FamilyValues@Work.org

New York Paid Family Leave Coalition members will gather on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, on the steps of New York City Hall to announce the introduction of a proposed paid sick days ordinance. The event will begin at 12 noon and is sponsored by the A Better Balance, Make the Road New York, Working Families Party, Restaurant Opportunities Center-New York, SEIU Local 32BJ, UFCW Local 1500, and RWDSU.

For more information, contact Jocelyn at 212-558-2276. You can read more about the work of the coalition on their website.

A new set of surveys and a national report from Restaurant Opportunities Centers United show that although the restaurant industry continues to prosper—even in the face of the economic crisis—most workers are still being denied the family-supporting policies that would make these jobs sustainable.

Using data collected from restaurant worker surveys in Chicago, Metro Detroit, New Orleans, Maine, and New York City, the national analysis shows that:

• 90% of surveyed restaurant workers had no health insurance through their employer.
• More than 89% reported having no paid sick days and 78% had no paid vacation time.
• Nearly 67% worked while sick.

Combined with ongoing racial disparities in wages and job promotions, the failure to provide health insurance, paid sick days, and other time off means that many of the most economically vulnerable restaurant workers are struggling to meet the needs of their families. The reports also show that consumer health is being traded away in favor of increased profit.

Activists in the paid sick days fight in Milwaukee are continuing to organize as the legal battle makes its way to the State Supreme Court.

On February 18, the Wisconsin State Court of Appeals sent the legal challenge to Milwaukee’s paid sick days ordinance up to the State Supreme Court. The move means continued delay in implementation of the ordinance—approved by nearly 70% of City of Milwaukee voters in a November 2008 referendum vote.

Immediately after voters’ approval of the referendum, the city’s main business lobby, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC), requested a temporary injunction against implementation. The Milwaukee County Circuit Court later rejected most of the MMAC’s arguments but struck down the ordinance on the judge’s opinion that a provision for time off for safety needs related to domestic violence was outside the common understanding of “sick leave.”  9to5, the lead organization in the grassroots coalition that put the ordinance on the ballot, has led the legal appeal of this ruling as an intervenor in the case.

This action by the Court of Appeals asks the State Supreme Court to rule on whether the language on the November 2008 ballot met the statutory requirement that it be a “concise statement of [the ordinance’s] nature.” 9to5 says that the ballot language met the requirement and that voters had access to the full text of the ordinance during the petition signing process and at all polling locations. The MMAC insists that the ballot language needed to include a list of numerous provisions of the ordinance.

Because state law allows Milwaukee’s Common Council to vote to repeal an ordinance passed by referendum two years after the vote, the appeals court is also asking the higher court to rule on whether that 2-year clock has been running while the ordinance has been held up in court.

You can read 9to5’s press release on the court’s action at the 9to5 website.

Sarah Standiford, head of Maine’s paid sick days coalition, very ably debated a business lobbyist on Maine Public Broadcasting Network’s “Maine Watch” last week on the issue of paid sick days. Follow the link to the February 5 program and scroll over to about 8 minutes, 40 seconds into the video. Sarah answers the business lobbyist point-for-point for a good 15 minutes.

Supporters of the work of Family Values @ Work will be interested to read this review of the research on the importance of family leave for the parents of newborns. To celebrate the 5th anniversary of the state paid family leave program in California, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation recently released a report called “Newborn Family Leave: Effects on Children, Parents, and Business.” Among the report’s findings:

• Newborn family leave has significant positive effects on the health of young children, rates of breastfeeding, and fathers’ involvement with their babies.
• The most important determinants of whether parents take leave are if the leave is paid or job-protected.
• Lower income workers and part-time workers are less likely to have access to either paid or unpaid leave.
• Businesses report no major problems in complying with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and effects on business appear to be modest.  Some studies suggest that leave policies can benefit companies through increased employee retention and job satisfaction.

You can read the report at the Packard Foundation website.

You can now follow the New York paid sick days and family leave insurance campaigns on Facebook and Twitter. Check the campaigns out at:

Time to Care NY on Twitter

New Yorkers Deserve Paid Sick Days on Facebook

More and more businesspeople are speaking out in favor of Maine’s proposed paid sick days policy. Dozens of small business owners recently held a media event in Orono, Maine, to talk about the need for paid sick days. Check out the Maine Women’s Lobby blog for a news report on the event.

President Obama’s recently proposed 2011 federal budget includes a $50 million State Paid Leave Fund. The fund will provide start-up support for state governments that want to enact paid leave options for workers.

“A handful of States have enacted policies to offer paid family leave, but more States should have the chance,” notes an Office of Management and Budget fact sheet on how the proposed budget will support middle-class families. “The Budget establishes a $50 million State Paid Leave Fund within the Department of Labor that will provide competitive grants to help States that choose to launch paid-leave programs to cover their start-up costs.  The Budget also provides resources to allow the Department of Labor to explore ways to improve the collection of data related to intersection of work and family responsibilities.”

In a speech Thursday at the Department of Labor, First Lady Michelle Obama made a forceful call for new policies that value families at work – including paid sick days and family leave. Describing the challenges families are facing today – and challenges she has known first-hand – the First Lady declared these policy solutions as “not just niceties for women but as necessities for every single working American.” Below are excerpts from her remarks:

“While there’s certainly plenty of employers out there who recognize the value of good work-life policies,” she said, “many people in this country just aren’t as fortunate to work with those employers. And with the job market the way it is right now, many folks can’t afford to be picky… And many don’t have access, as a result, to good family leave policies or any kind of flexibility in the workplace at all…. Read the rest of this entry »

For Immediate Release:

January 11, 2009

Contact:

Ellen Bravo, Executive Director, 414-916-7078

Washington, DC: Today Family Values at Work – a network of 14 state coalitions that supports strong health and family policies in the workplace – called on federal lawmakers to observe “National Influenza Vaccination Week,” January 10-16, by supporting a critical public health measure to slow the spread of flu: paid sick days.

“As we encourage people to get flu shots, we must remember that parents sometimes need time off to keep themselves and their families healthy – without fear of losing their job or income,” said Ellen Bravo, Executive Director of Family Values at Work. “Whether it’s taking the time to get a vaccine, or staying home to care for a sick child – meaningful inoculation means giving people the tools to be healthy. Paid sick days are a reasonable, modest protection.”

“When workers go to work sick, their co-workers pay a price – by getting sick themselves,” said Bravo. “Employers pay a price too: their workers aren’t as productive as normal, and more will miss work as the flu spreads. Letting sick workers stay home will make all workers healthier.”

As Denver business owner Terri Monley put it, “People get sick. They deserve the time to get better…. Doing things this way is good for our employees. It’s good for our business. And it’s good for our country…. The last thing [families] should have to worry about is balancing their top two demands: their responsibilities at home and their responsibilities at work.”

Indeed, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has stated on its official flu.gov website that “Employers should encourage employees that are ill with pandemic influenza or are exposed to ill family members to stay home and should consider flexible leave policies for their employees in these circumstances.”

“Public health officials have repeatedly cautioned that the best way to stop the spread of H1N1 is for workers to stay home if they are sick and for parents to keep children who are sick home from school. To do that, they need the protection and encouragement that comes with paid sick days,” said Bravo.

The Healthy Families Act, Introduced by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) in the House of Representatives last May, would require businesses with 15 or more employees to provide up to seven days (56 hours) of paid sick leave per year.

Paid sick days are just one of the modest, minimum standards Family Values at Work urges federal officials to enact to ensure workers the flexibility to meet their family needs. To read more about important family-friendly workplace standards, including a guaranteed minimum number of paid sick days, view the in-depth report by Family Values at Work, “Family Values @ Work: It’s About Time,” which documents the consequences on workers, families, businesses and the nation when family values end at the workplace door – and the benefits of new standards like paid sick days, that bring institutions in sync with the realities of today’s families.

“You shouldn’t have to risk your job to take care of your family, and you shouldn’t have to put your family at risk just to do your job,” said Bravo.

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