Think Nutter’s Veto Ended the Paid Sick Days Crusade? Think Again.
In June, after years of hard advocacy on behalf of working groups, City Council passed paid sick leave legislation, that’d give employees of companies with 11 or more up to seven days per year; those with ten or fewer employees, four days. That bill was passed by the slimmest of all margins (9-8) and had been modified a reported 19 times to meet the demands of business lobbyists and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, both of whom would have preferred no bill at all.
Then, on June 29, Mayor Nutter took out his veto pen.
About a week later, a rally was held at Independence Mall by the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces as a show of declaring independence from the mayor. Groups say this marked the beginning of a Council override strategy for the fall.
“Now that the veto has happened we will continue to take action throughout the summer to continue to work toward an override,” says Marianne Bellesorte of Pathways PA, a services and advocacy group for women, children and families who participated in the rally.
Bellesorte spoke to PW a day after the Independence Mall gathering. She says the Advocates’ (which include her group; Action United; TURN; Women’s Way; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and others) summer is going to be filled with answering questions and speaking with Councilmembers who will likely have the bill returned to Council in early September. The goal is convincing at least three new Councilmembers, which would be enough to override a veto, that Philadelphia needs paid sick leave legislation as the law of the land.
Many were upset with Nutter’s initial – and in some regard, expected – veto. But the way it went down seemed to make the action personal. One of the biggest sources of contention is that many who fought for the bill did not get the chance to speak with the mayor between the time it was passed and vetoed. “We had really hoped to have an opportunity to speak to the mayor about paid sick time in Philadelphia,” Bellesorte says, “and we did not get that opportunity. We’re certainly disappointed by that.”
She says Advocates had been dropping off materials with the mayor’s office and had applied for several meetings, both through his office and through the mayor’s online meeting process. None of their requests were returned.
“It certainly sounds like the mayor has been listening to what business lobbyists have been saying about paid sick days which, unfortunately, is not what the research shows,” she says, referencing San Francisco’s paid sick leave legislation ‘non-event.’
The Advocates plan on using similar tactics throughout the summer as they did during the previous few years and, especially, months leading up to the Council vote. No single ‘on-the-fence’ Councilmember is being targeted, she says. “We don’t want to leave anyone out of the process.”
what about a provision for hospitality workers who rely on tips? would their “paid leave” just be the 2.83/hr laughable minimum wage?
[...] of weed gets the high sign Philadelphia Daily News: City to tax delinquents: Stop freeloading Phillynow.com: Think Nutter’s Veto Ended the Paid Sick Days Crusade? Think Again. Phillynow.com: DAILY GRINDER: [...]
[...] Michael Nutter then vetoed the bill. Almost immediately after the veto, advocacy groups began a new fight for another bill or an override. The bill could be reintroduced as early as this week or next [...]
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