There’s exciting news out of Florida! A coalition of Orlando workers, businesses, unions and advocates has launched a new campaign to establish a citywide paid sick days standard. The campaign filed paperwork at City Hall this week — the first step toward having the proposal put to the city’s voters.
The group also rallied on the front steps of City Hall. Local businesses owners, parents and workers shared their stories and spoke out about the critical need for earned paid sick days in Orlando.
Now, the campaign is focused on collecting signatures from registered voters who support the proposed ordinance and giving voters the opportunity to have their say on the need for paid sick days in the city. The campaign needs to collect roughly 20,000 signatures.
Orlando depends on its tourism industry, which brings more than 50 million visitors to the city each year. Yet nearly half of the workers in Orlando can’t earn a single paid sick day to recover from common illnesses like the flu. This poses a serious threat to visitors’ health, the health of workers and the community, and the city’s economy.
The proposed ordinance, dubbed “Question 1,” would require that both full- and part-time workers at businesses with 15 or more employees be able to earn paid sick days. Workers at businesses of all sizes would be protected from workplace retaliation for taking up to 56 hours of sick time each year for specific purposes. The time could be used to recover from one’s own illness or to care for a sick child or family member, which is critical to working families.
The Orlando effort is being led by Citizens for Greater Orlando.
