The following is a statement from A Better Balance President Inimai Chettiar:
“We know that so many are outraged, devastated, and afraid over what the 2024 election results mean for families and communities across the country. We have been down this road before, and for many, there has been no reprieve. We know the years ahead will bring new threats and legal challenges that undermine justice and democracy.
A Better Balance is here and ready to fight day in and day out to protect workers under the law. We know the playbook and we are prepared—especially in the South, where we never stopped fighting in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
We are ready to mobilize to continue fiercely enforcing and defending the landmark Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP Act, which remain critical sources of protection for women and all pregnant and postpartum people. With your support, we are poised to do whatever it takes to protect the laws we fought so hard to pass, which serve as part of a vital safety net for workers across the country.
We are ready to fight for the rights of immigrants and the transgender community, who were targeted with hateful rhetoric throughout this election cycle.
We are ready to join our reproductive justice partners in defending access to abortion and lifesaving reproductive care.
We are ready to provide direct legal support through our free helpline to women and all workers if a lack of federal enforcement leads to employer violations of critical labor laws. This work becomes even more important because workers, especially marginalized populations, likely will not feel comfortable going to the federal government to enforce their rights.
We will never give up on pushing for paid family and medical leave, paid sick time, and other critical workplace protections, both on the state and federal levels.
We did see a glimmer of hope yesterday on paid leave: Nebraska, Missouri, and Alaska each voted overwhelmingly, across party lines, to enact a state-level paid sick time law. A Better Balance helped to draft and advance these laws with our partners on the ground, and we will now work hard to ensure their implementation. We will continue to forge ahead in states across the country to pass leave, accommodations, and other work-family laws, which we know have broad bipartisan support, regardless of who’s in office.
We affirm our commitment to continuing to advance and defend economic justice, racial justice, gender justice, disability justice, and LGBTQ justice, by making new policy and in the courts.“
