美国国家公共电台 NPR Paid Family Leave Gains Momentum In States As Bipartisan Support Grows

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Paid family leave once seemed politically unthinkable, but that seems to be changing now. Democrats² are pushing for federally mandated⁴ time off for taking care of family members. And many Republicans are also embracing this, including President Trump⁵, who last year proposed six weeks of paid family leave.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: So that every new parent has the chance to bond with their newborn child.

GREENE: Some two dozen states are expected to consider proposals that offer paid leave for workers this year, as NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE⁶: Under current New Hampshire law, there's no requirement that employers offer paid leave to any employee having a baby, caring for an elderly parent or dealing⁷ with an illness or addiction⁸. Wendy Chase campaigned last fall for a seat in the state House promising⁹ to change that and won.

WENDY CHASE: This is my first term. And I'm not a politician. I'm just a mom on a mission.

NOGUCHI: That mission started when her daughter, Erin Pappas, was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer at age 2. For over three decades, Chase accompanied Pappas to an endless series of surgeries, chemotherapy sessions and doctor and emergency room visits. But Chase, like a large majority of Americans, didn't have paid family leave through an employer. Without the ability to balance work with the demands of her daughter's care, her career suffered.

CHASE: It was exhausting, to say the least. That's where I ended up not being able to have a full-time¹⁰ job anymore.

NOGUCHI: Instead, Chase worked part-time as a waitress or doing medical billing. Eventually, she took over her parents' marketing¹¹ business so she could set her own schedule. Election Day last November proved bittersweet. Chase won the day after her daughter died. Pappas had mailed in her absentee ballot¹².

CHASE: Just knowing that she was behind me voting for her mom, it just gave me that power to get out there.

NOGUCHI: In many ways, Chase's personal story reflects the broader trend in the debate over paid family leave. She's a Democrat¹ who unseated a Republican incumbent¹³. But as a small business owner, she says she's also concerned about cost, including finding temporary replacements¹⁴ for workers on leave. Without a government program, she says that would be difficult.

CHASE: It would be expensive. It would be.

NOGUCHI: Polls show large majority support for paid family leave across the political spectrum¹⁵, driven by several factors. Elder care is of growing concern as the population ages. Women, who make up the majority of caregivers, are more politically active. And younger workers are demanding better work-life balance from their employers. Even historically conservative states like Indiana, Oklahoma and Nebraska are expected to consider proposals this year. Similar bills are making inroads in swing states.

Take New Hampshire, Wendy Chase's state. Last week, its Democratic legislature passed a measure headed for the state's Republican governor. Dan Feltes is New Hampshire's Senate majority leader. He says Democrats took control of both houses last year campaigning on the issue, forcing Republicans to adapt.

DAN FELTES: Everybody is getting on board regardless of geography, regardless of political background.

NOGUCHI: Well, not exactly everybody. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu says he remains¹⁶ opposed to the bill because it would create a new tax for employers and workers and would be mandatory¹⁷. He, along with fellow Republican, Vermont Governor Phil Scott, proposes a six-week leave benefit for state employees. Other workers could sign up for the benefit through their employers if they offer it. Sununu's position echoes that of business groups that don't like the added cost and regulation of another government mandate³.

Philadelphia attorney Lori Armstrong Halber represents businesses. She says not every company opposes this. It can be an attractive perk¹⁸ some employers use to recruit and hang on to qualified¹⁹ workers.

LORI ARMSTRONG HALBER: It is a benefit that will attract the best and the brightest. And frankly²⁰, it is something that they expect and demand. And part of this is a societal change.

NOGUCHI: A gridlocked U.S. Congress is unlikely to pass its own proposals, so Halber says states are forging ahead.

HALBER: I think we're going to continue to see states address areas like this where the federal government hasn't been able to make any movement.

NOGUCHI: Six states and the District of Columbia have passed paid family leave laws to date. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF YPPAH'S "OCCASIONAL MAGIC")

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

4 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

11 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

12 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

13 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

14 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

15 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

18 perk   

n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；

参考例句：

• His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。
• And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。

19 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

20 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。