150+ Mainers comment to urge state to keep Paid Family and Medical Leave program strong

October 1, 2024

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Health care workers, small business owners, and young people deciding whether to raise children in Maine were among those supporting a robust, universal policy.

With the comment period for the revised Paid Family and Medical Leave rules ending on Sept. 30, ordinary Mainers are saying they support paid leave for all workers, when they need it. 

Commenters from Kittery to Bangor to Millinocket say a strong paid family and medical leave program is vital for the health and well being of our state, and the Department of Labor should resist efforts by corporate lobbying groups like the Maine Chamber of Commerce to water down the program. They included health care workers, family caregivers, small business owners, people who live with chronic conditions, and young people making decisions about whether to raise their families in this state. 

Maine People’s Alliance Policy Director Cate Blackford (she/her) says the outpouring of support for the program makes a clear statement. 

“We knew from the more-than-80,000 Mainers who signed petitions in support of paid family and medical leave back in 2022, and the majority votes in the legislature to pass paid leave in 2023, that most of us want a strong program that will help all Maine workers to thrive. We hope the Department of Labor will see these comments for what they are: A clear mandate from a wide variety of people for a strong, easy to access program that will allow all Mainers, no matter who they are, how much money they have in the bank, or who they work for, to take time out to care for themselves or their loved ones when they need to.” 

The following are a selection of comments, used with the commenters’ permission: 

Jan Wilkinson of Portland says as a survivor of cancer and the sole caretaker for an elderly parent, “I can attest that I would be on the streets, were it not for my employer’s paid leave coverage. I firmly believe that ALL Mainers should be afforded the right to care for themselves and their families without forgoing their income or losing their job outright.”

Olivia Simpson of Brunswick, a working parent, geriatrician and family caregiver: “This is essential to a happy, healthy and successful workforce in Maine. We are already lagging behind other states who have come to this common sense conclusion and made the right choice. I am a working mother and caregiver for aging parents. I’m also a geriatrician caring for patients and families affected by this every day. It’s time to do what’s right!”

John Minahan of South Portland, described his sister’s experience when her child was born, and said 12 weeks of paid leave could mean the difference between deciding whether to raise a family in Maine: “Both my sister and her partner only had two weeks of leave for the birth of their child…Between pediatric appointments, the on-hands time required to feed, clean, and care for a newborn, on top of all the day-to-day chores of life, it should be considered a miracle any time two adults are able to raise a newborn on top of a full-time job. It should not take a miracle. This experience has taught us personally that it is abhorrent that it’s what we expect of people. For our family personally – 12 weeks for all Mainers may stand between us being comfortable having a child, and us deciding that we can’t do so with the resources we have. Please do the right thing and extend this benefit as far as possible, to all Mainers.”

Lynn Kovitch of Portland also says that paid family and medical leave would make the difference for her in deciding to raise children in Maine: “My peers and people like myself would be able to afford their dream of having a child, if Maine could secure paid leave for all. Large companies should not be able to lobby themselves out of taking care of their workers and paying into a program that benefits all. Families, children, parents’ and caregivers’ mental health, financial security and long term outcomes will be positively impacted. Mainers deserve paid leave.”  

Cathy Roberts, a small business owner in Montville, says her son and his wife have chosen not to return to Maine to have children because Oregon, where they currently live, has a robust PFML program. “We continuously hear about a workforce shortage and/or challenges in employee retention in Maine. Paid leave is a policy that will attract people of all ages and experience to our state. [My son and daughter-in-law] would have moved back to Maine prior to having a child but chose not to because Maine did not have a [paid family and medical leave] policy. I hope that you continue to enhance the proposed family leave program and keep it strong without weakening its intention. We all will benefit in the long run.”

Amy Larkin, a small business owner and family caregiver in Arundel, lives with her husband and 102-year-old grandmother. “I know that Maine desperately needs people like me to care for their aging family members because we don’t have enough workers to do so. Our workers, the backbone of our economy, need a robust paid leave system. When nurses, servers, builders, ambulance drivers, grocery store cashiers, and fishermen need time to take care of their loved ones or themselves they have to be able to take that time. Maine needs our workers, and a strong paid leave system is one way to keep folks in their jobs, to keep them in our state, and to attract new workers to live and make a home here. Our economy is our workers, and it’s people like me who have to stop working to care for their loved ones. Please do all you can to ensure that corporate interests don’t derail what’s necessary for our people. Please side with THE PEOPLE.”

Janet Kuech of Gorham says paid family leave would have made a big difference for her family after her mother died in 2020: “We siblings had to take turns flying to Florida for several months to help take care of our father. My sister lost her sole family income for many weeks. Paid leave would have helped our whole family get through a very difficult transition. Our father ended up hospitalized during the brief time no one could be there. That resulted in his eventual premature death.” 

Catherine Barnes of Orono deals with chronic pain that sometimes leaves her unable to work. “I don’t want to rely on others to take care of me, but I have no choice when it’s either I work myself to death, or I quit/get fired in order to recover. Giving people time to heal is crucial, and for people like me, it may be the only way we can be productive members of society, and to be able to contribute to our communities.” 

Janet Duncan, a retired palliative care nurse practitioner who lives in Portland, says that in her work, “I saw so many families struggle to care for their seriously ill child as well as their healthy ones, particularly during emergency situations that ended up with hospitalization or increased needs for the ill child at home. As one father said to me, ‘I may lose not only my child but my job and house as well.’ These families deserve our full support.”

Sandra Phoenix of Stonington, a nurse practitioner, called on the state to implement a strong program to help keep families strong: “As a nurse practitioner, I spoke to so many young mothers over the years who had to return to work when their infants were only six weeks old because they could not afford to spend more time at home. They were tearful at having to leave their babies so soon after birth. And so many young fathers would be able to bond more strongly with their infants if they had the opportunity of paid leave. This policy will help to strengthen Maine families when so many pressures can pull them apart.”

Rina Rengouwa of Freeport says that as a mother, she knows from personal experience the critical importance of a strong paid family and medical leave program: “This program reflects the values of care and community that are so important to our state. However, [the] push to scale back the program, making it available to fewer people and for shorter durations, would diminish the protections Maine families like mine need. I strongly encourage the Mills Administration to stand firm against these attempts and to fully support the program as it was intended: comprehensive, accessible, and fair for all Mainers. This program is not just a policy; it’s a lifeline that can make a profound difference in the lives of families across our state.”

Dean Corner of Augusta, a former administrator for public employers: “The paid leave program will be a blessing for so many families that struggle to provide child care. Workers in Maine deserve that benefit. The companies fighting against paid leave are defeating any good will and loyalty that workers will give back to their employers.”

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Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) was founded in Lewiston in 1982 and has grown to be the largest community organization in Maine, and one of the largest in the country. MPA is a powerful grassroots network of more than 32,000 members who work together on issues that include but are not limited to climate change, toxics use reduction, health care access, affordable housing, racial justice, and immigrant rights.

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Contact: Nora Flaherty-Stanford, [email protected], (207) 370-8314