employers are not.
"The state's largest employer, UPMC, gives two weeks of paid parental leave," said Jean Stone, an SEIU member. "Since we've started this effort, they have announced that next year, they will be increasing that to four weeks. That's still not nearly anywhere that has been shown by evidence to be the right amount for the health of families and ultimately communities."
If the proposal passes, Allegheny County would be the first in Pennsylvania to adopt paid parental leave.
Allegheny County makes changes to parental leave proposal
On Wednesday, following months of public input, the county revised its paid parental leave proposal.
The changes included shortening the time from 18 weeks down to 12.
It also exempted smaller businesses, except those with 15 or more eligible employees. Full-time workers are eligible after six months, and part-time employees would qualify after 625 hours.
Parents praise proposal, businesses raise concerns
For months, the topic of parental leave has been a hot topic and a source of disagreement among workers and employers.
In June, more than 80 people signed up to speak at a public hearing regarding the proposal, which ultimately became a 30-day public comment period.
"No parent should have to choose between caring for their newborn and keeping a roof over their head," one speaker said.
"As a small business owner, I don't have the money in the bank just to cover it," business owner Beth Rupert said.
Allegheny County aims to become first in PA with paid leave
In May, the Allegheny County Health Department made its intention known that it wanted to require all employers in the county to give employees paid parental leave.
The Allegheny County Health Director, Dr. Iulia Vann, said at the time that the data showed only 42 percent of parents in the county had access to some form of paid leave.
Initially, the proposal called for 18 weeks of paid parental leave at the full pay rate, and employees would be eligible 30 days after starting their jobs.
