Here are some stories that have recently come in from airport workers who need earned sick days! If you need earned sick days, share your story in the comments.
Lou D.: “Since we don’t have sick days, we don’t get paid when we call out. I take care of my whole house by myself and I don’t make enough money to miss even one day’s pay sometimes. I go to work even when I am sick.”
Tommy R.: “Not having sick days means that if I get sick and have to miss a day, I don’t get paid. We also get penalized for missing days. The pressure of not wanting to be penalized and the fact that I cant’ afford to miss any money pushes me to go to work even when I am sick. One of my biggest issues is that we work in such close quarters with each other that without sick days, we have too much potential to spread germs to one another. Our work is also so physically demanding that it is very hard to do our work properly when we are not 100% physically well.”
Sarko D.: “I am a student and I work overnight. Not having sick days not only means that I have to work while being sick, it sometimes causes me to miss class. If I call out, even if I have a doctor’s note, not only do I not receive my pay, I also receive an occurrence on my attendance record.”
Christopher V.: “Not having sick days means that when I have to call out, I don’t get paid which puts me behind on bills. We don’t get paid much to begin with and on top of that, I get written up. In September, I feared being written up because I missed two days when I was in the hospital with kidney stones. I was still passing them when I returned to work. It was very painful but I can’t afford to miss money or risk losing my job by calling out sick.”
Carlos C.: “We already don’t make enough money. Not having a paid day to recover from being sick means that you are forced to make a decision between your health and paying your bills. It feels like a form of bullying because they take advantage of the fact that we cannot afford to miss money. It’s like they say, ‘Why should we give you a sick day when we can force you to come to work?’”
Damian K.: “I have to come to work whether I am sick or health because if I call out, I will be penalized. I will get points on my record and they’ll suspend or fire me. I am irate with this system because it’s unfair to penalize me for being sick when I am not given enough time to recover from the initial illness.”
Victoria R.: “Not having sick days makes holding onto our jobs difficult. Some of us are older people with grandchildren. When we call out, we don’t get paid or are threatened with suspensions or being fired. Who will take care of our families if we aren’t allowed to?”
Allieu N.: “I have been working for (unnamed company) going on three years now. Because of our occurrence system, I cannot miss any more days. Our points never go away so no matter how sick I am, I come to work. It’s not right.”
Leula W.: We do not have sick days and we are not provided with health insurance from (unnamed company). Most of the time when we are sick we don’t go to the doctor’s because we cannot afford it. Missing these days means you get penalized and you lose your pay. Not only do we not get sick days, if you get sick or injured while you are working, (Unnamed company) will not pay you for the rest of your time. Their system is not fair.”
Mamadou T.:“(Unnamed company) does whatever they want. When I was sick, I did not get paid for the days I had to miss. It was hard for me to provide for my household. But (unnamed company) is in charge, what choice do I have?”
Denis N.: “When I have to call out, I lose money and I have children to take care of. When I lose money, I get behind on my bills. My job should not add to the normal obstacles of life.”
Seth L.: “I can’t call out sick without worrying that I could lose my job. I had an incident where I was attacked and stabbed five times. I went to work that night because I couldn’t afford to miss the money or risk being penalized for it. I pay rent weekly and I support my year old son. I need my job, but it shouldn’t cost me my health or safety.”
George W.: “I am going on 70 years old. Not having paid sick days means that if I get sick, I don’t get paid and have to struggle even more to make ends meet. The airlines make provision for their own workers but the subcontractors do not. It is very hard to live and work under these conditions.”
Anthony K.: “I have a 6 month old baby girl and I had to stay home with my wife for a week after she gave birth. I don’t have any sick days so I did not receive any money for the time I had to miss. If I get sick or if my child or wife get sick and I have to call out, I don’t get paid and I get a point against me on my record. It is very hard to take care of my family under these conditions. It’s not right. I shouldn’t have to choose between my family’s health and providing money for our household.”
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