Subject:
Paid sick days for Connecticut families – the gift to get!
Your message to friends:
Dear Friend, I have some good news. For the past few years we've been working really hard to pass paid sick days in Connecticut and it has felt like for every step forward we took two steps back. But now that has all changed - we’re getting ready to take a giant leap forward and we need your help! The 2011 CT legislative session is the best chance we've ever had to pass paid sick days: The Governor-elect supports the issue and previous legislative champions are eager to move the bill forward. But those two things combined just aren't enough to get the job done. We need to make sure that every legislator in Hartford knows that paid sick days are a priority for Connecticut families. Help put a personal face on this very personal issue! Take a moment, right now, to sign our letter to Connecticut legislators, and--if you have time--also share a short personal note about why paid sick days are important to your family.http://action.momsrising.org/letter/CT_psd_12_10/?source=taf For example, Kimberly, a MomsRising member from Trumbull, Connecticut writes: “I have Lupus and Protein C Resistance, and my children have auto-immune disorders. When we get sick it's a large issue. Children who have parents that work, and can't keep them home when ill, put my children at risk. Please help them and us by paying for sick days.” Sign our letter and, if you have time, also share your experience with (or without) paid sick days now. http://action.momsrising.org/letter/CT_psd_12_10/?source=taf MomsRising staff will compile your notes and volunteers will deliver the letter along with a bottle of hand sanitizer to every Connecticut legislator on January 5, the first day of the session, with this message: Even Super Moms can’t fight off all germs, we need paid sick days! What would the paid sick days bill do? Paid sick days would help protect the health of our children and families and also provide real economic security to some of the most vulnerable working families: Forty percent of all workers in Connecticut have no paid sick days. [1] And even worse, workers without paid sick days are concentrated in the service industry -- the people who cook and prepare our food, look after our children and care for the sick and elderly. When those workers have to work sick, it isn't healthy for any of us. Why are paid sick days so critical? We all know how fast the flu can travel through a workplace, school, or child care center; but in today's economy, folks without paid sick days often simply can't afford to miss work. So, they're likely to unwittingly infect their coworkers and their community at large when they go to work. In these tough economic times, no one should have to choose between their job and their family’s health. Paid sick days are good for working families, for public health, and for business. Paid sick days would help contain health care costs through prevention, early detection, and treatment of illness. With paid sick days, families will not be forced to send sick children to school where they will likely infect classmates and teachers; workers with paid sick days would not spread illness to their coworkers and customers. Providing paid sick days turns out to be smart business too because it increases productivity at work and reduces costly turnover. It’s easy to give legislators all the data about why paid sick days are good for public health and the economy, but what really makes the difference are the personal stories about how having paid sick days has helped or not having them has been a burden for families. Take a moment now to sign our letter and share why paid sick days are a priority for your family. http://action.momsrising.org/letter/CT_psd_12_10/?source=taf MomsRising will compile these notes and hand deliver them to Connecticut legislators on January 5 – the opening day of the legislative session. *And don’t forget to forward this to your friends and family so they can take action too! Together, we are a powerful force for women and families! P. S. Want to join us in Hartford on Wednesday, January 5 to hand deliver the person stories and notes about paid sick days? Email Ruth@MomsRising.org [1] IWPR Report: “Valuing Good Health in Connecticut: The Costs and Benefits of Paid Sick Days”, Kevin Miller, Ph.D., and Claudia William, April 2010
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