For Immediate Release Contact: Barbara Morgan barbara@anthonyweiner.

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de Blasio and Quinn Follow Weiner With Proposals on Family Leave Now Let's Compare: The Keys to the City Tour: Idea # 66 New York City Welcoming his fellow Democrats to the debate on ideas, Weiner today visited a Manhattan hospital to discuss his proposal for providing city employees with paid maternity and paternity leave. Weiner's plan was included in his second idea book, Even More Keys to the City 61 Additional Ideas to Keep New York the Capital of the Middle Class. The City of New York is one of the largest employers with a workforce of nearly 300,000 municipal employees. While the city allows new moms to take up to twelve weeks off, they are required to do so using disability compensation and their sick or vacation time. Weiners proposal would offer three months of fully paid maternity leave and six weeks of fully paid leave to non-birth parents to ensure our citys newborns get the care they need in those crucial first months. Quinn and de Blasios plans announced weeks after Weiner first announced his proposal are far less ambitious and less helpful to expectant parents. A comparison of the proposals shows that neither of their plans would offer fully salary and benefits to employees Quinns would cover 2/3 of an employees salary with a cap of $470 per week and de Blasios would only offer 1/2 of an employees salary with a cap $340 per week, both including the $170 in New York State funds. Moreover, their plans to cover the costs are unrealistic and fiscally irresponsible de Blasios plan is reliant upon Albany action to approve an additional tax and Quinns plan is paid for through the reallocation of a rainy day interest payment, funds that may need to be used in the case of a citywide emergency. Weiners plan would be covered through a combination of a 5% contribution held from an employees salary and funds actualized through the 5% reduction in waste across all city agencies. There is little debate about the benefits of maternity leave to the children and the parents, Weiner said. But it also makes good economic sense for the city. Across the country, only 12% of employees have access to paid leave for any care of family members including newborns, adopted children, or ill children or adults with most employees rely on a combination of vacation days, sick/disability leave, and employer sympathy. Moreover, despite research documenting both the long-term positive developmental benefits to children and the benefits to employers, including higher retention rates and lowers turnover costs, the United States is currently the only industrialized nation to not mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns. ### www.anthonyweiner.com