Tom Perez Quotes

Equal pay, paid leave, paid sick days, workplace flexibility, and affordable childcare - everywhere I go around the United States, as I talk to working families, these are the issues they raise... We have over 43 million Americans who don't have a single day of sick leave, but everybody gets sick. Everybody's children get sick.

We need affordable childcare and paid sick leave so workers don't have to choose between their health and their livelihood.

It's time to update our workplace policies to reflect the realities of the 21st-century labor force and to support modern working families. It's time to continue our nation's long commitment to supporting unemployed workers by extending emergency unemployment compensation.

I think the U.S. needs a better safety net... If you're a single mum or even a dual-parent working family, what do you do if you've got a sick child?

America is the only high income nation without a paid family leave program. This means that if you or a family member gets sick, there is no guarantee that you can take the time you need to take care of yourself or your loved one, leaving already vulnerable families in the position of making hard decisions in cases of illness.

Along with a livable wage, many parents are desperate for quality affordable child care.

Since coming to Congress in 1971, I have been fighting to help create an environment where the goals of the National Work and the Family Month can become a reality.

The strategy we need to pursue is one of recovering our time - to push back on our hours of work. We need to form a new alliance between feminist groups, labor unions, child advocates, progressive corporations, and the federal government insofar as it's willing to pursue a family-friendly agenda.

Union members not only earn higher median wages; they are more likely to have paid sick leave, short-term disability, and employer-provided child care. Giving people a voice at work - the ability to organize and negotiate for their fair share of the value they helped create - is absolutely essential to a growing, vibrant middle class.

Working parents, working families, and expectant workers are vital members of our workforce. Ensuring their success is how we maintain our global economic advantage.

We all want to support our working mothers. Allowing them simple accommodations can ensure they are able to continue working and provide a living for themselves and their families.

Paid family leave, for instance, has strong backing in scientific literature as an effective means of enabling families who want kids to have them.

Labor Day is a time to recognize and reflect on that work, and for elected officials to recommit to the too-often ignored task of fighting to improve the lives of working families.

I'm going to do everything I can to bring our policies in line with the way families live and work today by guaranteeing paid family leave and making child care affordable.

I believe very strongly in paid sick leave.

The health benefits of paid sick days policies are obvious. They prevent the spread of disease. But the impact is wider. If a working mom or dad loses a job because of sickness, the family may slip into poverty.

I'm particularly fortunate to be in a position where I can bring my child to work and be able to get good child care. Not a lot of women have that.

Hardworking men and women deserve not only job security, but also a paycheck when they need to take time off to care for a loved one.

A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running into hardship - and you know what, a father does, too. It's time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a 'Mad Men' episode.

It is true that as you have children, there are a good many months when you don't want to be working full-time. I agree that that's an issue.

Were the workers who sweated to put food on my table paid at least minimum wage? Did they get health benefits? Overtime? Were they unionized? Protected from pesticide exposure?

Give the working-man the right to work as long as he is healthy; assure him care when he is sick; assure him maintenance when he is old.

We need a national family leave policy that will allow both men and women to take paid time off from work to care for a newborn or a sick relative.

Paid leave is worth every penny.

I think it's incredibly important to spend the first year with your child, and it should be made possible for all women.