Michelle Obama provided a fist-bump to the National Partnership for Women and Families on Friday, June 20, by appearing at the organization’s annual luncheon in Washington.

The sense of optimism and momentum surrounding her husband’s chances to win the White House are apparent when Mrs. Obama is in a room.

That’s why it was a coup to get Mrs. Obama on the partnership program. She rearranged her schedule to be there, according to event organizers.

Washington is a town based on relationships and appearances. The people with whom you associate directly affect your status. For the partnership, that means their issues will be at the forefront of an Obama administration.

The group is a leading advocate for equal pay for women, paid sick days and paid family and medical leave. In her remarks, Mrs. Obama spoke of mothers she met on the campaign trail whose salaries haven’t kept pace with the price of groceries. If they take a second job, they can’t afford baby sitters, she said.

“When will our leaders not only support but champion the cause of working families?” she asked. “It’s time for the leaders of this country not only to champion these causes but to fight for them every day.”

After missteps earlier in the campaign season, she was fairly heavily scripted and didn’t achieve the soaring rhetorical levels of her husband. She got her point across more sharply when she said, “Basic health care is not a privilege but a fundamental right of every single American.”

In closing, she reflected the urgency that her husband tries to convey.

“We don’t have time to wait,” she said. “There’s too much at stake.”

The political ground may be shifting even before the presidential election in November. On Thursday, June 19, the House passed a bill that would provide four weeks of paid parental leave to 1.8 million federal employees for the birth or adoption of a child. The measured passed with a healthy margin at 278-146.

The White House has threatened to veto the measure, calling it a “costly, unnecessary new paid leave entitlement.” Yet it garnered the backing of 50 Republicans. Its fate in the Senate is unclear.

But Democrats are using the bill to frame their approach to employment issues. They argue that they don’t want workers to have to make a choice between loved ones or their jobs.

“It is time to turn family values into a reality in the lives of the workforce,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, author of the bill, during the House floor debate.

The partnership touts gains it has made this year—expanding family and medical leave for military families and gaining approval for paid leave in a couple cities and states.

“If we can accomplish all this in a recession … in an election year … in the seventh year of an administration that has turned such a blind eye to women and families, just think of what we’ll be able to accomplish next year—and in years to come,” said Debra Ness, president of the partnership.

If Democrats increase their margins on Capitol Hill, which is likely, and win the White House, which is looking more and more probable, organizations like the partnership will be in ascendance.

That will put pressure on groups like the Society for Human Resource Management that represent the management side of these issues. They raise concerns about costs and the regulatory burden on business operations.

They’ll have to work hard to reach compromises with the partnership to keep themselves in the fray on Capitol Hill. So far, they’ve been able to come to agreements with advocacy groups on mental health parity and disability law. Look for the same approach during an Obama administration.