FVAW Statement on Christine Quinn’s Blocking Paid Sick Days in New York

“The grassroots activists who make up Family Values @ Work were stunned to learn that New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is single-handedly blocking workers there from earning paid sick days.

“Many FVAW members know first hand what it means to face the impossible choice between their health and a paycheck. Speaker Quinn ‘s decision will prevent a million New York workers who haven’t got a single paid sick day from going to doctor’s appointments, picking up a sick child from work, or simply getting well instead of infecting their coworkers and customers – unless they skip a paycheck or risk losing their job.

“Paid sick days help improve outcomes for children, the aging, the chronically ill, and for public health. They also benefit businesses through healthier, more productive workers. Businesses who offer this benefit – a number of whom are part of our coalitions — gain reduced turnover costs and lower health costs from access to preventative care.

“The business lobbyists who’ve influence Speaker Quinn have been crying wolf about the costs of paid sick days. Yet those who led the opposition in San Francisco now acknowledge paid sick days have not been harmful. In this economy, working mothers and struggling families need that modest protection more than ever – and businesses need the level playing field to deliver it for them.

“In New York and around the country, the public overwhelmingly supports paid sick time. Thankfully, many elected officials agree. In New York and throughout the country, we will continue to fight for and win this basic protection – and to demand that our elected officials represent those they are supposed to serve.”