Paid Sick Leave at a Stand-Off in Philly
A Democratic mayor’s veto last Tuesday will not be enough to stop a three-year-old push for paid sick leave in Philadelphia.
More than 100 labor, faith, and community groups back the law, which would require most employers to pay for a modest number of days off due to illness. Employees would earn one hour of sick time for every 40 hours worked, up to seven paid days per year. For businesses of 10 employees or fewer, workers could earn up to four days.
But corporate-friendly Mayor Michael Nutter complained that Philadelphia businesses would be disadvantaged by higher labor costs. The bill had been modified 19 times to placate local business people and the mayor, who nevertheless announced his veto at the Chamber of Commerce.
The bill ended up passing 9-8 in mid-June, three votes shy of being veto-proof. City Council is adjourned until September and the bill is now mothballed. Although supporters vow to continue the fight, their strategy probably won’t be clear until after council elections in November.
Knowing that 71 percent of Philadelphians support paid sick time, Nutter says he will support the measure only if the state or federal government requires it, leveling the competition among municipalities.
Good Results
The positive experience of other cities suggests he’s passing the buck. San Francisco passed paid sick leave in 2007, followed by the District of Columbia in 2008. Connecticut just enacted a measure giving the state’s roughly 300,000 hourly private sector service workers up to five paid days every year. Similar laws are advancing in Denver, Seattle, and New York City.
A February study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research surveying 1,200 workers in San Francisco reported that the people who previously had the least access to paid leave are benefitting the most—low-wage workers and people of color. Parents are now less likely to send sick children to school.
Eight hundred San Francisco employers in the study reported the sick-day law was a non-event, rebutting hysterical claims from the corporate lobby that employees would abuse leave time and swamp businesses with extra costs.
When advocates cited San Francisco’s favorable experience, Nutter maintained the two economies were too different. But the cities have a similar reliance on the tourist and hospitality industries most affected by the law.
Paid Sick Leave - News
A Democratic mayor's veto will not be enough to stop a three-year-old push for paid sick leave in Philadelphia. A similar law just passed in Connecticut and awaits passage in New York City, where community groups rallied. Photo: William Alatriste.
One of the votes in favor was cast by Councilman Bill Green, who opposed paid sick leave, but supported the bill in a deal to prevent the mayor's soda tax from passing. Councilman William K. Greenlee, who sponsored paid sick leave along with Majority
The latest figures show that some 44 million workers in private employment - more than 40 percent of the private sector workforce - do not have paid sick days that they could use to recover from illnesses, including contagious illnesses such as the flu
In June, Connecticut became the first state to require businesses to provide paid sick leave for all service workers in the private sector. Democratic Governor Dan Malloy's "sick pay" bill, which passed the state
Questions arose after Fire Chief Joseph LaCroix decided to stay out of work on paid sick leave until he retires this month. LaCroix, who has been with the city 39 years, had 285.5 sick days accumulated as of Jan. 1, according to the city.
Philadelphia Paid Sick Leave Bill Vetoed | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (D) last night vetoed a paid sick leave bill passed by the City Council that would have made Philadelphia the third city in the nation guaranteeing workers paid sick leave. Says AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurers Liz Shuler:
It’s a shame the mayor ignored what the majority of Philadelphians say is the right thing to do for working families. When workers in the city get sick, they are still faced with the awful choice of their health or their paycheck. The mayor could have changed that.
Says Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO President Patrick J. Eiding:
The ability to take a day off when you or your family member is sick is a public health issue as well as a worker rights issue. We’re disappointed in the mayor’s veto and will continue to fight for paid sick days and all legislation that helps workers. paid sick days is implemented.
There are paid sick leave efforts underway in several cities and states including Denver, New York City, Massachusetts and Georgia.
New research on paid sick day laws in other cities shows significant benefits for workers and minimal impact on businesses. A recent study of San Francisco’s paid sick days law shows business concerns about job loss were unfounded, with six in seven employers saying paid sick days have had no negative effect on profitability and two-thirds of employers surveyed supporting the law. Other studies have shown that employees are healthier and more productive when they have access to paid sick days. Washington D.C. is the other city with a paid sick leave law.
Nationwide, more than 44 million private-sector workers in the United States—42 percent of the private-sector workforce—don’t have paid sick days they can use to recover from a common illness like the flu.
Recent surveys show three-quarters of Americans say paid sick leave should be a “basic workers’ right” and Congress should pass legislation that guarantees it.
Just this morning the Economic Policy Institute ( EPI ) released a new briefing paper on how a federal paid sick leave policy would promote workers’ financial stability and the economic security of their families. Click here for the report.
This seems to be a growing trend with the dems. This is another reason why I stopped donating to Wisconsins fundraising of dem candidates.
Sick Leave Fight in Philly - People aren't taking the Mayor's "No" for an answer via@IWPResearch 
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