D.C. Council Pushed on Paid Sick Leave Legislation
Published: February 4, 2008
Union leaders and advocates for low-wage workers tried today to convince D.C. Council members that they should not table legislation that would require employers to provide most workers with paid sick leave.
The council is scheduled to vote tomorrow on the proposed Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, which has been heavily debated and amended during the last eight months after an uproar in the business community.
The bill is in danger of losing the initial support it had from 11 council members when it was introduced last year. Supporters say council members are bowing to the influence of deep-pocketed businesses that contribute to election campaigns. Council members, who have changed their minds, say the legislation needs major tweaking.
Kathy Howell, assistant district leader for Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, and others walked to council members' offices after a brief meeting in which workers shared their stories about being forced to choose between going to work sick or losing their jobs.
"It's already a struggle to pay bills, so missing a day's pay is not an option I can afford if I need to go to the doctor or take care of my son when he's sick," said security guard Raquel Mack, 21.
Two custodial workers also spoke to the small crowd of about two dozen supporters who met in a conference room on the first floor of the John A. Wilson Building this afternoon. They were encouraged by council members Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the primary sponsor of the bill, to lobby for the legislation.
"Any effort to table the bill tomorrow is really an effort to kill the bill," Mendelson said. "It's important that you all are being active on this because the council is getting an enormous amount of pressure from the business community."
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) say the bill still needs more work before the council can vote. "I'm not so sure everybody knows what's in the bill anymore," Gray said. "To me, a table action is different than saying I'm opposed to it."
Under the bill, large businesses, defined as having 51 employees or more, would have to provide up to seven days of paid leave. Small businesses -- those with 10 or fewer workers -- would have to offer up to three days. Two other categories of employers would fall in between, and part-time workers would get half the number of days.
Council member Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) said the bill is greatly different than the one introduced in May with an original mandate of up to 10 days of paid leave for employers with six or more workers. "We really have worked hard to try to get a buy-in from the business community," she said.