PL+US just emailed us: Over 500,000 Walmart employees just got a massive increase in their paid parental leave!New birthing parents now get 10 weeks at full pay, and non-birthing parents get 6 weeks at full-pay, if they’re full-time workers.
This is the biggest single expansion of paid parental leave that's ever occurred in the private sector -- and it’s raised the bar for all companies in the U.S.
This is great news but considering the base pay is now at $11 per hour it remains not too costly for Walmart that announced at the same time they were going to lay off thousands of workers employed in 63 Sam's Club stores they are to close.
CVS, Starbucks, TJX, Target and Staples are in direct competition for staff with Walmart and right now will be feeling the heat.
Let’s super-charge this momentum by demanding they step up, and the PL+US team will deliver our petition directly to them:
This massive change is the result of enormous public pressure by PL+US members and our partners OUR Walmart, along with many other groups.
Together we:
- Got 100,000 people to sign a petition started by Walmart employees;
- Made a video go viral, highlighting the experience of a woman who worked at Walmart and had to go back to work less than two weeks after her baby was born;
- Helped a Walmart associate file a shareholder resolution just this December;
- Launched research and reports about the company’s unequal parental leave policies;
- ... and so much more!
It’s not an all-out victory yet -- the policy doesn’t apply to part-time workers -- and the announcement appears timed to distract from thousands of layoffs at Sam’s Club.
But for the expectant parents it’s an enormous relief -- and if we move fast and loud we could get the next biggest companies in the US to get on board:
Moments like this seem fleeting, but around the country momentum is building in state houses and corporate headquarters for paid leave to become the norm for our country. Let’s seize this moment and push until it does.
Let’s win this!
Katie Bethell
Executive Director and Founder
PL+US: Paid Leave for the United States
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