Daniel Murphy goes to bat for Mets—and for paid leave

David R. Jones

Last night, Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy became a hero to New Yorkers when he led his team to a sweep of the NLCS championship series against Chicago by hitting home runs in a record-breaking six consecutive playoff appearances. We congratulate Murphy and the Mets on an epic post-season run so far. We also salute Murphy for being a hero off the baseball diamond back at the start of the 2014 season, when he missed two games to be with his family for the birth of his first child. When out-of-touch sportscasters criticized his decision, Murphy held firm on his right to take a modest few days of paid family leave—helping to bring national attention to the legions of workers who face loss of a paycheck or even loss of a job when they have to miss work to be with a new baby, a seriously ill family member, or an ailing parent.   

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be joining our fellow New Yorkers in rooting for the Mets to take home their third World Series title. We are also looking beyond baseball season to the upcoming legislative session in New York. The State Assembly has passed strong legislation that would provide up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for workers—without adding a dime to the state budget—but the bill has failed to come to the Senate floor for a vote. Governor Cuomo and State Senate leaders need to step up to the plate and pass paid family leave in 2016. It will be a home run for New Yorkers.

Issues Covered

Paid Family Leave, Paid Leave, Workforce