The Leadership Conference Education Fund Releases Report on Economic Security

WASHINGTON – Today, The Leadership Conference Education Fund released its report, “In Their Own Words: Working People and the Need for Policies that Provide Economic Security.” The report documents the plight of people working in low-wage jobs and calls for policy initiatives in six areas critical to the life of every American worker: higher wages, paid family leave, paid sick days, fair scheduling, access to health care, and basic living standards.

“For decades, The Leadership Conference Education Fund has been documenting the changing workplace and its impact, especially on low-income communities and communities of color, and promoting policy reforms needed to create a nation that works for all Americans,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Education Fund. “By learning from the experiences of real people and collecting their stories, we can better understand the detrimental impacts of inadequate policy standards on people working in low-wage jobs and their families, and the need for policies that address their very real needs.

The report concludes with specific recommendations, including: raising the minimum wage, requiring paid sick days, requiring paid family leave, requiring fair scheduling, expanding Medicaid eligibility, and addressing basic living standards.

The report is available here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.