SALT LAKE CITY - President Joe Biden says he will include a federal paid leave program as part of his multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan to rebuild America.

The program includes updates and repairs to roads, bridges and utilities - then, it's expected to tackle family issues, such as access to health care, affordable childcare and paid leave for all workers.

Advocates for working families say the pandemic underscores the need in states like Utah that have no state-level leave policy. Dawn Huckelbridge, director of the Paid Leave for All campaign said the new stimulus is an opportunity to establish a national policy.

"We can't come out of a pandemic without making some structural changes, and without honoring the people who really carried us through this," said Huckelbridge. "Particularly the front-line workers who have continued going into work every day, at risk to their own health, often without the guarantee of a single paid day of leave."

According to Paid Leave for All, only about two in ten American workers have access to paid leave.

In Utah, employers are not required to provide paid or unpaid leave. Utah lawmakers have said those types of policies should be set by individual employers.

Vasu Reddy - senior policy counsel at the National Partnership for Women and Families - disagreed, and said the lack of paid leave is doing real harm to families across the country.

In the last year, many Utahns have been caught between caregiving responsibilities and economic security. Reddy pointed out that many child-care facilities closed in the pandemic, leaving families in a bind.

"Those folks have been put in this impossible situation of figuring out, 'What am I going to do, because I don't have access to this really commonsense policy that would really help at this moment?'" said Reddy.

A National Partnership study shows 79% of U.S. voters in 2020 supported a permanent paid family and medical leave program. Several bills to expand paid leave were filed in the most recent Utah legislative session, but none survived.


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Healthcare workers at an Oregon hospital have achieved what they say is a "win" after several strikes in recent months.

Nearly 300 workers and members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield are celebrating increases in their pay, their health subsidies and education fund.

Aaron Gordon, a certified nursing assistant at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and a member of SEIU Local 49, was among those who went on strike in October and again in December.

"It took a lot for us to go out twice, but it gave management the push to understand where we're coming from, and to see we're out here to support our community," Gordon asserted. "And our community came out to support us, and that helped get the message through to them."

The workers represent a wide array of professions, including emergency-room technicians, physical therapists and social workers. The average wage increase over the new three-year contract is 22% or more than $6 an hour. A McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center spokesperson said it is pleased it was able to reach an agreement with workers.

Gordon pointed out competitive wages are a crucial part of properly caring for patients.

"What we saw happening was, we couldn't hire people, or we'd hire people, and then they would turn around and leave in a few weeks," Gordon recounted. "More competitive market wages will allow us to keep and retain staff to provide the best care for the patients that come here."

Gordon is also hopeful about the establishment of a committee between labor and management to solve problems in the hospital.

"When labor and management put their heads together, there's almost nothing we can't fix," Gordon concluded.

Advocates for New Yorkers with disabilities are calling on state lawmakers to take action on policies that would raise earnings for home-care workers.

The Fair Pay for Home Care Act would increase the pay for workers in home- and community-based care services to at least 150% of the minimum wage.

Heidi Siegfried - health policy director with Center for Independence of the Disabled New York - said low pay in this field has contributed to high worker turnover, which could leave people without the care they need.

"So, the person may end up going without care for a day," said Siegfried. "Not able to get out of bed, not able to transfer. Depending on your disability, some people are very dependent on the worker to live their lives."

Siegfried said her group also hopes New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will slate a home-care worker pay raise in the state budget being announced tomorrow.

Federal funding for these workers through the Build Back Better Act is still up in the air since the U.S. Senate hasn't voted on the plan.

According to the home-care staffing company PHI National, in 2020, the median income for care workers in New York was just over $21,000 a year.

Siegfried said the state must tackle the problem of low wages.

"We would really like to see New York step up to the plate and say, 'We are going to provide these services. Our people with disabilities need to be able to get care in their homes,'" said Siegfried.

For many people who require these services, Siegfried noted, another impact of high turnover in home care is the potential loss of independence.

"But the other thing that can happen is that people can end up being unnecessarily put into nursing facilities," said Siegfried. "People would prefer to be living at home, and we need to have a home-care workforce that can support them in that."

The Fair Pay for Home Care Act is now in the Senate Health Committee in Albany.

West Virginia families can expect a smaller federal Child Tax Credit this year, and no more advance monthly payments now that the Build Back Better Act has hit a dead end in Congress.

Advocates say the extra cash helped alleviate burdens on parents recovering from a substance-use disorder.

JoAnna Vance, a community organizer for the Recovery Advocacy Project based in Beckley and a parent in long-term recovery from substance use disorder, explained the extra income helped stabilize individuals working to rebuild their lives and care for their children.

"Absolutely the child tax credit has been beneficial to families in West Virginia, specifically those in recovery and early recovery," Vance asserted. "To just have one less stressor off of their life."

Last year, Congress temporarily expanded the child tax credit to more than 35 million families, up to $3,600 per child. Studies showed most households used the money to buy food and pay for other basic necessities. Opponents say the $2 trillion Build Back Better Act is too costly.

Vance also pointed out many households across the state are struggling with winter expenses.

"We know that in January is when all of the electric bills and the gas bills spike," Vance noted. "It's when it snows, and you need tires or something like that for your vehicle."

She emphasized West Virginia Families are hurting.

"We need child care, we need jobs, we need internet, we need transportation," Vance outlined. "If they're not going to pass the Build Back Better, then what are they going to do?"

In the journal Health Affairs, researchers argued the expanded Child Tax Credit and other federal funding measures outlined in the Build Back Better Act could help reduce addiction in communities by reducing economic challenges for families that may directly or indirectly contribute to substance use.