For our Union, taking on this issue as one of our five priority initiatives for the 2010 legislative session came down to a simple question of fairness. No one should be forced to choose between their job and staying home after the birth of a child, especially vital paraeducators who are the engines that keep our public schools running.

That was the message Union members and staff took to the first legislative hearing on the proposed bill last Thursday. We came to tell the General Assembly's Labor and Public Employees Committee that denying paras access the rights provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act was a wrong that they could correct.

In her testimony to the Committee, our Union's Secretary-Treasurer Patrice Peterson provided an explanation of the vital role that paras play in our state's schools. She offered supporting data from the legislature's study of the profession, which found significant disparities in working conditions, training opportunities, and wages in districts across the state.

Union legal counsel Susan Nelson told the story of a member of our Union's Chapter that represents the paras in Enfield Public Schools in her testimony to the Committee. Susan explained that she had been denied family leave to care for her elderly mother simply because she did not work 1,200 total hours per year, as required by federal law.

Janette Smith, the Vice-President of our Union's Chapter representing the paras in Mansfield Public Schools, told the story of caring for a terminally ill family member in her personal testimony to the Committee. As an instructional assistant, she was able to make a very direct plea to lawmakers to treat her and thousands of paras across Connecticut in the same situation with fairness.

Public testimony from people directly impacted by a proposed piece of legislation goes a long way with legislators, and our members working as paras that face this inequity make the best messengers. We will again mobilize for the next Committee's hearing on the bill, but we may only have a few days' notice to prepare our members.

Contact Political Director Danny Medress at (800) 894-9479, ext. 111 to sign-up now so that we can help you get ready for the next opportunity to speak to lawmakers about this critical issue. We'll help you with a brief statement to make the case for paras to be treated the same as other public school employees when it comes to family and medical leave.