Thanks in part to thousands of emails from Coalition member organizations, today the Family Security Act (HB 1609) has many more friends in the Washington House of Representatives than it did last Friday.

When first submitted, the bill had 6 sponsors – not a bad start. And by the end of Monday, nine more representatives had signed on as cosponsors, bringing the total number of sponsors to 15: Representatives Dickerson, Conway, Pettigrew, Williams, Green, Ormsby, Kagi, Dunshee, Appleton, Van De Wege, Upthegrove, Darneille, Simpson, Hasegawa, and Nelson.

If passed, the new legislation will expand paid family leave coverage to include care of a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent; or the worker’s own serious health condition. Financing would be provided through an employee-paid payroll premium of between 2 and 3 cents per hour – about 80 cents a week for full-time workers.

A big shout-out to all of the Coalition members who got in touch with legislators in their home districts. MomsRising alone sent over 2700 emails over the past weekend. Which just goes to show that when working families make their voices heard, our leaders will listen.

Let’s keep up the fight!

(Crossposted at http://familyleave.wordpress.com)