City Council Fails to Override Nutter’s Paid Sick Leave Veto
Councilman Bill Greenlee, the prime sponsor of the paid sick leave legislation in City Council, did not bring up a vote to override Mayor Nutter’s veto this morning—and apologized to the city for failing on the issue. “I will not be calling for an override of Mayor Nutter’s veto concerning the paid sick leave bill because we are one vote short...
Continue ReadingNutter Vetoes Paid Sick Leave—Again
Mayor Michael Nutter vetoed the paid sick leave bill this morning, claiming it would hurt “the very workers this bill is intended to help” via job cuts from local businesses who can’t pay for it. The decision is not a surprise, but a disappointment for the Philadelphia Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces, a collective of community organizing groups...
Continue ReadingPaid Sick Leave Passes–But Will It Stick?
Hundreds of protesters showed up for Mayor Nutter’s budget speech this morning. Many of them, from unions like AFSCME DC 47, DC 33, were there to protest specifically against Nutter, being that three city unions are still working without contracts, and many blame the mayor for this. They chanted “Bozo sucks!” before the address began, holding signs of Nutter...
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Q&A: Marianne Bellesorte of Pathways PA on Paid Sick Leave
Advocates for paid sick leave in Philadelphia went door-to-door through City Hall on Valentine’s Day, hitting the offices of freshman City Councilmen Bobby Henon, Denny O’Brien and Mark Squilla as part of a community lobbying effort for voters to “show their love for sick days.” They delivered more than 500 hand-written letters from voters, calling...
Continue ReadingWith Paid Sick Leave on Tap in Council, Restaurant Workers Get Free Flu Shots at Jefferson
Calvin Okunoye has worked in the restaurant industry for the last 12 years and says he’s had every sort of job in the business he can think of. Most recently, after studying classical French culinary arts, he’s worked as a sous chef, executive chef and pastry chef. About a year ago, he got sick with a stomach virus just as he was beginning a new job. He was...
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Councilman Bill Greenlee Says New Paid Sick-Days Bill Likely This Year
Councilman Jim Kenney noted last week that he was “almost there” with regard to supporting a new paid sick-days bill in City Council this fall. “I’ve got the bill right here if you want to sign it,” yelled Councilman Bill Greenlee from a table in the back of Tequila’s Restaurant, where some council members and others had convened for a summit on the...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Support for Occupy Movement Grows
A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds Americans now support the Occupy movement more—much more, actually—than the Tea Party. Thirty-seven percent of Americans are in favor of the protests, while 18 percent are opposed. By contrast, 28 percent of Americans favor the Tea Party, while 41 percent are opposed. On yet the third, monster hand, support for the...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Occupy Philly is Happening, Right Now
Like the headline says. It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for. More info below… But in the meantime, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office was evacuated yesterday because of a “security issue.” They’re not saying what it was. Just that is was an issue. Something about security. Try, try again: City Council has passed a revised mandatory sick...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Making English the Official State Language Would Make Joey Vento’s Ghost Smile
The ghost of Joey Vento called. He’s doing good. Oh, he asked that if the state House could get around to it, could they make English the official language of Pennsylvania? (Because, why not? America, right?) If only, he said, there were two wingnut lawmakers out in Harrisburg who would write bills requiring all state documents—including all tourism docs—to...
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