Labor Rights Equals Civil Rights

 Hey guys! So this month's topic is going to be on maternity leave!  I don't think the topic of Maternity Leave is talked about early as much as it should be. Maternity Leave is written the FMLA--Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This requires pregnant mothers 12 full weeks of unpaid leave if they work in a company with fifty or more people. I'm sure that by reading this definition, you can definitely point out the problem right away. What happens to pregnant mothers in a company with less than fifty employees? While there are some states who have permitted the extension of the FMLA to smaller businesses, many mothers do not have the right to maternity leave.  Honestly, to get straight to the point, U.S maternity leave is bad. For such a developed country, I know we can do better. How is paid leave not a national statute? Japan has 36 weeks of paid maternity leave, where women can earn about two thirds of what they usually earn when working. Sweden has 35 weeks, where d

 Hello everyone! As high school students, your teachers have probably mentioned the education worker's strike at least once in the classroom. So, today, we're going to talk about it!  The education worker's strike started on February 22nd, 2018. LAUSD-The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest education district in the whole country and the teachers are on strike, garnering mass attention from the media. So, why are teachers leaving their jobs and protesting?  LAUSD teachers were influenced by the West Virginia teachers who protested for better pay, better school resources and facilities, and four day weeks. There simply wasn't enough federal resources that were going into public education. Teachers believed that now was the time for them to stand up against the flawed education system and create change.  Did the strike happen over night? Simply put, no. The strike happened after numerous negotiations and concessions failed. When it seemed that compro