”I started a new job two months ago and am due with my first child in three and a half months. My new employer is a small start-up firm, and providing paid leave for me is a genuine financial burden for it. I negotiated for an insufficient amount of paid leave (half pay for six weeks), which I'm lucky to have, and I'm lucky that my husband and I make enough that I can plan to take an additional 6 weeks unpaid, but this benefit should not be tied to a particular job or employer or rely on employees negotiating with employers. The city should provide a city-wide solution that is addressed with general tax dollars, not in a way that penalizes employers who have staff with life needs.
I have also often worried about my parents getting sick and needing care - how would I do that when I have a financial obligation to provide for my family, and to pay my mortgage? I want to be a good daughter, but today's work climate does not make it easy."
