Using Our Voices to Win Paid Sick Days

by Helen Bushnell, 9to5 Colorado member

Last month, I stood in the Rotunda of the Colorado State Capitol building – surrounded by fellow members of 9to5 National Association of Working Women and Paid Sick Days Colorado Coalition partners.

We were there to lobby our legislators about the paid sick days movement. It was an intimidating and scary moment. I had never lobbied before. But now, I know that I will lobby again.

Here is what I learned:
Surprise, surprise … Legislators aren’t always sitting in their offices waiting for their constituents to show up. They are really busy. They all have committees and issues. But it’s not that hard to get a hold of them.

You can pull legislators out of committee meetings. You write your name and the name of the person you want to contact on a slip of paper and give it to a person in a green coat, who then takes it into the meeting. It can take as much as twenty minutes for the legislator to come out. Sometimes that cannot leave their meeting. So be patient. I almost missed talking to a Representative because I didn’t wait long enough.

Legislators do want to talk to you. After all, they work for us and they want to know what their constituents are thinking. What I’m thinking about is paid sick days. I spoke with Rep. Sarah Gagliardi, and what I told her about was my experience in working as a child care provider. I told her about one of my students who got whooping cough. The whooping cough incident closed the whole center – and it impacted a lot of families.

What happened to those families? Did they stay home with their children because the child care center had to close? Did they lose their pay for that day? Did some of them lose their jobs because of the lack of paid sick days? I don’t know what happened in every single case. But I know what happens when workers don’t have paid sick days. They have to make tough choices between caring for their families and keeping their jobs; choices no worker should have to make.

Let me tell you, people will always get sick. Child care workers, especially, get sick. Without paid sick days, they go to work, they spread contagions, and other people get sick. Think about restaurant workers. Restaurant workers get sick. If they don’t have paid sick days (and 90 percent of them don’t), they go to work. They are afraid of losing their pay or losing their jobs. They spread contagions. We all lose because of the lack of paid sick days.

On lobby day, when I told Gagliardi the stories, I also handed her 9to5 postcards filled out by her constituents. There were about 25 or 30 cards. It made a difference.

Lobbying makes a difference. Especially when it’s lobbying by a “real person” like me.

Our voices matter.

If you ever have the opportunity to lobby with 9to5 or to collect postcards, I would urge you to do so. We can influence legislation, but only if we work together.

Helen Bushnell is a member and volunteer of 9to5 Colorado

Show Your Love: Support Paid Sick Days

On Valentine's Day, many of us ate a meal out with a loved one -- whether it was at a family burger place or a higher-end restaurant. In this recession, restaurants are thriving. But many restaurant workers are not. They are literally starving for better working conditions.

A new report from the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), a nonprofit advocating for better wages and work conditions, revealed that 90 percent of those who work in the restaurant industry lack paid sick days. In addition, the report revealed that 67 percent go to work sick, endangering the public health.

So, to keep the Valentine's Day spirit alive, show some love for servers, cooks, busers and other workers in the restaurant industry. Pick up a restaurant comment card, or write a note on your bill, supporting paid sick days for every worker in the restaurant industry. Let restaurant managers and owners know that paid sick days are not only good for workers but good for the public health, too.

Leave a note. Spread the love.

"Miss American Way" (The Lilly Ledbetter Song)

For years, the national network of 9to5 members and activists has been fully engaged in closing the wage gap; organizing Equal Pay Day events, speaking out on state and federal legislation, serving on Equal Pay boards and commissions. It is with that history -- and the future -- in mind that we observe the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act.

On January 29, 2009 (one year ago today!), President Barack Obama made the signing of the Ledbetter Act the first of his new Administration. During his 2010 State of the Union address, he reconfirmed the commitment to equal pay for equal work.

To celebrate both these critically important moments in time, songwriter Camille Bright-Smith, a 9to5 member who operates the site BloginSong, has written a Ledbetter musical tribute that you will want to share with your family, friends and colleagues.

Hear Camille Bright-Smith's triumphant, high-energy song, "Miss American Way," at (http://bloginsong.com/). It reminds us that there is no better time than now to speak out for legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act that will move us toward closing the wage gap once and for all.

January 10-16 is National Influenza Vaccination Week

Next week, January 10-16 is National Influenza Vaccination Week!

Do you have Paid Sick Days? Does everyone you see everyday have Paid Sick Days?

If not, be sure to get the flu and H1N1 vaccines!

Only about half of workers have access to Paid Sick Days. Without them, people are forced to choose between going to work sick or losing a day's pay (or possibly a job!). Without paid sick days to care for your children or other relatives, people are forced to choose between their jobs and their families - a choice no one should have to make!

Without paid sick days, many people have to go to work sick so that they don't lose a day's pay. This means that thousands of people each day could be at work sick - people working at the restaurant where you eat lunch, people at your office, people at the bus stop.

In order to protect yourself and your family, and in order to ensure that you don't lose a day's pay because of the flu, get vaccinated!

Getting vaccinated is only one step. We must pass Paid Sick Days in Colorado to ensure that NO ONE ever has to make the impossible choice between family and their job - for every illness, not just the flu!

If you are interested in getting involved in the campaign to pass Paid Sick Days in Colorado, please call 303-628-0925 or email erin [at] 9to5.org

Paid Sick Days Colorado Kick-Off!

Join us as we celebrate our efforts to pass Paid Sick Days in Colorado in 2010.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Hope Community Church
1801 S. Logan St, Denver

Hear from Legislators who are sponsoring our Colorado bill, and also hear from 9to5 Colorado members who have Paid Sick Days stories to tell.

For more information, please contact Erin 303-628-0925, erin@9to5.org

Tahirah Foster Needs Paid Sick Days!

My name is Tahirah Foster. I live in Denver and I'm the mother of a precocious 4-year-old named Sa’mari, who lives with asthma.

I was forced to leave my dream job as a crew leader at a fast food restaurant because I had no access to paid sick days and my employer refused to allow me the time to be away from work when my daughter had an asthma episode.

The breaking point for me came the day when Sa’mari experienced a brutal asthmatic episode and the child care director called my job with a message that my daughter needed to be picked be right away. But the restaurant was particularly busy that day and the manager choose not to pass along the message until the end of my shift.

These days, I works as a part-time political canvasser, a job where I receive pro-rated paid sick days based on my hours, and it also offers me the opportunity to manage both my care-giving duties and my paid work duties.

I want to see my legislators pass Paid Sick Days in Colorado, so parents like me won't be punished for doing the right thing for our children.

Watch Tahirah talk about the importance of Paid Sick Days here

9to5 Colorado Helps Defeat Dangerous Ballot Initiative in Denver!

We have all accidentally left the house without our wallet or purse. Fortunately, this fall, 9to5 Colorado worked to defeat Initiative 300, the Vehicle Impound Initiative.

This initiative would have unnecessarily impounded the cars of anyone caught driving without their drivers license and/or registration, even if they just left their wallet at home, and they would've had to pay upwards of $2700 to get their car back. This Initiative was dangerous and had huge consequences for everyone! No one should have to pay $2700 for a simple mistake like leaving their license at home.

9to5 made over 16,000 contacts with Denver voters this year, and nearly 80% of all voters we talked with committed to vote No on the initiative! On November 3rd, 2009, we saw a HUGE victory as Initiative 300 was defeated by Denver voters -- 70% to 30%! Because of the extensive field and media efforts by 9to5 and all the other organizations who worked to defeat 300, Denver residents understood the far-reaching consequences and voted to ensure that no one had to lose their car or pay $2700 for a simple mistake.

Courtney Coffman, one of 9to5's canvassers, talks about her experience working with 9to5 this year:

While working with 9to5 to defeat Initiative 300, I discovered that the experience of being a canvasser was completely unlike anything I had ever done. The sheer density of human interactions, both positive and negative, packed into such a limited period of time was both exhilarating and exhausting. I came to understand how invaluable civic engagement work truly is: the fact that, yes, I am coming to your home and your private life and asking for your time, but if you do give me your time, we can work together to defeat this dangerous initiative. Of course, not everyone was willing to talk with me. At times, feeling particularly defeated by an unwelcome reaction, the only thing that kept me going was the thought that that individual would be exponentially more disturbed if their car was unfairly impounded, than by me at their door. However,countless individuals recognized the very real and devastating consequences that the initiative would have on their lives if it were to pass, and thanked me for being there.

One common response from people at the door was: “I don’t have time to talk about this - I have kids to take care of.” While I understand that taking care of a family is time-consuming and the top priority, initiatives like I300 and others that threaten our families' rights and financial stability are one of the most compelling reasons to vote.

I know that all too often we have to fight for our rights, but we must stand up to those who seek to deny basic rights to Coloradans. I am proud to have been part of the fight to defeat Initiative 300 through 9to5 and to have protected the financial resources of Denver residents.