Paid Parental Leave Needed for Payday’s Multimedia Editor

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Folks,

In about a week, our multimedia and community editor, Amos Wolf, is going to have a kid, his first. He needs to take two months off for paid parental leave, and I wanna offer him that.

​Currently, I pay Amos a $1,000-a-month base salary, with more when we can arrange big projects. (This past month, I paid him $1,400). He tells me he intends to take about two months off, so I would need an extra $2,000 over the next two months to give parental leave while I hire Fernando Cavalcanti, who’s worked with Payday in the past, to replace Amos on an interim basis for two months.

​Now, Payday is under no legal obligation to pay Amos's parental leave, but I feel we are under a moral obligation. His salary of $1,000 a month, is equal to his monthly mortgage payment. To take away someone's ability to pay their mortgage just because they just had a kid is wrong.

​Amos has worked for us for three years and has done invaluable work in building out Payday’s multimedia capabilities, as well as in fundraising and building community partnerships. We owe Amos this crucial time off with his first kid without incurring a financial penalty.

​Currently, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato is proposing paid sick leave for all workers in Pittsburgh. Many small businesses have raised objections, saying it would cripple their businesses. Instead, at Payday Report, we know valuing employees has the opposite effect. It will grow our publication.

​We hope readers will help us raise the extra $2,000 we need to give Amos two months of parental leave.

​Let’s show those trying to use small businesses to kill the paid parental leave movement that small businesses can actually build loyalty with their audience if they grant paid parental leave. So pass the hat today and help grow the movement for paid parental leave.

Please, check out some of the work that Amos has done and help give him a break to be a Dad. 

Melk

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