Urgent: Comments Needed to Save FMLA

As CWA fights to preserve the Family and Medical Leave Act, the union quickly needs to hear from members who have benefited from the law, or else have had employers reject their requests for FMLA time.

CWA will be filing a response to the Labor Department's request for comments in what the AFL-CIO says could be the first step in a process to revise the law and make it harder for workers to take FMLA leave.

Corporate America launched a campaign last year to water down FMLA, which has helped an estimated 50 million working Americans since it became law in 1993. Michael Eastman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, "Changing FMLA is our No. 1 priority right now in terms of labor issues."

CWA General Counsel Mary O'Melveny said she needs information from members by the end of January. She asked members to e-mail her their stories at maryo@cwa-union.org. More information about the comment process, including a sample letter, is available on the website of the National Partnership for Women and Families. Go to www.nationalpartnership.org and click on the FMLA regulations link under "In the News." E-mail and postal addresses are available if members want to submit letters directly to the Department of Labor. O'Melveny requested that members send her a copy of their letters.