Warm weather may be gone or fading fast in many places but, when it comes to sick days, things are heating up in at least two corners of the country! This month, workers and advocates in Portland, Oregon, and Miami, Florida, launched exciting new campaigns to pass earned paid sick days standards in their cities. These efforts are yet another sign of the movement and growing support for this common sense policy.
Last week in Portland, Family Forward Oregon and a broad-based coalition of allies launched a campaign for earned sick days in the city. This coalition of advocates, workers and businesses are urging the city council to pass a citywide ordinance that would guarantee workers the right to earn time to recover from illness and keep their workplaces and the public healthy; more than 40 percent of private sector workers in the city don’t currently have this right. Check out the Portland Tribune’s great coverage of the campaign, which features the story of a local worker suffering without paid sick days. And be sure to follow the campaign on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date and get involved.
In Miami this week, the more than 40 community organizations that make up the Miami-Dade Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces kicked off their campaign to ensure workers in the county can earn paid sick days. More than 75 people rallied in support of the effort, which is aimed at securing an ordinance that would guarantee workers the right to earn paid sick time. As the Miami Herald reported, 45 percent of workers in the area are currently forced to “punch a time clock despite having a cold or flu, back spasms or migraines. Without paid sick days, they can’t afford to stay home and lose wages — and possibly their jobs.” Show your support for the campaign by getting involved and following them on Facebook.
We look forward to watching these two exciting efforts unfold. And we hope that everyone will do their part to ask their elected officials and candidates at all levels #RU4paidsickdays?
