Racialized rhetoric propelled President Trump’s harmful policy ideas toward the White House. Now, many of those ideas endanger kids in their homes, schools, neighborhoods and faith communities.
Children’s Alliance executive director Paola Maranan delivered the following remarks at our December 7th Children’s Alliance Annual Meeting, about the necessary work advocates for kids will do in 2017.
Hello, my name is Paola Maranan, and it’s my honor to serve as executive director of Children’s Alliance.
This year’s election will bring immense change to our nation and our state. Because we know you love kids as much as we do, we want to take a moment now to share our initial thinking about the impacts of the election on children and on our work as child advocates.
No parent should have to choose between caring for a sick child and earning a day’s pay. That’s one of the reasons behind our support for Initiative 1433, the measure to raise the minimum wage statewide and provide paid sick days to all Washington workers.
The following positions on statewide ballot measures for the 2016 general election have been taken by the Children’s Alliance.
Initiative 732: NO
SEATTLE – As Washington kids head back to school, educators, parents and children’s health experts gathered on Thursday to announce their support for the Yes on 1433 campaign, which would allow more than 1 million Washington workers to earn paid sick leave.
The Children’s Alliance has endorsed Initiative 1433 for a higher minimum wage and paid sick leave all across the state of Washington.
Why YES on 1433? Here’s why.
Children’s Alliance staff, volunteers and community partners recently re-imagined the future of our work to end childhood hunger. Among our conclusions were these: One way to fight hunger broadly, as well as improve the health, well-being and learning of Washington’s kids, is by erasing disparities across race and ethnicity. And, good jobs are a great way to end hunger.
Higher wages and access to paid sick leave stabilize families and help kids grow up healthy and strong. Approximately 1 in 5 children in our state live in poverty and face long-term barriers to success in school and in life. As this chart shows, Washington’s children of color are more likely to experience poverty than are White children. That’s because the adults in their households have fewer opportunities to work in the good jobs with benefits that are the cornerstone of American prosperity.
Better wages and access to paid sick leave stabilize families and help kids grow up healthy and strong. One in five children in our state live in poverty and face long-term barriers to success in school and in life. Family-friendly workplace policies move us closer to ending childhood hunger and poverty. When crafted well, such policies are also a step toward racial equity, as people of color disproportionately hold low-wage jobs without paid leave benefits.