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January 17, 2011
Discounted Jobs: How Retailers Sell Workers Short
Retail is one of the fastest growing sectors in the United States and a core part of the New York City economy. This study, conducted in the fall of 2011, sought to track the wages and working conditions of frontline non-managerial workers in New York’s booming retail industry. We interviewed workers employed at non-union large stores and national chains from high-end 5th Avenue fashion to off-brand clothing retailers on Fordham Road in the Bronx. Because New York is the retail capital of the United States, and the majority of respondents worked in stores with a national presence, this study paints a portrait of the practices and conditions experienced by retail workers across the country.
January 10, 2011
Should Paid Sick Days be Required by Law?
Millions of Americans have to go to work when they fall ill, a phenomenon known as presenteeism. But mandatory paid sick leave is healthier for us all. Connecticut just became the first state in the nation to require employers to provide workers with paid sick days. The new law — which also allows paid leave for a sick child or spouse — is controversial. Opponents attack it as big government run amok and say it will kill jobs. But it is the right thing to do, both as a matter of humane treatment of workers and public health. And while the law doesn’t cover everyone, it’s a step in the right direction and other states should follow Connecticut’s lead.
Dec. 16, 2011
Editorial from Senator Wolf, Chair of the Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development Committee: Making the Real-World Case for Paid Sick Days
Paid sick leave should become part of the accepted responsibility of running a business in Massachusetts. To me, this is both humane and smart. A simple, consistent paid sick leave policy would make for a better work environment defined both in terms of quality of life and, long term, the bottom line. From the very beginning, Cape Air, the airline I founded, has offered paid time off for all employees – as have many successful businesses across the region and state. I can say from hard-won experience that this “benefit” does not break the bank. It is a minimal cost, often returned in spades when a grateful, trusted, productive employee returns to work.

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MOMS PUSH STUCK PAID SICK DAYS BILL

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE, June 22, 2010

MOMS PUSH STUCK PAID SICK DAYS BILL:
Stroller-pushing moms and activists favoring a paid sick days bill roamed the State House Tuesday, visiting the offices of lawmakers and telling aides they want to dislodge the bill from committee and bring it up for floor votes before formal legislative sessions end in 38 days.  “We haven’t had very much luck with people being in their offices today,” Marianne Bullock, a MomsRising campaign director told the News Service during a break between office visits.   Bullock, of Greenfield, said her boss fired her over the phone three years ago during her second day away from work while caring for her 10-month-old daughter suffering from Norovirus.  MomsRising volunteers delivered bottles of hand sanitizer to lawmakers “to let you know that even Super Moms can’t fight off all germs” and need paid sick days.  The Paid Sick Days Act (S 688/H 1815) won the endorsement of the Legislature’s Committee on Labor and Workforce Development in March and is now pending before the House Ways and Means Committee, after a stop in the Health Care Financing Committee.  Bill supporters say it addresses the economic interests of workers and families and public health concerns by guaranteeing that workers in Massachusetts accrue at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.  The bill would allow employers to earn up to seven paid sick days a year and direct all employers to allow workers to use those earned days.  According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, waitresses are the most likely workers to lack paid sick days, followed by cooks, child care workers, cashiers, retail salespeople, personal and home care aides, janitors and building cleaners, receptionists and information clerks, maids and housekeepers, and nursing, psychiatric and home health aides.  Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville) is the chief sponsor of the Senate bill and the House bill’s main sponsor is Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton). 3:30 P.M.