Philly Moms Urge City Council to Override Nutter Veto of Earned Sick Days Bill
NEWS RELEASE
September 8, 2011
CONTACT: Gretchen Wright or Molly Tomlinson, 202/371-1999
Philly Moms Urge City Council to Override Nutter Veto of Earned Sick Days Bill
MomsRising Assists Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces in Delivering Germ-O-Grams with Messages About Importance of Earned Sick Days to Philadelphia Families
To send the message that no one wants to cuddle up with germs this flu season, members of the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces, including Philadelphia area moms and kids today delivered fuzzy stuffed creatures representing germs to members of the Philadelphia City Council. The “germ-o-grams” included messages from families across the Philadelphia area urging Council members to override Mayor Michael Nutter’s veto of earned sick days legislation earlier this month.
MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground grassroots organization of more than one million members fighting for economic security for families, helped to collect the messages, which included stories about the importance of earned sick days to families.
“Two out of five Philadelphia workers cannot earn paid sick days,” said MomsRising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “And while the germs being delivered today are cute and cuddly, no one wants to cuddle up with real germs during flu season. When sick people can’t stay home from work or when workers can’t stay home with sick kids, germs and contagious diseases are spread and we all pay the price. Allowing workers to earn sick days is a basic public health measure and even if the Mayor doesn’t recognize that, we hope City Council members will.”
Among the germ-o-gram messages are:
We need paid sick days in West Philly! —Jim, Philadelphia, PA
Earned sick days now! —Shani, Philadelphia, PA
Earned sick days without further delay! —Ama, Philadelphia, PA
Vote YES on earned sick day! —Katja, Philadelphia, PA
MomsRising has been working with the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces for several months to generate support for the earned sick days bill. MomsRising members in Philadelphia have sent hundreds of emails and made hundreds of calls to City Council members urging them to pass the bill.
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MomsRising.org is an online and on-the-ground grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to achieve economic security for all families in the United States. MomsRising is working for paid family leave, flexible work options, affordable child care, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes so many mothers. MomsRising also advocates for health care for all, toxic-free environments, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. Established in 2006 and now celebrating its fifth anniversary, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families. In 2011, for the second year in a row, Forbes.com named MomsRising's web site as one of the Top 100 Websites For Women.
