Healthy Families Act – Support Letter

8/8/2019 Healthy Families Act Support Letter

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April 28, 2008

Dear Member of Congress,

We are writing to urge your support of the Healthy Families Act, a groundbreaking piece oflegislation that guarantees full-time workers seven paid sick days a year, and part-time workers apro-rata amount of paid sick days, to recover from their own illness or care for a sick familymember. Congress should waste no time in passing this bill, which is tremendously important topeople all across our country.

Chances are each of us will get sick or need to care for a sick family member this year. But notall of us have the option to take time off from work to get better or to care for a sick familymember. In the U.S. today, nearly half (48 percent) of private sector workers do not have asingle paid sick day to use for themselves or to care for a family member. And 94 millionhard-working people do not have a single paid sick day they can use to care for a sick child.

Workers want to be responsible on the job andbe able to care for their families. In 78 percent oftodays families, both parents work for pay and the typical couple in America now works closeto 90 hours per week. But our policies lag desperately behind this reality and families arestruggling as a result. We can and must do better and we will, if we truly value families.

Providing paid sick days benefits all workers including women and seniors. Nearly half (49percent) of working mothers miss work when a child comes down with a common illness, andwomen are more likely to have low-wage jobs that do not offer paid sick days. Parents who lackpaid sick days are often forced to choose between the jobs they need and caring for theirfamilies.

While this issue is important for families with children, it also affects the more than one-third ofworking people with elder care responsibilities who need to take time away from work toprovide care. Thirty-five percent of workers, both women and men, report that they have caredfor an older relative in the past year, and the responsibilities for caregiving will increase as BabyBoomers age.

Three in four low-wage workers (79 percent) do not have a single paid sick day. When low-wage workers get sick, or need to take care of a sick child or take an elderly parent to a medicalappointment, they are faced with an impossible choice: lose a day of pay and possibly even theirjob, or take the time they need to take care of their families. Half of low-wage working parentsreport losing pay to stay home and care for a sick child or being forced to leave children homealone.

Finally, paid sick days are a key component of safeguarding our nations public health. Workerswho disproportionately lack paid sick days work with the public every day. Seventy-eightpercent of food-service and hotel workers do not have a single paid sick day. Many of theseworkers are employed in child care centers, retail establishments, and nursing homes. When


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they go to work sick, their colleagues and all others they contact face an increased risk ofcontracting illness.

Workers access to paid sick days is critical to a productive and vibrant economy. Whenworkers are provided with paid sick days, employers benefit from reduced turnover, higher

productivity, and reduced spread of contagion in the workplace. If workers were provided justseven paid sick days per year, as the Healthy Families Act proposes, our national economywould experience a net savings of $8.1 billion per year, according to the Institute for WomensPolicy Research.

In a nation that values families, worker should not have to choose between their jobs and theirhealth or a family members health. Concerned citizens around the country are taking action andadvancing paid sick days initiatives at the city and state level. We urge you to demonstrate yourstrong commitment to Americas working families by becoming a cosponsor of the HealthyFamilies Act. Thank you.

Sincerely,

National Partnership for Women & Families9to5 Bay Area9to5 Colorado9to5 Poverty Network Initiative -- Wisconsin9to5, National Association of Working WomenACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)AFL-CIOAFSCMEAlpha One, MaineAmerican Association of University Women (AAUW)American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)American Federation of Teachers (AFT)American Friends Service CommitteeAmerican Medical Student AssociationAmerican Public Health AssociationAmerican Rights at WorkAmericans for Democratic ActionAsian American Justice CenterAsian Pacific American Labor Alliance, (APALA, AFL-CIO)Association of Flight Attendants--CWAAssociation of University Centers on DisabilitiesAtlanta 9to5Atlanta/North Georgia Labor CouncilBazelon Center for Mental Health LawBlack Womens Health ImperativeBusiness and Professional Women/USA (BPW)


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Candlelighters Childhood Cancer FoundationCatholic Charities USACatholic Labor NetworkCenter for American ProgressCenter for Community Change

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)Church Women UnitedCoalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)Coalition on Human NeedsCommission on Social Action of Reform JudaismCommunications Workers of America (CWA)Community of ChristConnecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of WomenCouncil on American-Islamic RelationsDC Employment Justice CenterDmos: A Network for Ideas & Action

Docs for TotsEconomic Opportunity InstituteEpilepsy FoundationEquality MaineEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaFamiliesUSAFamily Caregiver Alliance, National Center on CaregivingFamily Voices -- NJFeminist MajorityFood Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)Friends Committee on National LegislationGeorgia Stand-UPGood Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Coalition, Milwaukee, WIHealthy Families, Healthy City Coalition, Madison, WIHmong American Women's Association, Milwaukee, WIHuman Rights CampaignInstitute for One WisconsinInstitute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR)Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central WisconsinInterfaith Worker JusticeInternational Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)Iowa Commission on the Status of WomenJewish Women InternationalKids ProjectLabor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)Labor Project for Working FamiliesLaborers' International UnionLeadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)Legal Momentum


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LIUNA Women's CaucusLos Angeles 9to5LULACMaine Center for Economic PolicyMaine Women's Lobby

Massachusetts Paid Family Leave CoalitionMatria Healthcare, Inc.Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. Washington OfficeMexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)MomsRisingMontgomery County Commission for WomenMs. Foundation for WomenMuslim American Society Freedom FoundationNational Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good ShepherdNational Asian Pacific American Women's ForumNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA)National Association of Mothers' Centers (NAMC)/MOTHERS InitiativeNational Association of School NursesNational Association of Social WorkersNational Baptist ConventionNational Council of Churches, USA Justice for Women Working GroupNational Council of Jewish WomenNational Council of La Raza (NCLR)National Council of Women's OrganizationsNational Education Association (NEA)National Employment Law ProjectNational Employment Lawyers AssociationNational Family Caregivers AssociationNational Organization for Women (NOW)National Respite CoalitionNational Urban LeagueNational Womens Health NetworkNational Womens Law CenterNETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice LobbyNew Jersey Parent-to-ParentNew Prospect Family Praise and Worship CenterNorth Carolina Justice CenterOffice and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU)OWL, the voice of midlife and older womenParentsWorkPathWays PA (PA Family Economic Self Sufficiency Project)Pennsylvania AFL-CIOPresbyterian Church (USA)Pride At WorkPublic Justice Center


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RESOLVE: The National Infertility AssociationRESULTSSEIU District 1199 OH/WV/KYService Employees International Union (SEIU)Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, New Jersey

Take Care NetThe AIDS Action CouncilThe AIDS InstituteThe Jewish Council for Public AffairsThe United Methodist Church General Board of Church and SocietyTrust for America's HealthUnitarian Universalist Association of CongregationsUNITE HERE International UnionUnited Auto Workers (UAW)United Church of Christ Justice & Witness MinistriesUnited Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)

United Steelworkers (USW)Voices for Americas ChildrenWider Opportunities for WomenWomen EmployedWomen in Need Industries, MaineWomen Work! The National Network for Women's EmploymentWomen's Law ProjectWorkers' Rights Center, Madison, WIWorking America

Documents

Healthy Families Act – Support Letter