Paid Sick Days letter printed in Denver Post

Printed on Sept. 25th in the Denver Post in response to "1 in 6 uninsured in Colorado" (9/22)

We hear so much these days about the lack of health care and the need for health care reform. But it is heartbreaking to see how that plays out in communities right here in Colorado. All Americans need and deserve access to care.

We also need and deserve the time to care.

While one in six Coloradans lack health insurance, [one in two] Colorado workers lack a paid sick day to care for themselves or their children in times of illness. It’s heartbreaking to think of children who must stay at home alone or must go to school ill because there is no one able to care for them.

Just as we need health insurance, we also need guaranteed paid sick days for every Colorado worker so that, in these tough times, no one will have to choose between caring for themselves or a loved one and keeping a job.

Erin Bennett, Denver