Members of Pioneer Valley MomsRising hit the Statehouse today to call on legislators to throw their support behind a bill that would guarantee Massachusetts workers a minimum of seven paid sick days a year—a measure that’s all the more vital as we gear up for what threatens to be a brutal flu season. Springfield state Reps. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera and Ben Swan are among the bill’s sponsors.
MomsRising is delivering to legislators stories of workers (and their families) who’ve suffered because they get no sick days at work; in case those tales aren’t memorable enough, the activists hope to grab lawmakers’ attention by wrapping the stories around thermometers. Earlier this week, members of the national MomsRising delivered a similar message to Congress.
“Today, nearly 1.4 million working people in Massachusetts aren't allowed to earn a single paid sick day—and even folks with paid sick days are often not allowed to use them to take care of sick kids,” the group wrote in a message to supporters. “When we're talking about stopping the spread of illnesses like the swine flu, that's a serious problem. In today's economy, folks just can't afford to lose a day's pay (or risk losing their jobs!), and as a result simply have no choice but to go to work sick, or send sick kids to school.”
Moms (and dads, and anyone else who cares about just healthcare policies) who didn’t make it to Boston today can still weigh in. MomsRising is urging supporters to contact their legislators to ask for their support. (A link on MomsRising’s website makes that easy.)
