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These 3 Women Talked with the President Today About Paid Leave:

Summary: 
President Obama takes a quick trip to Charmington's Café in North Baltimore, Maryland to talk with three women -- Amanda, Vika, and Mary -- before announcing new steps his Administration is taking to help working families across the country.
President Obama has lunch with Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Amanda Rothschild, Mary Stein, and Morvika

President Barack Obama places an order with the waitress during a lunch with Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Amanda Rothschild, Mary Stein and Morvika "Vika" Jordan to discuss balancing family and jobs, at Charmington’s Café in North Baltimore, Md., Jan. 15, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Earlier today, President Obama took a quick trip to Charmington's Café in North Baltimore, Maryland to talk with three women -- Amanda, Vika, and Mary -- before he announced new steps his Administration is taking to help working families across the country.

As the President noted at the café today, 43 million Americans still don't get paid sick leave. "That means that no matter how sick they are, or how sick a family member is, they may find themselves having to choose to be able to buy groceries or pay the rent, or look after themselves or their children," he explained.

Amanda, part of the cooperative that opened Charmington's, is a proponent of providing paid sick leave, and paying above the minimum wage. She explained how that investment in employees pays returns, as employees are more productive and stay longer.

Mary, a school nurse, recalled times when she would call a parent to pick up their sick child from school, and that parent couldn't pick up their child because leaving their job early would have put their job at risk.

Vika explained how, back when she was a consultant with young children, she could lose up to $150 each time she had to take a day off. "When you're a young family getting started, that's going to have an impact on whether or not you can save to ultimately buy a home or start putting away savings for a college education," the President said.

"So this is an issue that spans geography, spans demographics. Working families, middle-class folks all across the country are concerned about it. And the good news is we really can do something about it."

Find out more about the President's announcement, and watch the President's remarks after their conversation here:

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