Top 10 Worst “Accomplishments” of the American Labor Movement

7.  Maternity Leave 

In the past, once a woman was ready to have her first baby, she usually had the opportunity to stay home with the child full time for at least the first three years of that child’s life, so that she could be the primary caretaker of her own infant. This was very important for the developing child, because babies form attachments to mothers, and this allows them to develop normally. Children brought up in institutions such as orphanages are often developmentally delayed, due to the lack of an intimate relationship with a single primary caretaker. The funding for the maternity leave of any woman came out of her husband’s income, or if she did not have a husband, from her family of origin.

But thanks to the Labor Movement, today women expect to take a short maternity leave, during which their job is held in abeyance. Maternity leaves, instead of being paid for by the woman’s family, are paid by her co-workers, in the form of reduced income. Employers compensate themselves for the money they are out paying for maternity leave by adjusting salaries. As a result, many women go back to work as soon as their maternity leave is up, and their infants are then relegated to day care, which is not much better than an orphanage. So if you wonder why so few mothers stay home with their children, you can thank the Labor Movement.