PL+US

Campaigns

• Starbucks Begins Discriminating on October 1

  I like working at Starbucks on Saturday mornings. That’s when the families come in with their little ones in tow after soccer practice or dance rehearsals or a fun day in the park. But seeing parents with their kids while I’m on shift sometimes makes me incredibly sad. I want to start a family of my own one day, but as a gay man, Starbucks doesn’t believe I should be included in its paid parental leave policy. In a little more than a month, the company I love will begin discriminating against people like me, who will be adopting children to start our families, by omitting us completely from their paid parental leave policy. Tell Starbucks to stop discriminating against dads, gay families, adoptive parents and hourly employees through its unequal paid parental policy. Just two years ago, Starbucks was proud to stand up for the rights of LGBTQ+ people to marry the people they love. But today, they’re planning to implement a parental leave policy that disproportionately leaves LGBTQ+ people out. When Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson assumed his new position this spring, he said, “We’re in the business of doing things that are based on our principles….and things that we think make our partners proud and that help us with our business.” This is a moment for him to live up to that promise. When I decide to have a family, I want to be able to be there for my child for those first critical months, but Starbucks’ policy leaves me out. I’m not the only one. Under the new parental leave policy, Starbucks will give corporate moms 3x more maternity leave than baristas — and while corporate office dads and adoptive parents will have 12 weeks, those of us in the stores get no time at all. And because the vast majority of Starbucks’ employees of color work in stores, thousands of us will be left out. Join me in asking CEO Kevin Johnson to live up to his word and include everyone in paid parental leave at Starbucks — before the company launches its discriminatory policy on October 1. Let’s win this!  — Ryan Cervantes Barista, Los Angeles

  667 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Ryan Cervantes
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  UBER & Lyft: Protect your drivers in this pandemic!

  UBER and Lyft drivers are on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, shuttling people back and forth who still need to go to work and get groceries. But UBER and Lyft have yet to extend protections their drivers can actually take, including sick days and paid leave. And these companies aren’t providing the drivers who do want to keep working with adequate sanitary supplies. That means drivers might feel forced to work when they feel ill, or when their family members are sick and need care. These drivers are taking care of us during this pandemic, and the companies they work for need to take care of them by providing critical benefits that protect them, their families, passengers, and communities.

  24,099 of 25,000 Signatures
• Tell Whole Foods’ Billionaire Bosses to Protect Their Employees and Customers

  While Whole Foods billionaires' wealth continues to skyrocket, frontline grocery workers are left to grapple with COVID-19 outbreaks in stores throughout the nation. Why? Because Whole Foods doesn’t provide the paid leave employees need to stay safe or care for their families—forcing them to choose between their paycheck and coming to work if they were exposed to the virus, if they are sick but don’t have access to a test, or leaving a loved one who needs care alone at home. Whole Foods can afford to do better. The grocery store chain and its parent company, Amazon, are raking in profits during the pandemic. To slow the spread of the virus among Whole Foods employees and customers, CEO John Mackey needs to immediately institute a permanent comprehensive paid leave policy. That includes guaranteed paid sick time, paid family and medical leave, and paid time off to be vaccinated.

  385 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Apollo Gonzales
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  Tell Congress: We need emergency paid leave now.

  President Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion COVID rescue package featuring an expansion of emergency paid leave, providing economic security to nearly 200 million working people, as well as our nation’s long-term recovery from COVID-19. This bill closes the loopholes in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, it provides over 14 weeks of paid sick, family, and medical leave. It also provides a maximum paid leave benefit of $1,400 per week for eligible working people, and extends emergency paid leave measures until September 20, 2021. This couldn’t come at a more urgent time, as Congress allowed the previous paid leave provisions to lapse in December, right as we hit new, devastating peaks in the coronavirus crisis. President Biden’s plan to reinstate and improve emergency paid leave is a critical step to supporting working families while reducing the spread of the virus. Congress must pass President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, NOW!

  4,567 of 5,000 Signatures

  Created by Apollo Gonzales
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  Tell your senators: Include paid leave on the back-to-school checklist

  Schools shouldn’t be on the frontlines of this pandemic. All school staff need the ability to stay at home to recover or take care of their own families without losing their livelihoods. Educators shouldn’t be asked to risk their lives reporting to work everyday; but many will be left totally exposed, unless ALL staff and parents have access to paid leave. We all need the peace of mind knowing that nobody is coming to school sick because teachers, staff, and parents can’t afford to stay home. Guaranteeing paid leave gives working people the ability to protect themselves AND keep their children home for caregiving should someone in their family become ill with the coronavirus. If and when schools start to reopen, parents, teachers, and school staff must be able to stay home if they’re sick or need to care for a family member. Join us in telling the Senate "don’t reopen school without making sure EVERYONE has access to paid family and medical leave."

  4,250 of 5,000 Signatures

  Created by Apollo Gonzales
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  Tyson Foods: Don't Reopen Without Paid Leave

  Tyson Foods, one of the largest meat processing companies in the world, has become the next deadly epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic. Meat processing plants have long been one of the most dangerous workplaces in America, but the Coronavirus has made the situation drastically worse. Meat processors work shoulder to shoulder in crowded plants. From Iowa to Georgia, thousands of employees at meat processing plants have gotten sick and several have even died--forcing Tyson to close multiple plants where outbreaks had occurred. Now, Tyson is planning to reopen plants, after President Trump ordered meat processors to stay open. That means that employees will be going back to work in an environment where social distancing is impossible--but since Tyson has no comprehensive paid sick or family leave policies, they’ll be forced to choose between their paycheck and protecting their health and their families. That’s why employees and consumers are speaking out together: Nobody should have to risk their health--or their family’s health--to go to work. Tyson must provide paid leave to all employees before they reopen a single plant. Will you add your name?

  346 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Apollo Gonzales
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  Coronavirus - Congress Must Act to Support Working People Now

  Coronavirus has exposed the cracks in our social safety net for today's families. Our society is only as healthy as its most vulnerable members. Our short and long term caregiving systems and social safety net are broken and must be transformed. Year after year, Congress has underinvested in working families putting entire communities at risk. Today that has never been more clear. Our country’s social safety net can’t continue to be patchwork and spotty. Support shouldn’t depend on your zip code and who you work for. Like paid family and medical leave, paid sick days are often least accessible to the people who need it the most. With coronavirus impacting people today, Congress must act immediately to protect the health of our communities and ensure all working families get immediate support. This support must include paid sick days and improved unemployment benefits for working people who lose hours or jobs. Congress and the White House must ensure a stimulus package reflects the needs of all working people, not just businesses impacted. A payroll tax cut only helps those who are receiving pay - not those who are hourly workers that are missing work or have lost their jobs, excluding a critical part of the working population. In this time of crisis, we must ensure that no family has to choose between caring for themselves, their loved ones and a paycheck. Coronavirus is an inflection point: we can fix a broken system that isn’t adequately supporting today’s working families and creating long term costs. We can rebuild the continuum of care systems, from paid sick days to paid family and medical leave for every working person so our systems are responsive to what people actually need.

  566 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Apollo Gonzales
• Let Senators Breastfeed on the Senate Floor

  My name is Rachel, and my Senator, Tammy Duckworth, made history -- by giving birth to a daughter! In 230 years Senator Duckworth is the first Senator to give birth while in office, and as an Illinois voter and mom of two adorable kids, including a newborn, it makes me so proud. Like me, and most new moms in the country, I bet the challenges around returning to work are already on her mind. Senate rules prevent her from taking maternity leave, at least not without missing votes! And they don’t let her bring her new baby on the Senate floor -- so she might really struggle to prioritize breastfeeding when she has to rush back in time for votes. These Senate rules are ridiculously outdated - and send a terrible signal to employers everywhere. That’s why I’ve started a campaign to change the rules to allow all Senators to bring their babies to the floor (within the first year of the child’s life) -- join me! We have a severe and persistent leadership gap in this country. Just 5% of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, 8% of Governors and 19% of Congress are women. As a result, there are so few leaders who have had the experience of giving birth at all, let alone while serving in office. It’s no surprise that our policies around birth and babies in America are among the worst in the world. We need to change that so new parents can fully lead and represent us. As Senator Duckworth says “whether you are a woman or a man, whether you're breastfeeding or not, or you've adopted, you should be able to bring that child on to the floor and continue to do your job."

  426 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Rachel P-N