Working Moms, Business Owners, Local Activists Travel to White House Summit on Working Families

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As momentum grows for workplace policies that value families, local activists from across the country will travel to Washington, DC this week for the first-ever White House Summit on Working Families. Family Values @ Work (FV@W), a network of coalitions in 21 states fighting for paid sick days and family and medical leave insurance, is sending more than 75 of its members, including working moms and dads, local coalition leaders, small business owners and elected officials, to the nation's capital.

"Both in public opinion and public policy, the momentum for paid sick days and paid family leave is undeniable," said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values @ Work. "The first-ever White House Summit on Working Families is yet another sign of an important shift in this country: more workers are seeing the possibility of change, and more elected officials are recognizing that they need to be on the side of an economy that works for everyone."  

FV@W attendees who will play a prominent role at the Summit include Larry Kenny, a business owner from New Jersey; Kevin Burgos, a dad from Connecticut; Melissa Bravo, a mother of three from North Carolina; Jason Butkowski, a New Jersey dad; 9to5 leaders Rev. Harriet Bradley from Atlanta and Shelby Ramirez from Denver.

"When I had to skip medical treatment because of a lack of paid sick days and was docked pay for being at the side of my son who deals with sickle cell anemia, I never imagined the victories our groups are winning," said Arlyssa Heard, a leader of Mothering Justice in Michigan, and FV@W activist attending the event. "The Summit reminds us how many workers still lack paid sick days, how many family members are still unable to take time off to care for a loved one. It's exciting, but it's only the beginning."

Read the full release at:
http://familyvaluesatwork.org/media/working-moms-business-owners-local-activists-travel-white-house-first-ever-summit-working-families 

Family Values @ Work is a network of coalitions in 21 states working to pass policies that value families at work, such as paid sick days and affordable family leave. More information is available at http://familyvaluesatwork.org. Follow the conversation on Twitter using #workingfamilies and @FmlyValuesWork.

Contact: Alex Edwards, [email protected], 202-800-8691

SOURCE Family Values @ Work