On April 24, the AAUP Parent & Caregiver Caucus hosted an event with members to talk about why caregiver leave matters. 26 members joined for lunch and a screening of the 20-minute “selected scenes” version of the award-winning documentary, “Zero Weeks,” followed by a panel discussion about paid leave policy. The film highlights the need for paid family and medical leave in the U.S. and describes the atrocious fact that we are one of only two countries in the industrialized world that doesn’t offer any kind of paid family leave to workers. Following the film, a panel of researchers and advocates spoke about the importance of paid leave here in Oregon, facilitated by Julia Goodman, assistant professor in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health and member of the Parent & Caregiver Caucus Steering Committee. David Hurtado and Dawn Richardson from the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health shared their latest research on Multnomah County’s new paid parental leave policy and highlighted the important role that an organization (and, especially supervisors) plays in how these paid leave policies are experienced on the ground. Cherie Martin, Advocacy Director for NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, talked about her organization’s role as a member of the Time to Care Oregon coalition and the work they are doing to pass a statewide paid family and medical leave law this legislative session.
The crowd had lots of questions about the potential state policy, and showed great interest in learning more about what AAUP is doing to move this issue forward on our campus. José Padín shared that a survey will soon go out to members allowing us to vote on our priorities as we enter into collective bargaining. If this is an issue that you care about, be sure to make your voice heard on this important survey.
To join efforts to pass a universal paid family and medical leave law in Oregon, sign up here: bit.ly/pass2005. The feature-length film “Zero Weeks” is now available through the PSU library as a DVD, or you can watch the 20 minutes of selected scenes here: https://vimeo.com/233552751/bc5ea47a4a