Wearing hospital masks, dozens of members and supporters of the Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition convened in the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, May 14th, to call attention to the urgency of the passing of SB688/HB1815: An Act Establishing Paid Sick Days. Lead-sponsored by Senator Patricia Jehlen and Representative Kay Khan, this legislation would enable all employees to earn up to 7 paid sick days per year for use when either they or a close relative falls ill. The Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition is made up of labor unions, local advocates, community and public health organizations, businesses, and policy experts, striving to educate the public and policymakers on the imminent need for all workers to have paid sick days. Click here to see pictures.

The Coalition, represented by members of various organizations including the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, distributed surgical masks and flu “prescriptions” that urge the passing of the Paid Sick Days Act to every lawmaker in the State Legislature. Beginning in the office of Governor Deval Patrick, Paid Leave Coalition Coordinator Ellen Wallace spoke on the necessity of paid sick days and the need for elected officials to act quickly on this legislation. The Coalition then visited offices throughout the entire State House, alerting members of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development and all legislators that it is crucial that An Act Relative to Paid Sick Days receive a favorable Committee report and urgent passage by the legislature. Activists also thanked the 95 legislators who have co-sponsored the bill. Should the Paid Sick Days become law, Massachusetts, which is so often a national leader in passing progressive working-family friendly legislation, would become the first state to require employers to provide paid sick days for all workers.

Currently, over 40 percent of private sector workers in the Commonwealth do not have one guaranteed paid sick day, leaving approximately 1.4 million workers to be faced with loss of earnings if they responsibly choose to stay home from work in order to prevent the spread of illness to others. Shockingly, the workers most likely to do without paid sick days are those who are most frequently in contact with the general public: wait staff and child care workers, among other direct care providers. Parents are currently deterred from staying at home with a sick child if they stand to lose out financially, therefore, children are sent to school to spread germs and bacteria while parents are forced to work and are unable to provide care for them. More than two thirds of all workers in Massachusetts cannot take sick time in order to care for a sick child or parent. Without guaranteed paid sick days, too many workers and their families must choose between risking the spread of flu and other infectious diseases or staying home and risking loss of income, or their job in an alarming number of cases.

The importance of passage of Paid Sick Days legislation has never been more critical, given the global emergency surrounding the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus, as well as the current economic crisis in the United States. While the Center for Disease Control and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health have urged citizens to stay home if they have symptoms, in reality, many workers and families of those infected may not heed this advice for fear of economic repercussions. While we have been fortunate that many of the H1N1 cases are treatable, the legislature should act now, before a serious pandemic erupts. This is the most effective and fairest way to assure that all workers, their families, and their jobs, are protected.

Click here to see the Massachusetts AFL-CIO’s Paid Sick Days page. Click here to read an article about Thursday’s event on the National AFL-CIO blog. Click here to see pictures.