Stop the Press Spree Against Working Moms

[pedroh 21]

Employers are biased against males and women without children. We can't get time off like that. We can't miss one day every week because "the baby is sick" or the sitter is sick. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left there to do the working mothers' job.

This is just me speaking from experience. I'm not saying all women with spawn who work are like this. Any flames directed toward me will be used to roast wienies and marshmallows.

Time off like what??? I have to take the minimum amount of time off when I give birth, just enough to recover because the system sucks so much in this country. Most countries in the world look out for their babies, except the US that is. It makes me mad that people literally have to decide they can't do the most natural thing in life because companies lose out on too much profit and the government don't care either way. God knows I pay enough in taxes every year to pay for all the lazy b**tards who just couldn't be bothered to work, not to mention the babies they spit out on a regular basis. In this day and age, this is something we shouldn't have to worry about. I guess I'll just be dropping my "spawn" and heading off back into the paddy fields then!

time off to take the kids to the doctor or something like that.. look, its simple...

lets say today wednesday it's my day off and I decide to stay at home and watch all the reruns from Gilligans Island... My manager calls me 'hey PEdro I gotta take my kid to the doctor cuz he's sick'... it is EXPECTED usually for the 'childless' manager to go and cover for the parent-worker that has to take the kid to the hospital, or the baseball game, or whatever..

that IS unfair.. not that u have to do a favor to someone, but that the 'childless' workers are TO BE EXPECTED to cover for the parent-workers... its a favor, not an obligation

[Irisheyes 0]

So how can people have careers and still raise a family? There's got to be a solution and already the birthrate in this country for native born citizens has dropped significantly since women have entered into the workforce.

I think it is right to acknowledge parents need time to care for kids. Why punish the kids?

But maybe it would draw less criticism if it was done in the form of "personal time" to be used by everyone. Of call it family leave, so someone without kids can care for their niece if they need to, or take a parent to the doctor. We used to have a one time marriage leave at my work, of one week. A Wedding/Honeymoon bonus. A few years ago, it was replaced as a one time leave for everyone, no longer called marriage leave. because not everyone gets married, and not everyone gets married while working here! It was the right thing to do.

That already exists. It's called the Family Medical Leave Act and it allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a sick family member or such. This also the piece of ####### they pass off as maternity leave!

[peejay 327]

i've done that too, as a married guy with no kids.. I've had to cover for someone else because the kid is sick or something like that, which, well, I kinda understand, and I would except reciprocity at some point. but it's still unfair.. I have to be here everyday, and if it's my day off and im sleeping like a lazy bum, and someone kid's sick, damn,, adieu dreams, come to work.. aghh..

lawl

There's got to be a solution and already the birthrate in this country for native born citizens has dropped significantly since women have entered into the workforce.

It is a phenomenon that is occurring in many Western industrialized nations.

[Jenn! 918]

What are we doing wrong? Look at Norway! (# of hours worked annually)

Edited November 29, 2006 by jenn3539

[almaty 19]

What are we doing wrong? Look at Norway! (# of hours worked annually)

damn straight

[Anna C. 4]

I am used to a paid maternity leave from Europe when they can't fire you, no way. There is also a law in Germany when they ask you during the interview if you wanna get pregnant that you can lie - otherwise they wouldn't hire you.

Anyway, I think it is only fair that the childless coworkers have to cover up for parents - raising a child is very important, not only to the particular family, but to society! Parents raise tomorrow's generation, and they should get as much support as possible. It seems to be very egoistic not to want to cover up - childless people have a lot of spare time anyway (kids are a full time job). It occurs to me that only people who chose not to be parents don't want to support parents.

Anyway, my point is: it is moral and society-support to help parents. And if you are religious, it's also Christian to act like that.

Just my opinion.....

[hockeygal 0]

That already exists. It's called the Family Medical Leave Act and it allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a sick family member or such. This also the piece of ####### they pass off as maternity leave!

That is unpaid leave though. I think people should be gettingpaid leave. But then, I hear some places don't even give you sick days.

As for maternity leave - I find what you get in the USA to be outrageous. We get a year in Canada, and I think that is the best thing they ever did. Parents can even split the time between them.

As much as I love my snugglebunny, leaving my 5 weeks vacation, 1 year maternity leave, 1 week family sick leave, flex schedule, 1085 hours of accumulated sick leave, stat holidays etc... scares the ####### out of me. And I think it is uncivilized to have to go work the day after Christmas!!

[Irisheyes 0]

But why has it become necessary for both parents to work all of a sudden? Because not many regular guys can provide for their families alone anymore. I'm not going back to work because I love it so much, I'm going back because bills need to be paid. I'm going back because I want my kids to be able to read after they finish school, guess what, that means private school! These things don't come cheap anymore!

[hockeygal 0]

Anyway, I think it is only fair that the childless coworkers have to cover up for parents - raising a child is very important, not only to the particular family, but to society! Parents raise tomorrow's generation, and they should get as much support as possible. It seems to be very egoistic not to want to cover up - childless people have a lot of spare time anyway (kids are a full time job). It occurs to me that only people who chose not to be parents don't want to support parents.

Just my opinion.....

Ignoring the insulting assumptions you've made here... there is a diffence between helping and being expected to do something because the assumption is you are not busy. As I noted earlier, no one gave my coworker time off to go help his sister who is a parent. Because the children were his nieces, and not his children, he was told he couldn't take the time. Flexibility is what is reasonable. For everyone.

[pedroh 21]

I am used to a paid maternity leave from Europe when they can't fire you, no way. There is also a law in Germany when they ask you during the interview if you wanna get pregnant that you can lie - otherwise they wouldn't hire you.

Anyway, I think it is only fair that the childless coworkers have to cover up for parents - raising a child is very important, not only to the particular family, but to society! Parents raise tomorrow's generation, and they should get as much support as possible. It seems to be very egoistic not to want to cover up - childless people have a lot of spare time anyway (kids are a full time job). It occurs to me that only people who chose not to be parents don't want to support parents.

Anyway, my point is: it is moral and society-support to help parents. And if you are religious, it's also Christian to act like that.

Just my opinion.....

although society-wise it is as u say egotistical for childless workers to not cover for parent-workers, u still have to respect the right for those 'childless' workers to spent their time-off as they please. Remember not all of us think the same, so as for me I wouldn't mind covering for someone who has to take a kid to the hospital, someone else might have a date with a girl he might marry, or in his scale it is just important for him to have that day off.. and that doesn't make it egotistical..

now.. not all unsupportive couples don't want to be parents.. We've unluckily trying to have kids for these last year, and sometimes I just have something important to do (I work retail, so my crazy schedule doesn't allow me to go and pay bills or do housing-related stuff against the 9-5 govt schedule) and I can't cover for a parent-worker..

and again, I think it's a favor, not an obligation.. not all jobs are hourly waged.. so for someone covering for a parent-worker might not be useful or productive (meaning not getting overtime), and well, there are people who want something in return for doing something like that..

Edited November 29, 2006 by pedroh

[Irisheyes 0]

That already exists. It's called the Family Medical Leave Act and it allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a sick family member or such. This also the piece of ####### they pass off as maternity leave!

That is unpaid leave though. I think people should be gettingpaid leave. But then, I hear some places don't even give you sick days.

As for maternity leave - I find what you get in the USA to be outrageous. We get a year in Canada, and I think that is the best thing they ever did. Parents can even split the time between them.

As much as I love my snugglebunny, leaving my 5 weeks vacation, 1 year maternity leave, 1 week family sick leave, flex schedule, 1085 hours of accumulated sick leave, stat holidays etc... scares the ####### out of me. And I think it is uncivilized to have to go work the day after Christmas!!

Oh I totally agree. If I were at home I would be getting 26 paid weeks maternity leave. Vacation and sick pay are better too. Believe me, we have been weighing this up seriously over the last few months. Baby was unexpected, we could have planned it better.

The only thing the US wants us able bodied regular working class people to do is carry and support everybody else. The old people (and rightly so), the poor people, the lazy people and the rich people. When it comes to our own lives we are expected to take care of everything ourselves, which I would have no problem with if I wasn't paying out so much for all the others, but forget about anybody helping us out!

Kinda went off on a tangent here....lol....it just makes me mad!!!

Edited November 29, 2006 by Irisheyes

[Anna C. 4]

I understand that and think flexibility is needed as well, but it doesn't seem be popular in the US.

I worked from early morning to 6pm and some days till midnight in New York and was still happy to cover up for my pregnant coworker, I think it is my duty to help.

Also I think you have to think about that I am not familiar with all American work-traditions, I am used to the German way. To cover up doesn't happen often and people have a lot more vaccation to take care of family things. I worked also for a company who respected those family (personal) days in the USA. I was just sick that so many people in my home country decided against children because they are too much work and still "spank" people who dare to be parents. I hope that explains a little my point of view...

I just want to explain why I cover up whenever necessary.

Edited November 29, 2006 by Anna C.

[pedroh 21]

I understand that and think flexibility is needed as well, but it doesn't seem be popular in the US.

I worked from early morning to 6pm and some days till midnight in New York and was still happy to cover up for my pregnant coworker, I think it is my duty to help.

it might be ur duty, but that doesn't give u the right to say that childess couples who don't want to help don't want to have kids either.... that was rather insulting..

[Anna C. 4]

No that was a misunderstanding pefroh, I meant people (and I know some of those, believe me, had several discussions) who say: I hate kids and don't want them. And I will never help people who have them, their own problem, they got themselves into this mess. I meant those kind of people.

[Irisheyes 0]

As for time off, I don't expect for anyone to take over for me just because I will have a kid and they won't. I'm not so arrogant as to think my life is any more important than anyone elses. There is always a solution. Usually their are 2 parents involved, it is their responsibility first of all to try to find a solution to time off issues. If it comes down to it, you may have to work different schedules to make it work, but you do what you have to. I will be depending on myself and my husband to work all this new stuff out. But I certainly won't be depending on co-workers to carry the burden of my children, just as I don't expect to carry theirs. Once offs are different.