(On September 24, 2015, Senator Janis Ringhand and Rep.Sondy Pope introduced SB 385/AB516, the Wisconsin Family Medical Leave Insurance Act. The Act calls for the establishment of a fund, similar to unemployment insurance, which employees pay into through paycheck contributions and then can call upon to access paid family medical leave. The bill also expands eligibility to family leave by requiring it for businesses with over 25 employers, instead of the federally mandated minimum of 50 employees, and expands the definition of family to include grandparents and siblings. The Senate held a hearing on the bill today, and WFVJ spoke in favor. The testimony is below, followed by information on how you can help.)
 
January 26, 2016
 
Testimony on SB 385 - Wisconsin Family Medical Insurance Act
Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform


Contact: Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, President, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
608-827-9482  rabbibonnie@charter.net
 
Good morning. I am Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, President of Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice. I am here to speak in support of legislation to provide PAID family leave to Wisconsin’s hard-working families. Our various faith traditions teach us to look out for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the struggling. Every day families are faced with the choice between earning their daily pay, or staying home to care for a sick child, a needy relative, or their own health. It is a devastating choice no one should ever have to make.
 
When the federal Family Medical Leave Act was passed in 1993, it provided much needed protections for workers who needed to take time off to recover from childbirth, welcome an adopted child into the family, care for an aging parent, or recover from their own illness. But only about 60% of workers are covered by the Act, and it only allows for unpaid leave. Few families can afford for their breadwinners to go without pay for any length of time.
 
The Wisconsin Family Medical Leave Insurance Act would help fill in the gaps of the federal law. It would provide for an insurance program similar to unemployment insurance, so that workers can take time off to care for themselves or their families without having to worry about going without pay. Further, this legislation would extend family leave to a greater number of workers, as it covers businesses with at least 25 workers, instead of the 50 required in the federal statute; and it broadens the definition of family to include siblings and grandparents.
 
As people of faith, we believe in fair treatment for workers and concern for healthy families. We heed the words of the prophet Isaiah, decrying religious acts that were all show, with no morality behind them. Isaiah relates this dialogue between God and human beings:
“Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers… Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself?.. Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?  "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:3-7)
 
Answering the prophetic voices of all our diverse faith traditions to address the needs of workers and their families, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice has convened the Dignity at Work Coalition, a coalition of faith groups, social justice and advocacy organizations, and concerned citizens, to address issues that affect hard-working Wisconsin families. The Dignity at Work Coalition works to address fair pay; predictable, stable hours; paid sick leave; paid family and medical leave; affordable quality child care; accessible public transportation; an end to racial discrimination in hiring and employment practices; pension protection; and a voice at work.
 
Advocating for legislation such as the Family Medical Leave Insurance Act is basic to the faith beliefs of Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice and the mission of the Dignity at Work Coalition. It will ensure workers the dignity of being able to take proper care of themselves and their families, free of financial worry. For all these reasons, we urge you to support this important legislation.
 
Please help support this important legislation. Call your Senators and Assembly members and urge them to vote for SB 385/AB516.  You can find your legislators here.
 
For more information, see the Huffington Post article by Ellen Bravo, Director, Family Values @Work; and a recent report from Laura Dresser, Associate Director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategies (COWS).

​My son’s World Religions class this afternoon listened to a panel of religious leaders of various faiths talking about the beliefs and practices of their different traditions. One of the questions the panelists were asked was whether the religion of a candidate for office mattered. All answered No, but this opened a larger discussion of the role faith communities could or should play in the realm of politics.
 
As I travel around and meet with clergy and speak at congregations around the state, I am often confronted with this question, or rather, often not a question but a statement: “We (i.e. the clergy or the congregation) can’t get involved in politics, that’s not our role.” My response is always “On the contrary, that is exactly where we need to be involved!”
 
So often when we talk about ‘politics’, people get stuck on the nitty-gritty of partisan politics, the unfortunate mud-slinging our candidates these days seem to engage in so often as ‘business as usual’. In this I agree, the faith community cannot and should not take part in these activities; it is not legal to do so, in terms of our tax status as non-profits, nor is it appropriate for congregations and their leadership to weigh in on candidates.
 
However, when we are talking about issues of social justice and public policy, these are very much matters of great concern to our communities and it is very much our place, and our responsibility, to raise up our prophetic voices.
 
When the dominant voices that are raised in the public square focus on fear-mongering and religious hatred, it is not partisan politics to speak out for civility. It is very much our place to remind people that our country was founded on religious freedom and that we are stronger when we welcome new immigrants and celebrate diversity of all kinds. When the social safety net is frayed almost to the breaking point and voter rights are threatened, our religious teachings impel us to speak out on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. When a handful of wealthy donors and big corporations wield so much influence over the political process, who better than the religious community to stand up to protect our democracy from becoming an oligarchy? And when income inequality is at an all-time high, public education is threatened, and access to health care continues to be a political football, people of faith must speak out as the moral voice exhorting our elected leaders to do the right thing for those they represent.
 
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice will continue in 2016 to be a voice for moral choices in our federal, state, and local legislatures, to keep our members informed, and to provide opportunities for each of us to take part in the public debate.