Un-Progressive Labor Practices at Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood, the largest network of abortion providers in the country, probably did not expect a negative piece from the generally upscale-social-liberal New York Times, but the Gray Lady took aim at network’s treatment of pregnant employees in a lengthy investigation published this week. The Times reports:

In interviews and legal documents, women at Planned Parenthood and other organizations with a feminist bent described discrimination that violated federal or state laws — managers considering pregnancy in hiring decisions, for example, or denying rest breaks recommended by a doctor.

The Times investigation — which relied on interviews with former Planned Parenthood network employees and organizers with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), which represents some Planned Parenthood workers — detailed a number of examples of Planned Parenthood clinics failing to adequately support pregnant workers. In one irony, Planned Parenthood’s lobbying arm (the Planned Parenthood Action Fund or PPAF) advocates for a federal paid maternity leave mandate while 49 of 55 Planned Parenthood regional offices fail to provide paid maternity leave to their employees.

This is not the only case of Planned Parenthood failing to live up to the labor demands of its progressive allies, among them the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) which contributed $20,000 to PPAF in 2017. A Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado fought a unionization attempt by SEIU Local 105, though a pro-choice advocacy media site reported it dropped its appeal to the National Labor Relations Board in August.

Additionally, both Planned Parenthood Federation of America (the national headquarters of the network) and PPAF are clients of Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. (GCI), a canvassing firm associated with the left-wing activist Public Interest Network (PIN). PPFA reported spending over $3.5 million with GCI in 2017; PPAF spent almost $1.4 million. Both GCI and PIN have been criticized for their labor practices, with GCI allegedly infringing the National Labor Relations Act in its efforts to prevent its Seattle and New Orleans offices from unionizing.

So Planned Parenthood’s having a less-than-progressive approach to maternity leave for its own employees is hardly unexpected. Like other left-wing organizations, the group’s labor practices resemble those that union activists impute, often falsely, to for-profit businesses.