Causa and Vecinos En Alerta to host Special Assembly on Paid Sick Days

Causa and Vecinos En Alerta to host Special Assembly on Paid Sick Days this Wednesday

Portland, Ore.  -- On Wednesday, October 31st, Causa Oregon and Vecinos En Alerta will come together for a Special Assembly in Portland. We will ask our Portland City Mayor and City Commissioners to support a policy that will allow everyone in our community to receive paid sick days from their employers.

“Now that the City Council knows that 40% of private-sector workers - and 57% of Latinos - in Portland don't have a single paid sick day it is their obligation to act," said Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of Causa Oregon. “Workers can't wait any longer for them to address this important economic issue.”

Lopez added, “This is an equity issue, because it disproportionately impacts people of color and low-wage workers -- those who are already disadvantaged in our current economy.”

Special Assembly on Paid Sick Days
When: Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
Time: 9 a.m.
Where:
Portland City Hall
1221 SW 4th Ave # 110
Portland, OR 97204

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/124199751063154/ 

According to the National Partnership for Women & Families, tens of millions of workers in the United States lack paid sick days, which means that all too often they must choose between their health and their financial security. Currently, no state or federal law guarantees access to paid sick days, so workers can lose pay or be fired just for getting sick. A minimum paid sick days standard would help to protect millions of working families from falling further into financial.

Important Facts:

• Providing paid sick days is actually good for business.  Those who do provide paid sick days see reductions in turnover, increases in employee morale and productivity, and healthier employees at work.

• Sick children at school and sick workers at work aren’t good for the community.  It spreads disease, reduces productivity and often leads to delayed medical treatment -- making common health problems worse and more expensive to treat.

• The people who are least likely to be able to go without a days pay are also the least likely to have paid sick days to recover at home or take care of their sick children.  A single unpaid day can compromise a family's ability to pay rent or buy groceries.  And that reality doesn't mean you should have to be forced to work sick.

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