Speaking Out for Paid Sick Days: My First Lobbying Experience

By Caitlin McCannon

When I arrived at the office of Sen. Saxby Chambliss, I didn’t know what to expect from the experience of lobbying. I knew that I was no high-priced lobbyist. I knew I wasn’t well-connected to the Washington beltway or even the Georgia State Capitol.

Still, I had a story to tell; one that the Senator needed to hear.

My story is about the lack of paid sick days and the need to pass the Healthy Families Act, federal legislation that would guarantee every American worker the opportunity to earn paid sick days.

Currently, nearly 57 million workers lack paid sick days. And, 100 million workers don’t even have a single paid sick day they can use to care for an ill child. That leaves folks with some awful decisions; especially low-wage workers like me. But no one should have to choose between keeping a job or income and caring for themselves or a loved one in times of occasional illness.

That’s what I told the Senator.

I told him I work at a movie theater on nights and weekends. The schedule each week came to mean the difference between making the rent payment, paying the utilities, having dinner each evening . . . or not.

At the theater, if you cannot not work the hours you are scheduled -- for any reason, including being sick -- those hours got to another employee who CAN work them. Or, those hours go to a new hire that can come in and take your place on the rotation. Not only will you lose that night's pay but you’ll lose the next week’s pay as well. Being sick is a liability that most of the employees just cannot afford. And, having a sick child could mean that you can’t feed that child. What kind of a choice is that?

The concession worker behind the counter scooping the popcorn and filling the drinks, the usher tearing tickets, even the box office cashier handing you your change, all of us have come in to work at one time or another, knowing we’re sick, knowing that we may pass along disease, but needing the shift, needing that pay.

We have not only endangered ourselves, but the public as well. Think about that the next time you’re snuggling down into that movie theater seat with your jumbo popcorn and extra large fountain drink. You might be getting a little swine flu with that extra squirt of butter. How many restaurant employees, fast food workers, child care aides, nursing home aides, how many other low-wage workers go into work sick because they can’t afford to take the time off? It boggles the mind to think about how many of us are working when we should be home in bed or going to see a doctor.

If Congress passes the Healthy Families Act, working while sick would not be a necessity. Employees could earn paid time off to recuperate at home during bouts of occasional illness. Children could stay home with a parent by their bedside when they are ill. With swine flu spreading, passage of the HFA is critical. We’d all be a lot better off and families wouldn’t be faced with such tough choices in these tough economic times.

That’s what I told the Senator the day I became a 9to5 lobbyist.

Caitlin McCannon, the Technology Intern in the 9to5 Atlanta Office, is a senior Cultural Anthropology major at Kennesaw State University. Reach her at caitlin@9to5.org.

Does Having an Effective, Family-Friendly, Workplace Matter?

You bet it does!

And paid sick days for every worker is a critical element. Check out what a new report from the Families and Work Institute finds ...

"Employees who receive at least five paid days off per year for personal illness report significantly better work and health/well-being outcomes. Fifty-six percent of employees with at least five paid days off for personal illness report high job satisfaction compared to 49% with less than five days off. Within the five-plus day group, 71% report no signs of depression, versus 61% of those with less than five days off."

Read about paid sick days, and more, in "The State of Health in the American Workplace: Does Having an Effective Workplace Matter?" at http://familiesandwork.org/

Share your own paid sick days story by emailing rosemaryh@9to5.org.

Let's come together to speak out on the need for the Healthy Families Act, federal legislation guaranteeing each worker the opportunity to earn seven paid sick days each year. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to support the Healthy Families Act now!

Unemployment Changes Little

REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT

AUGUST 2009

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in

August. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia reported over-

the-month unemployment rate increases, 16 states registered rate decreases,

and 7 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in all 50 states and

the District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent

in August, up 0.3 percentage point from July and 3.5 points from

August 2008.

Read the entire release at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

Activist Shines a Light on Milwaukee's Troubling Paid Sick Days Decision

Ted Bobrow is a native New Yorker but he is dedicated to making his "adopted" hometown, Milwaukee, a better place for working families. A strong 9to5 ally, Ted wrote a compelling piece for ThirdCoast Digest, one of Milwaukee's most vibrant online sites.

In "City's Troubling Decision to Sit Out Paid Sick Leave Appeal," Ted questions Mayor Tom Barrett's unwillingness to stand up for the voters who approved paid sick days in an overwhelming vote and Ted applauds the Milwaukee Chapter of 9to5 for continuing to fight the good fight for paid sick days.

Read the full story at http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2009/09/city’s-troubling-decision-to-sit-out-sick-leave-appeal/

And, contact your members of Congress, urging them to support the Healthy Families Act, federal legislation that would guarantee every American worker the opportunity to earn up to 7 paid sick days a year.

Listen to Linda on Women's Radio News

Want to hear more about 9to5, our issues, our campaigns? Want to get valuable information about creating change in work-family policy, like paid sick days? Then, "tune in" to Women's Radio News today and tomorrow (9/14 and 9/15) at http://www.womensradio.com/content/templates/?a=3882&z=11.

EFCA: Who Will Take a Stand for Working Women?

Unions have been key in achieving justice for workers. Historically, unions have been a reliable way to reach economic self-sufficiency and the American dream. And in this economy, unions are integral to economic recovery.

Women have a huge stake in unionization and worker justice. And they have a huge stake in legislation that supports the rights of workers, which is why women's voices are critical to the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Denver Post published, not only the views of the members of 9to5 in a recent Sunday guest commentary piece, but the vision of all of us who believe in a free choice.

You can read the op-ed here:

GUEST COMMENTARY
Stand up for working women: Pass EFCA

By Linda Meric
POSTED: 08/02/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

When President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act in January, the nation's attention refocused for a short time on the pay inequity and gender bias that still plague the American workplace. That moment passed, and women are still paid less than men, earning only about 78 cents for every dollar, with women of color earning even less.

The Employee Free Choice Act is one sure way to address this gender-based pay gap. Unionization can provide important economic security for low-wage Colorado women and their families.

In Colorado, women who are in unions earn nearly 6 percent more than women who aren't union members. Nationwide, that difference is about 35 percent.

The benefits of union membership for women in low-wage occupations are even greater. Among those working in the 15 lowest-paying occupations, union members not only earned more than their non-union counterparts, they were also 26 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and 23 percentage points more likely to have a pension plan than those who were not members of a union.

"For women, joining a union makes as much sense as going to college," said John Schmitt, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of the CEPR study "Unions and Upward Mobility for Women Workers."

"All else equal," said Schmitt, "joining a union raises a woman's wage as much as a full year of college, and a union raises the chances a woman has health insurance by more than earning a four-year college degree."

Health insurance is just one of the positive workplace standards unions can provide for working women. Union representation is also one of the strongest predictors of family-flexible workplace policies.

More than 60 million American workers lack a single paid sick day to care for themselves when ill, and nearly 100 million workers lack paid sick time to care for an ill child. No one should lose a job because they have to care for themselves or a loved one. Companies with 30 percent or more unionized workers have been documented to be more likely than non-union companies to provide paid time off to care for sick children (65 percent compared to 46 percent).

That's why passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is so important. It would put the choice of how to form a union back into the hands of workers. A free choice means that workers would have the option of unionization if a majority of them sign up.

The Employee Free Choice Act will protect women and men who join together to negotiate with their employers for health care, fair wages, retirement security and paid sick days.

As President Obama said in signing Ledbetter, we owe a change to our daughters — and our sons.

Now is the time for that change. It's time that our economy worked for everyone again. Please join me in calling on Congress to stand up for working women and pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

Linda Meric is executive director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women, a membership organization of low-wage women working to improve corporate and public policies that directly affect them.

Barbeque, Apple Pie and the Healthy Families Act

For most Americans, the Fourth of July is a day for fireworks, concerts, parades and all manner of patriotic displays. It’s as American as barbeque ribs and apple pie, reminding us of freedom, justice, community, hard work and family values; the shared ideals that define us as a nation.

We don’t need a holiday or special celebration to honor working families. But we all occasionally need time off from work to share the responsibility for our family’s health. Still, the Fourth of July is a perfect time to contact our leaders in Congress and ask that they celebrate our national values of family and work by supporting the Healthy Families Act (HFA).

On May 18, Rep Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Healthy Families Act to the 111th Congress. HFA is designed to allow Americans to earn paid sick time so that they can take care of their own and their family’s health needs. Care-giving responsibilities can be one of the biggest hurdles working families face in their quest to realize the American dream of economic self-sufficiency. But nearly 60 million American workers lack a single paid sick day in which to care for themselves when occasional illness strikes. Nearly 100 million lack a paid sick day to care for an ill child.

For these Americans, the lack of this basic labor standard presents unconscionable choices: whether to stay home and get better or go to work to keep from losing a job. On this Fourth of July holiday – and beyond -- there is lots of work to do to make work, well, work. Go to www.9to5.org to learn more about the Healthy Families Act. Share the information with your family, friends, co-workers, community members. Urge them to take action today by contacting their members of Congress to insure that they support the Healthy Families Act.

While we’re waving our flag this July 4th, let’s really honor all Americans by moving toward passage of the Healthy Families Act.