The bill to establish Paid Sick Days is currently in the State Senate and may be voted on soon. On July 16th, President Haynes wrote to State Senators urging them to pass Paid Sick Days.  The following is a copy of his letter.

July 16, 2008

Dear Senator,

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO is strongly in favor of SB 1073 - An Act Establishing Paid Sick Days. Our organization, representing 400,000 working families from over 750 local unions from every region of the state and working in every sector of the economy, is proud to support the basic principle that no one in this Commonwealth should have to choose between their own health or the health of a loved one and their livelihood. I urge you to speak in favor of Paid Sick Days legislation in your caucus and, should you be given the opportunity to cast a vote, to support working families by supporting SB 1073.

In September 2007 at our historic 50^th Annual Convention, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO unanimously endorsed a Resolution in support of Paid Sick Days, which you can view here: http://www.massaflcio.org/node/4285. I have had the privilege of testifying on behalf of Paid Sick Days, most recently in November 2007. You can view my testimony here: http://www.massaflcio.org/node/7614.

Paid Sick Days is an issue about fundamental justice, fairness, and, frankly, the level of humanity we espouse here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is unconscionable that in the greatest state in the richest nation in the world nearly half of all workers do not have the ability to take paid time off to care for their own health or that of a loved one. This legislation will rectify an unacceptable situation for too many workers by allowing them to earn time off to care for themselves. No one is asking for a hand-out. This is the epitome of a "hand-up."

The reasons to establish Paid Sick Days in the Commonwealth are endless. The reasons not to establish them are cynical, bottom-line driven, and below the level of compassion and humanity that the legislature has demonstrated on so many economic and social issues in recent history. This is a family issue and a women's issue. In our society, women remain the primary caregivers, impressively balancing the needs of their families and the demands of their jobs. We cannot preach family values without valuing families enough to insist that we be able to care for each other without fear of losing pay or even our job, and putting our family in worse jeopardy. Paid Sick Days afford all working families and women the benefit of time off that, at present, only those who can afford it currently enjoy. Economic status should not dictate our ability to care for our family or ourselves.

This is a health issue, both for families and for public health. When workers are forced to come to work sick their own health suffers and customers and co-workers also become sick. When workers are unable to avail themselves of crucial preventative care and timely treatment of illness, their health suffers and costs rise astronomically for both the individual and the health care system at large. "Presenteeism" (workers coming to work sick) spreads disease and jeopardizes public health.

This is a health care reform issue. Paid Sick Days are indispensable to the next stage of health care reform. We cannot pretend to be a national leader in health care reform if the very people we are mandating to carry health insurance cannot afford to take the time to ever even use it. This counterintuitive and counterproductive circumstance jeopardizes our health care reform efforts. Paid Sick Days are essential to improving our health care system.

In short, no workers in Massachusetts should be forced to choose between caring for their families and earning a day's pay. We must take the bold, yet basic and fundamentally right step to implement a new basic workplace standard to ensure that today's families are able to be healthy, happy and hopeful without risking abject poverty, hopelessness, and despair. Let us bring our laws up to the high levels of justice, humanity and compassion that are our hallmark in this Commonwealth; and let us do so in a way that makes a real difference in the health and economic prospects of our families. By implementing legislation to allow workers to earn Paid Sick Days, this Commonwealth will once again lead the nation in doing what is right for both practical and moral reasons.

All votes relating to these matters may be considered Labor Votes and calculated into Labor Voting Records upon which endorsements and levels of support are determined.