Paid Leave for All is a left-of-center campaign which advocates for government-mandated paid family leave for all employees to be used for recovering after an illness or injury, caring for a family member, taking care of a new child, or mourning the passing of a family member. ¹

Paid Leave for All is part of the Hopewell Fund, a nonprofit organization managed by the for-profit Arabella Advisors. ²

Background

Hopewell Fund launched Paid Leave for All in December 2019. ³ It is a coalition of 22 left-leaning organizations that include the Center for American Progress, NARAL-Pro Choice America, Border Latinx, Service Employees International Union, Family Values @ Work, Black Women’s Round Table, and the American Sustainable Business Council. ⁴

In January 2020, leaders of some of the participating organizations announced the formation of Paid Leave for All in an op-ed in The Hill. Wendy Chun Hoon, director of Family Values @ Work; Erika Moritsugu, vice president at the National Partnership for Women and Families; and Shilpa Phadke, vice president of the women’s initiative at the Center for American Progress, co-authored the article. The authors specifically called on Congress to pass legislation to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year for all employees and is modeled after several state paid leave programs. ⁵

Advocacy

Paid Leave for All launched a publicity campaign in 2020 to ensure that the public was aware of paid leave provisions included in the COVID-19 relief bill. ⁶

The Paid Leave for All campaign organized a letter campaign among member organizations and labor unions calling on Congress to expand the paid leave provision to 106 million more American workers. ⁷

The campaign sponsored a poll in battleground states in 2020, conducted by Global Strategy Group, that purported to show that 85% of respondents backed paid leave for all workers during COVID-19 and beyond. ⁸

Paid Leave for All has partnered with the Main Street Alliance, a network of small, left-of-center business owners. ⁹

Leadership

Dawn Huckelbridge is the director of Paid Leave for All. She previously worked for other left-leaning groups such as Supermajority, American Bridge, Planned Parenthood, People For the American Way, and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. ¹⁰

Raven Dorsey is the program coordinator for Paid Leave for All, beginning with the organization in May 2020. Previously, Dorsey worked as a community organizer for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA)  2020 Presidential campaign in North Carolina and as a development associate at the Women’s Law Project. ¹¹

Gabriella Parker is the operations associate for Paid Leave for All. She has worked on issues pertaining to food security and nutrition, poverty, climate change, and “gender justice.” ¹²

Gabriela Rivera is the field director for Paid Leave for All. She previously worked on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential campaign, as well as on former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign. ¹³

1. About Us. Paid Leave for All. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://paidleaveforall.org/about-us/
2. About Us. Paid Leave for All. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://paidleaveforall.org/about-us/
3. Visram, Talib. “Small Business Owners Say National Paid Sick Leave Wouldn’t Hurt Their Bottom Line.” Fast Company. October 14, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.fastcompany.com/90563702/small-business-owners-say-national-paid-sick-leave-wouldnt-hurt-their-bottom-line
4. About Us. Paid Leave for All. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://paidleaveforall.org/about-us/
5. Wendy Chun Hoon, Erika Moritsuga and Shilpa Phadke. “It’s Time for Paid Leave for All.” The Hill. January 28, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/480293-its-time-for-paid-leave-for-all
6. Mueller, Eleanor. “Democrats Say DOL Keeping Workers in the Dark About Paid Leave.” Politico. June 4, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/04/democrats-say-dol-keeping-workers-in-the-dark-about-paid-leave-302478
7. Elis, Niv. “Major Unions Push for Paid Leave in COVID-19 Aid Bill.” The Hill. August 6, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/510842-major-unions-push-for-paid-leave-in-covid-19-aid-bill
8. “Study: Paid Leave Effective in Reducing Spread of COVID-19.” Public News Service. October 22, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2020-10-22/budget-policy-and-priorities/study-paid-leave-effective-in-reducing-spread-of-covid-19/a71858-1
9. Visram, Talib. “Small Business Owners Say National Paid Sick Leave Wouldn’t Hurt Their Bottom Line.” Fast Company. October 14, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.fastcompany.com/90563702/small-business-owners-say-national-paid-sick-leave-wouldnt-hurt-their-bottom-line
10. Team. Paid Leave for All. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://paidleaveforall.org/about-us/team/
11. Team. Paid Leave for All. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://paidleaveforall.org/about-us/team/
12. Team. Paid Leave for All. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://paidleaveforall.org/about-us/team/
13. Team. Paid Leave for All. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://paidleaveforall.org/about-us/team/