Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition : U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce Endorses Paid Sick Days

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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Contact your State Legislators to tell them this legislation is important to you!

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Call the Massachusetts State House and ask for your Representative and/or Senator: (617) 722-2000
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U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce Endorses Paid Sick Days

“The U.S.Women’s Chamber of Commerce supports a minimum standard for paid sick days. Healthy businesses need healthy workers, which is precisely what paid sick days accomplish. Women-run businesses are on the forefront by typically offering such benefits because they understand the needs of working women and their families. Paid sick days are an investment in our families, our workforce, and our health that we cannot afford to do without.” Margot Dorfman, CEO,Women’s Chamber of Commerce. For more on the Chamber's support, check out @CLASP_DC & the Women’s Chamber of Commerce’s new fact sheet on how women-owned biz can support #paidsickdays: http://ow.ly/2vWFx

TAKE ACTION: E-mail Andrea Lindemann at the Center for Law and Social Policy; alindemann@clasp.org to add your business’s name to a letter to Congress supporting the national paid sick days bill, The Healthy Families Act (just include your business name and location in the subject line). Or e-mail Ellen Wallace at the Mass Paid Leave Coalition; ewallace@gbls.org to add your business's name to Massachusetts businesses that support of the state Paid Sick Days Act.