anybody else completely pissed about maternity leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no, OP. as a fed i have to take leave without pay to stay home with my baby. why do you feel entitled to paid maternity leave?
.

because at one time women felt entitled to the right to vote

[Anonymous]

really apt comparison - a fundamental human right (voting) vs paid leave for someone who likely makes more than the majority of this country.

i am all for supporting women in the workplace but not whiners who dont realize how good they have it. i have more sympathy for a low wage earning woman who can't afford to take even 6 weeks off for basic recovery or those women who work for companies with less than 50 employees so they have problems taking FMLA.

[Anonymous]

well, social security and unemployment and cobra and medicaid is for everyone

[Anonymous]

You know what always gets me about threads like this? The amount of nastiness and attempts to upstage - "well *I* don't get ANY paid time off and have to go back after 2 weeks and you don't hear *ME* complaining" and the constant kvetching about how longer, paid maternity leave is going to raise all of our taxes, blah blah blah. You know what? It is possible to be sympathetic to someone's desire for a longer, better paid maternity leave while still understanding that it could be a lot worse. I am still waiting for someone to say "WELL AT LEAST YOU HAVE A JOB AND ARE PREGNANT!". Could the situation be a lot better? Yes. Could it be a lot worse? Yes.

My maternity leave policy at my current job is very good. The job, itself, is not. I learned as much as I could about the various leave policies here while I was looking for a new job. When I got pregnant faster than I'd expected (first cycle of TTC instead of several cycles later), I was interviewing for other jobs. I ultimately abandoned my new job search because I wanted the good policy rather than no policy. Then when I came back from maternity leave, I stayed here because I felt it would be unethical to take their money and run right away. I recognize my privilege. I appreciate what I have been given by my employer. I still think it is awful that this country has very little in the way of parental safety net. I know that there are a lot of structural changes that would need to be made to have, for example, the policies of Sweden and Denmark. I know those systems have other problems. I can still look at them with longing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what always gets me about threads like this? The amount of nastiness and attempts to upstage - "well *I* don't get ANY paid time off and have to go back after 2 weeks and you don't hear *ME* complaining" and the constant kvetching about how longer, paid maternity leave is going to raise all of our taxes, blah blah blah. You know what? It is possible to be sympathetic to someone's desire for a longer, better paid maternity leave while still understanding that it could be a lot worse. I am still waiting for someone to say "WELL AT LEAST YOU HAVE A JOB AND ARE PREGNANT!". Could the situation be a lot better? Yes. Could it be a lot worse? Yes.

My maternity leave policy at my current job is very good. The job, itself, is not. I learned as much as I could about the various leave policies here while I was looking for a new job. When I got pregnant faster than I'd expected (first cycle of TTC instead of several cycles later), I was interviewing for other jobs. I ultimately abandoned my new job search because I wanted the good policy rather than no policy. Then when I came back from maternity leave, I stayed here because I felt it would be unethical to take their money and run right away. I recognize my privilege. I appreciate what I have been given by my employer. I still think it is awful that this country has very little in the way of parental safety net. I know that there are a lot of structural changes that would need to be made to have, for example, the policies of Sweden and Denmark. I know those systems have other problems. I can still look at them with longing.

Very well said. Thanks for this post........

[Anonymous]

Yeah, for real - thank you.

[Anonymous]

AMEN to the most recent post about kvetching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:well, social security and unemployment and cobra and medicaid is for everyone

Not true. It is available only for those who are qualified for any of these programs. Also, COBRA is not free and you do not even get this at group rates.

[Anonymous]

FED here - For those of you who will lose use-or-lose a/l this year because you taking sick leave during the first portion of your maternity leave, you can ask your supervisor to disapprove your annual leave for a specific time period before you go on leave. If the leave is disapproved, it can be reinstated in the next year and you can use it then.

[Anonymous]

In the spirit of equality, the men should also be forced to be without pay.
It is not fair that a woman must forgo her salary. The man should do so as well

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FED here - For those of you who will lose use-or-lose a/l this year because you taking sick leave during the first portion of your maternity leave, you can ask your supervisor to disapprove your annual leave for a specific time period before you go on leave. If the leave is disapproved, it can be reinstated in the next year and you can use it then.

That's a great idea--thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the spirit of equality, the men should also be forced to be without pay.
It is not fair that a woman must forgo her salary. The man should do so as well

Who would that benefit, other than employers? As it is, most men only take a week or two after their baby is born, and then are back at work. I've never worked anywhere that had separate policies for mothers and fathers, where the dad gets paid time off and the mom doesn't.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate what I have been given by my employer. I still think it is awful that this country has very little in the way of parental safety net. I know that there are a lot of structural changes that would need to be made to have, for example, the policies of Sweden and Denmark. I know those systems have other problems. I can still look at them with longing.

Amen to that.
And I would like to add that it does *not* make me or anyone else unpatriotic to look at what's *better* in other countries, and what we could or could not adopt to make this country better! And yes, I'm very aware of what's worse in other countries at the same time! It is absolutely possible to see both. Thank you very much.
My family has generations of people that served in the US military since WWII - these stupid *thoughtless* posts ("why don't you leave the country") get my blood boiling!
Do *not* suggest for people to leave our country for being able to see and compare the good and the bad with others... People with an open mind should have that ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I appreciate what I have been given by my employer. I still think it is awful that this country has very little in the way of parental safety net. I know that there are a lot of structural changes that would need to be made to have, for example, the policies of Sweden and Denmark. I know those systems have other problems. I can still look at them with longing.

Amen to that.
And I would like to add that it does *not* make me or anyone else unpatriotic to look at what's *better* in other countries, and what we could or could not adopt to make this country better! And yes, I'm very aware of what's worse in other countries at the same time! It is absolutely possible to see both. Thank you very much.
My family has generations of people that served in the US military since WWII - these stupid *thoughtless* posts ("why don't you leave the country") get my blood boiling!
Do *not* suggest for people to leave our country for being able to see and compare the good and the bad with others... People with an open mind should have that ability.

The other countries also have a smaller population, pay much higher taxes, and it isn't all peaches and cream with their system. I have relatives who have fought and died for their country and that has absolutely nothing to do with maternity leave because they were fighting to keep our country free NOT for maternity leave for any generation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I appreciate what I have been given by my employer. I still think it is awful that this country has very little in the way of parental safety net. I know that there are a lot of structural changes that would need to be made to have, for example, the policies of Sweden and Denmark. I know those systems have other problems. I can still look at them with longing.

Amen to that.
And I would like to add that it does *not* make me or anyone else unpatriotic to look at what's *better* in other countries, and what we could or could not adopt to make this country better! And yes, I'm very aware of what's worse in other countries at the same time! It is absolutely possible to see both. Thank you very much.
My family has generations of people that served in the US military since WWII - these stupid *thoughtless* posts ("why don't you leave the country") get my blood boiling!
Do *not* suggest for people to leave our country for being able to see and compare the good and the bad with others... People with an open mind should have that ability.

The other countries also have a smaller population, pay much higher taxes, and it isn't all peaches and cream with their system. I have relatives who have fought and died for their country and that has absolutely nothing to do with maternity leave because they were fighting to keep our country free NOT for maternity leave for any generation.

Unfortunately you did not understand anything from that previous post.
Here we go with the higher taxes AGAIN! We understand it's not all peaches and cream. That is the point! The other point is that you CAN love your country and yet also contemplate and talk about what's not so great. ...and you think that ANYONE would suggest the military should be fighting for maternity leave?!? OMG.