COTA and TWU Local 208 Announce New Policy to Provide Up to 12 Weeks of Paid Family Leave to Employees
The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) and Transportation Workers of America, Local 208 (TWU) today announced a new collectively bargained Paid Family Leave policy. In addition to TWU-represented employees, COTA is making the paid policy available to all COTA employees who are starting or expanding their families. The new policy allows parents and children to recover from childbirth, ease the transition into family life, create strong new bonds, and establish new routines as a family without taking on additional financial hardship.
The Paid Family Leave policy goes into effect retroactively from January 1, 2023, and includes coverage for birthing and non-birthing parents who are employed at COTA.
“TWU is pleased this paid family leave benefit is now available to hundreds of our members who work every day to provide essential service to our community while also caring for their families,” said Jarvis Williams, TWU Local 208 President. “We negotiated for this policy, and it is a step in the right direction for COTA and the transportation industry, and we hope it encourages others to follow suit. America’s unions have taken the lead on fighting for paid leave benefits for all workers and we will continue to do so moving forward.”
COTA’s paid family leave policy will help meet the needs of employees from all backgrounds and their families alike and allows birthing parents to receive full pay for 12 weeks, while non-birthing parents, adoptive parents and domestic partners of birthing parents will receive full pay for 6 weeks.