Hi! I just got the email below from MomsRising about the NYC paid sick days bill. I thought you'd want to see it and sign on to the letter like I did.

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Dear MomsRising Member:

What do NYC moms want? We want paid sick days! When do we want them? NOW!

That’s the message that moms and dads across NYC are sending to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. And that rally cry is making waves. The campaign for paid sick days in NYC is gaining serious MOMentum!

Now we need your help to keep up the MOMentum. Please sign our open letter to Christine Quinn urging her to bring the paid sick days bill for a vote! We will partner with our allies and deliver your signatures to City Council in the next few weeks.

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/NYC_paidsickdays/?source=taf

What’s happening? Just three weeks ago, hundreds of parents and others rallied in 100 degree heat at City Hall to make sure that Speaker Christine Quinn knows that we think it’s unacceptable that nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers can’t earn even a single paid sick day. [1] That rally had an impact and generated a lot of press. [2] Even celebrity moms like Susan Sarandon are taking to Twitter to push Speaker Quinn to move the paid sick days bill forward for a vote. [3]

And that’s good news because in NYC almost 90% of workers handling food, and 43% of workers in close contact with children and the elderly do not have paid sick time. Across industries nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers lack access to even a single paid sick day which means when they are sick, or their child is sick, they are forced to make an impossible choice: go to work sick, or send their child to school sick, or risk losing a day’s pay and possibly even their job. [4]

That is a bad deal for all New Yorkers, even those who have paid sick days, because when people are forced to go to work sick, or risk losing their jobs, it’s bad for our health and economy. [5]

It doesn’t have to be this way. Tell Speaker Quinn that NYC moms and dads want paid sick days!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/NYC_paidsickdays/?source=taf

Paid sick days would reduce health care costs, reduce the spread of contagion, protect people’s jobs and financial security, and boost businesses’ productivity. [6] Seattle, San Francisco, and Connecticut have successfully enacted paid sick days policies. And in San Francisco, a recent survey has shown that paid sick days have NOT had the negative consequences opponents feared, the policy was easier to implement than anticipated and employees are not abusing the system, actually taking less than half the days they have earned. [7]

With 37 sponsors on the bill, we have enough city council votes for paid sick days to be a reality in NYC. All we need is for Speaker Quinn to bring it to the floor.It’s time to put in place a smart and sound policy that promotes health and boosts business. It’s time to bring the paid sick days bill to the floor for a vote.

Please send a note to Speaker Quinn telling her that it is time for paid sick days in New York City!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/NYC_paidsickdays/?source=taf

The lack of paid sick days is particularly devastating for working families with children. All children get sick at some point and need care.

**Please take a moment to pass this on to other New Yorkers you know so that they can take action too.

Together, we are a powerful force for women and families. Thank you!

- Monifa, Ruth and the whole MomsRising team.

[1] Hundreds of women bring heat storm to NY City Hall for Paid Sick Days http://www.momsrising.org/blog/hundreds-of-women-bring-heat-storm-to-ny-city-hall-for-paidsickdays/?source=taf

[2] NY 1: Women Rally for Paid Sick Days http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/political_news/165106/women-rally-for-paid-sick-days

[3] NY Daily News: Susan Sarandon Joins Paid Sick Leave Debate http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/07/susan-sarandon-joins-paid-sick-leave-debate

[4] Community Service Society http://www.cssny.org/publications/entry/still-sick-in-the-cityJanuary2012

[5] ibid

[6] Kumar, S. et al. (2012, November 17). “The Impact of Workplace Policies and Other Social Factors on Self-Reported Influenza-Like Illness Incidence During the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic.” American Journal of Public Health, 102(1).

[7] San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Outcomes for Employers and Employees by Robert Drago, Ph.D. and Vicky Lovell, Ph.D. (February 2011)