🔒New nonprofits to push paid family leave, gender-pay equality

The abolishment this past spring of a 43-year-old commission that fought for women's issues at the state legislature — including gender-pay equality and paid family leave — has given rise to two new nonprofits that aim to continue the advocacy.

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) was one of six legislative commissions consolidated into a single entity earlier this year as the state legislature looked for ways to trim costs amid its budget woes.

The new Commission on Women, Children and Seniors is still working to keep women's issues alive, but its more limited efforts could receive outside support from two separate, but affiliated nonprofits.

The PCSW Education Fund Inc. — a 501(c3) — will focus on women's issues in the workplace and generally as it conducts research, educates, and builds coalitions, while PCSW Inc. — a 501(c4) — will lobby lawmakers on those shared issues.

The leaders of both nonprofits had active roles in the former PCSW before it was disbanded, bringing informed perspectives to the fledgling nonprofits, which will be bipartisan and act independently of the legislature, said Mary Lee Kiernan, president of the PCSW Education Fund.

PCSW Inc.'s 501(c4) status allows unlimited lobbying as part of its mission. Other organizations that use a similar model of affiliating 501(c3) and 501(c4) nonprofits include the League of Women Voters and Connecticut Against Gun Violence, Kiernan said.

Unlike the consolidated new commission, “we have autonomy from the General Assembly,” she said. “That was particularly important to our advisory board. We will represent the policy positions that improve the lives of women and girls without any influence by dynamics in the General Assembly.”

Kiernan had been chair of the now abolished commission. Carolyn Treiss, now president of the PCSW Inc., had been executive director.

In fact, about 11 of the 16 former PCSW commissioners and staff, along with Kiernan, Treiss and a former policy director, have joined forces across the two nonprofits, Kiernan said.

The original PCSW had been the largest women's commission left in the United States, and the new nonprofits intend to carry forward its legacy of developing landmark legislation and research in the areas of sexual harassment, domestic violence, family medical leave protections, pay equity and human trafficking, Kiernan said.

Just launched in late September, the two nonprofits don't have startup funding, but will be looking to raise money from individuals and other groups. They have, however, acquired some prominent board members, including U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

“I've been working with them for years and they had done an outstanding job on the issues,” said DeLauro, who sits on the PCSW Education Fund board.

The original commission created the country's first family and medical leave protections, and paid family leave is the logical next step, DeLauro said, noting that it already exists in New Jersey, Rhode Island and California.

Both nonprofits are starting at ground zero in terms of fundraising and tackling the issues, said Kiernan and Treiss, though they foresee potentially collaborating with the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors.

Steve Hernandez, the commission's executive director, said his organization is actually making headway in preliminary talks with insurer Harvard Pilgrim on outsourcing the management of a possible paid medical leave program in Connecticut, which could cover most of the program's startup costs, estimated at $13.6 million.

Kiernan and Treiss also said that the ultimate paid medical leave program costs would be borne through employee payroll deductions and not fall to the employer. Outsourcing management was an idea first floated in the original commission, Kiernan said.

“This is an important work[place] support for women, to keep them employed and supporting their families while they care for sick family members, and it's important for Connecticut's economy,” Kiernan said.

Paid family medical leave has been a hot-button issue at the state legislature in recent years, with such legislation facing opposition from business groups, including the Connecticut Business and Industry Association.

Last year, a bill that would have created a 12-week paid leave program — financed by worker payroll reductions — failed to get through the legislature. CBIA raised concerns that the state-run program would cost too much, putting further pressure on Connecticut's finances. The business group has also argued that many employers already offer flexible workplace programs and that a government-mandated program isn't necessary.

Currently, family leave is a benefit and right but it is unpaid for childbirth or illness of a relative, said Hernandez. He welcomes the expected advocacy the two nonprofits are likely to bring on the issue.

“They're brand new,” Hernandez said of the new nonprofits, “but they come with decades of collaborative experience.”

Other areas Treiss and Kiernan plan to delve into include pay equity and economic security. Massachusetts currently has a bipartisan bill that promotes pay equity, Treiss said, and she'd like to see “something like that in Connecticut,” but it's still too early to say whether a bill can be pursued.

Paid family leave is one aspect of economic security, along with employment rights for homecare workers, which affect low-income employees and minorities, and the $15 minimum wage. The nonprofit boards have not yet taken a position on these issues, Treiss said. They are also interested in workforce development programs that will guide women into nontraditional work in science, technology, engineering and math fields, Kiernan added.