A broad coalition of labor, elected officials, policy advocates and community organizers gathered yesterday at City Hall in support of a proposal to guarantee paid sick time to every employee in New York City.
Dan Cantor is joined by Councilmember Gale Brewer and SEIU 32BJ President Mike Fishman at yesterday's press conference in support of paid sick days
As the New York Times noted, momentum is building behind the commonsense idea that everyone should be able to take a day off of work when they (or a family member) gets sick. As WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor said in yesterday’s press release: ”Ensuring that every New Yorker can take a sick day when they need it is good for public health, good for the economy and great for working families.”
Unfortunately, as the the Drum Major Institute noted in a report (No More Delay: Proven Policy Solutions for New York City) released on July 15th, nearly one million New York City workers have no paid sick days at all.
At the press conference, Saul Lopez, a restaurant worker from Corona, Queens said: ”I was extremely sick with a fever. I called my manager and she told me that if I didn’t come in, that there wouldn’t be a job for me anymore, but I was so sick that I physically couldn’t get myself there. And that’s how I lost my job.”
