Take Action: Stop Big Business From Vetoing Local Laws!

Right now in Pennsylvania, big businesses are trying to take away local rights to pass earned sick days and domestic violence leave laws.  Below is more information about this attempt, and ways that you can take action:

Don't Limit Our Rights in Pennsylvania

I want to have a voice in my community – that’s why I vote, take part in local hearings, and go to school board meetings.

I’m not alone. Pennsylvanians value our ability to make decisions that affect our schools, our neighborhoods and our communities. We know what works best in our backyards.

But some legislators in Harrisburg think they know better. They are trying to limit our rights and silence our voices with statewide legislation. What’s worse is that this legislation introduced by Rep. Grove (York) would hurt middle class and working women and families, like mine.

What we really need is for Harrisburg to stand up for all of us. To fight for policies that help create good jobs statewide, not to try to put an end to local efforts to support our families and strengthen our economy.

To read more and sign this petition, please visit http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/don-t-limit-our-rights-in-pennsylvania.

No corporate veto on our local laws

Right now in Pennsylvania, some legislators are trying to deny us our right to decide democratically what's best for our local communities. They are working with corporate lobbyists to push statewide legislation that would stop cities and counties from passing laws about paid sick days, living wages and other workplace reforms that would help middle class and working women and families – families like yours.

Instead of trying to block local efforts to support our families and strengthen our economy, our legislators should be working in Harrisburg to create jobs.

Tell them to stand up to the corporate lobbyists to vote against these efforts to stop local communities from voting on earned sick days, decent wages and other modern workplace reforms.

Please call your state representative right now and ask him/her to oppose HB 1807.

To find the phone number for your legislator, please visit http://act.keystoneprogress.org/call/HB19807Call/.

City Council to Introduce Resolution to Study Paid Sick Days for All Workers

Philadelphia City Councilman Bill Greenlee will be introducing a resolution on Thursday, September 12, asking the city to study the economic opportunities available to women in Philadelphia.

This resolution is part of ongoing work with elected officials ways to grow the middle class and the economy, including family leave, extending FMLA to siblings, affordable childcare, earned sick days, and equal pay as ways.

If you support this effort, please take a moment to sign on our petition asking Philadelphia City Council members and the Mayor to support earned sick time, and the work-family balance agenda.

Save Valentine's Day!

No one wants a hot Valentine’s Day date to turn into an all night party with their favorite bucket or box of tissues. But, when we eat out here in Philly, we take the very real risk that our waiter or our chef is working sick. It’s not very romantic.

Valentine’s Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, but a staggering 92.8% of people who work in food service here in Philly aren’t able earn paid sick days, this is much higher than the national average and it means that almost all Philly food-service workers have to make the impossible choice between going to work sick and losing a day’s pay – or worse, their job. [1]

It’s gross, it’s unfair, it’s wrong, and it’s bad for our economy.

We can save Valentine’s Day. The Philadelphia City Council will hold a public hearing in March on the need for earned sick days and the bill is coming up on a vote soon after. We’ve been collecting your comments and will be hand-delivering them to everyone on the Council – on Valentine’s Day! It’s not too late to add your message here. http://action.momsrising.org/letter/Phillysickdaysvday?amp=&rd=1&t=4&referring_akid=3904.274442.b6tDfy

Why are earned sick days so important? Everyone gets sick, but not everyone has access to the time off they need to recover. And when people are forced to make an impossible choice between going to work sick (and infecting coworkers and customers) or staying home and risking losing a day’s pay, or possibly even their job – we all lose.

We have high standards for how we treat each other here in Philly. We know that earned sick days are a common sense, humane, workplace regulation that protects Philadelphia families. Earned sick days are a matter of justice. They’re also good for public health and the economy. It’s a win-win deal.

Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, and Connecticut have all successfully enacted paid sick days policies. And in San Francisco, a recent survey found that paid sick days have NOT had the negative consequences opponents falsely predicted. The policy was easier to implement than anticipated and employees are using less than half of the paid sick days they earn. [2] Sick days didn’t hurt the economy either. After passing the ordinance, San Francisco reported higher job growth than its surrounding counties. [3]

Tell the City Council that you are ready for their Pro-Family, Pro-Business vote in favor of earned sick days for Philadelphia. Send the message now. http://action.momsrising.org/letter/Phillysickdaysvday?amp=&rd=1&t=4&referring_akid=3904.274442.b6tDfy

And thanks for saving Valentine’s Day!

-Charlie, Ruth and the whole MomsRising.org team

PS. Want an invite to the public hearing next month? Email mbellesorte@pathwayspa.org and we’ll get you all the details!

[1] ROC. Behind the Kitchen Door: The Hidden Reality of Philadelphia's Thriving Restaurant Industry. (October 2012)

[2] San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Outcomes for Employers and Employees by Robert Drago, Ph.D. and Vicky Lovell, Ph.D. (February 2011)

[3] San Francisco Employment Growth Remains Stronger with Paid Sick Days Law Than Surrounding Counties, Kevin Miller, Ph.D., and Sarah Towne (September 2011)

Sign the Earned Sick Days Petition!

Everyone gets sick.

Now is the right time to make sure that everyone can afford to get better.

In this economy, people can't afford to lose jobs or their pay when their child starts running a fever. Yet two in five Philadelphians go to work each day knowing that the common cold could put their job on the line.

Won't you join us in making sure five out of five working Philadelphians can earn a minimum standard of earned sick days to care for themselves, their children, and their economic future?

Every Parent Wants to Protect Their Children

Every parent wants to protect their children, no matter how old they get, but my daughter was faced with a horrible choice, and it was my fault. She had to choose between staying in the hospital waiting for word about my status in the Intensive Care Unit (which would make her lose her job) or going to work and facing the possibility that I could die while she was ringing people up at the check-out counter.

Going to work or caring for an ailing mother is a choice no one should have to make.

That's why I'm joining with the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces in calling for paid sick days for anyone employed in the City of Philadelphia.

Not only has my daughter already confronted this ugly choice, but she's going to have to do it again and again in the near future because I'm facing heart surgery and a possible diagnosis of breast cancer.

But this isn't just about me and my family. Over 40 percent of Philadelphia's workers don't have the ability to earn paid sick days either. So whether it is the need to care for an ailing elder, or a sick child, or for oneself, there are thousands of people facing the choice of caring for themselves or their family and losing their job.

I'll be honest with you, that's not how it should work in America. But now Philadelphia has an opportunity to lead the way in how it *should* work! Click here and join me in supporting paid sick time for all employees in Philadelphia. Because it's like I told the City Council:

"Even if I have to use my last breath to get [a policy] passed, I will do it!"

You can tell the Mayor and the City Council that you want a paid sick days policy too! Just click here and sign the petition!

In solidarity,

Barbara Lovelace,
North Philadelphia

Family Leave in NJ is Running a Surplus

In 2008, a paid family leave bill passed in New Jersey, despite warnings that businesses would leave the state and employees would abuse the system.  So far, the warnings have been unfounded, and the family leave law has done so well that it is now recording a surplus.

According to an editorial in The Star-Ledger, the maximum amount that will be deducted from employee paychecks to pay for the program will be $17 for the year, which is half of the maximum amount deducted in the previous year.

Approximately 37,000 New Jersey workers have used the program since its inception in July 2009, receiving $83 million to offset lost wages while they bonded with new children or cared for seriously ill family members. Despite this use, the fund has grown to $50 million, providing the opportunity for a tax cut this year that will put $57 million back in the New Jersey economy. (Of course, since most families probably use paid family leave to pay for food, housing, and other necessities while they take time off work, the $83 million spent so far on the program is money that otherwise may not have been available in the economy.)

While paid family leave is still in early stages in New Jersey, workers are benefiting from the program at a lower cost than originally expected, while few if any businesses have left the state or complained about the program's actual impact.  As The Star-Ledger notes, economic security programs for families "needn't bust the budget.  Or strangle common sense."  Just one more reason why other common sense programs, such as earned sick time, are right for employers and families.

If you want to take action on earned sick time, please take a minute to sign our petition, write a letter to the editor, and/or sign up for our letter-writing party on December 7!

Thanks to Everyone Who Attended Today's Coffee Hour!

The Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces held a terrific coffee hour this morning with information on earned sick time along with stories, a video, and, of course, coffee! Thank you to everyone who attended.  For those of you who heard about the coalition for the first time today and are interested in learning more, here are some links you might enjoy:

Now Is The Right Time For Paid Sick Days
Fact Sheets
Studies and Reports
Stories
Legislation in Other Cities
Take Action on Earned Sick Time
Coalition Sign-On Form

"Sick And Tired Of No Sick Leave"

Last week, NPR and The Nation published a story on the need for earned sick days that came out of the "Making it Work: Advancing Workplace Policies for Today's Families Conference" we were attending.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Fifty million workers in America — including 40 percent of the private workforce — lack paid sick days.
• The average cost for sick leave per employer-hour worked in the private sector was just 23 cents.
• According to IWPR, passage of the Healthy Families Act would result in workers saving over $100 million per year in out-of-pocket expenses for the seasonal flu alone; paid family leave to care for elderly parents or other relatives could save over $700 million annually by avoiding temporary placement in care facilities. 

What can you do to help all workers earn a minimal amount of time to use when they or their families are sick?

• Contact your Congressperson right now to ask him or her to cosponsor the Healthy Families Act.
• Tell us your story! Email us at policy@pathwayspa.org to tell us about your experience with earned sick time.
• Sign our petition, which we will take to the Pennsylvania Legislature and to Philadelphia's City Council.
• Please call your state representative and ask him or her to ensure all workers have access to earned sick time by cosponsoring and supporting HB 1830, The Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act.
• If you live in Philadelphia, please call your City Councilperson and ask him or her to ensure all workers have access to earned sick time by cosponsoring and supporting Bill No. 080474, Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces

image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/fsse-info/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Sky Did Not Fall in San Francisco

As states and localities continue to debate earned sick time laws, it is important to look at the track record so far in San Francisco, the only city to have had such a law on the books since 2006 (Milwaukee passed a paid sick and safe days ballot initiative in November 2008, but it has been held up in court, and paid sick and safe days legislation took effect in Washington, D.C., in March 2008).  Despite predictions that "the sky would fall" (employees would be laid off, businesses would close), San Francisco has shown that even during a recession, cities can benefit from earned sick time.

In September 2008, IWPR released a report looking at the early impact of earned sick time on the San Francisco economy compared to local counties.  From February 2007-February 2008, employment increases in San Francisco were on-par with Marin and San Mateo counties and "substantially above" the rate of change in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara counties.  In the restaurant/hospitality industry, where most of the negative impact was expected to occur, employment increased by almost 4 percent between December 2006-December 2007. By comparison, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties showed employment growth of 1 percent or less, while Santa Clara county had negative employment growth.  San Mateo county was the only county with higher employment growth than San Francisco.

More recently, the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy released a report showing updated employment numbers for San Francisco.  From December 2006-December 2009, the five counties surrounding San Francisco showed an aggregate change in employment of negative 5.2 percent.  Every county had a higher decline in employment than San Francisco, which showed only a 3 percent decline in employment. Meanwhile, between December 2006-December 2008, both the Leisure and Hospitality industry and the Accommodation and Food Services industry in San Francisco showed higher growth than neighboring counties. 

While the reports do not offer other reasons for the employment differences between San Francisco and its surrounding counties, it seems clear that offering earned sick time has not proved detrimental to the local economy.  Since passage of the bill, both the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association have said that earned sick time had not caused undue hardships for members and was in fact good public policy.

So, as we continue to work on earned sick time here in Pennsylvania and across the country, please remember the positive impacts it has had so far.  If you would like to support earned sick time, please sign our petition, join our coalition, and/or contact your legislators today!

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/denn/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Got 23 Cents to Spare? That's the Cost for One Hour of Earned Sick Time

A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers some great information on earned sick time throughout the US.  According to the report:

• 61 percent of all private industry workers have earned sick time
• 84 percent of all workers in the occupational group "Management, professional and related" have access to earned sick time
• 42 percent of all workers in the occupational group "Service" have access to earned sick time
• 73 percent of full-time private industry workers and 23 percent of part-time private industry workers have access to earned sick time
• 81 percent of workers in the highest wage bracket have earned sick time, compared to 33 percent in the lowest wage bracket
• In March 2009, the average cost of sick leave per employee hour worked for private-sector employers was 23 cents.
• In "Management, professional and related" the cost is 53 cents
• In "Service" the cost is only 8 cents

In Pennsylvania, 46 percent of all workers lack earned sick time.  In Philadelphia, 44 percent of all workers lack earned sick time.  How can you take action?

• Tell us your story! Email us at policy@pathwayspa.org to tell us about your experience with earned sick time.
• Sign our petition, which we will take to the Pennsylvania Legislature and to Philadelphia's City Council.
• Please call your state representative and ask him or her to ensure all workers have access to earned sick time by cosponsoring and supporting HB 1830, The Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act.
• If you live in Philadelphia, please call your City Councilperson and ask him or her to ensure all workers have access to earned sick time by cosponsoring and supporting Bill No. 080474, Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces

image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/uhuru1701/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Presentations from Today's Public Forum on Earned Sick Time

Thanks to everyone who came out to our Public Forum on Earned Sick Time! Please take a look at the presentations below, and get ready to take action on earned sick time.





Ready to take action? You can:

• Tell us your story! Email us at policy@pathwayspa.org to tell us about your experience with earned sick time.
• Sign our petition, which we will take to the Pennsylvania Legislature and to Philadelphia's City Council.
• Please call your state representative and ask him or her to ensure all workers have access to earned sick time by cosponsoring and supporting HB 1830, The Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act. Please remind them that all workers need access to earned sick time to care for themselves and their families and to keep Pennsylvania healthy and safe. If your legislator is already a cosponsor, call and say thank you for his or her support.
• If you live in Philadelphia, please call your City Councilperson and ask him or her to ensure all workers have access to earned sick time by cosponsoring and supporting Bill No. 080474, Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces. You may also want to request that they hold a hearing on the bill or bring it to a vote. Please select one at-large City Councilperson to call and ask for his or her support as well. If your City Councilperson is already a cosponsor, call and say thank you for his or her support.
  

Sign Our Petition

Did you know that approximately 46 percent of workers in the Pennsylvania and 44 percent in Philadelphia do not have paid sick days?

If you believe all Pennsylvania workers should have the chance to earn paid sick days so they can care for themselves as well as their sick children and parents, please sign our petition. The petition will be delivered to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and, if you live in Philadelphia, also to City Council – both of which are currently working on legislation to provide workers with this benefit.