A special message from Mary Pappas, RN:
Mary Pappas, RN
Take it from a school nurse – if there’s one law New York City can pass to help fight Swine Flu this fall, it’s making sure everyone has paid sick days where they work.
I should know. As school nurse at St. Francis Prep in Queens, I helped uncover the first cases of Swine Flu in New York City this spring. When my students got sick, I gave them the oldest advice in the book: stay home, get better, and avoid contact with people who could catch the flu from you.
It’s the same advice the Centers for Disease Control and public health officials told millions of Americans to help stop the spread of the disease.
But here’s the problem. There’s a million people in New York City who don’t have paid sick days where they work–including 39% of public school parents.1 As schools reopen and the flu season returns, lots of working parents might have to send their sick kids to school, where they could put their classmates and teachers at risk.
That’s why I’m joining the campaign to make paid sick days a citywide workplace standard. Over 1,500 New Yorkers have signed our petition calling on City Hall to pass the paid sick days bill. Add your name now– Nurse’s orders!
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/3865/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=640
It’s simple. Staying home to take care of a sick kid is hard on any working family. But it’s twice as tough if you don’t have paid sick time where you work. If missing work means missing a day’s pay–or losing your job–sending your kid to school with a cold or flu might be the only option.
The city and the school system are taking important steps to monitor and respond to Swine Flu in the schools. But we have to make sure our workplace policies are ready to.
I’m calling on City Hall to make sure everyone can take a sick day when they need it. It’s good for students, good for working families, and absolutely critical to the city’s public health. Join me, add your name to the petition:
Thanks!
-Mary Pappas, RN.
St. Francis Prep, Queens
