About the Campaign
The Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition coordinated by Greater Boston Legal Services in partnership with the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action is working together to gain strong support for the Massachusetts paid sick days bill in the state legislature. The coalition, which includes advocates for workers, seniors, children, and people of color, is supporting a bill that would provide all workers the right to earn up to seven paid sick days annually. Workers could use paid sick days to recover from illness, to care for a sick family member, or to seek assistance related to domestic violence.
Partner Profile
The Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition, dedicated to achieving family-friendly workplace policies, has been staffed for over 10 years by lawyers at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS). Over the last three sessions the Coalition has worked to advance An Act Establishing Paid Sick Days in partnership with the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, and sixty other grassroots organizations, labor unions, businesses, researchers, doctors, advocacy groups and legislators. Greater Boston Legal Services represents low-income individuals and families, provides legal education, and advocates for solutions to systemic problems. Through work in specialized units focused on the elderly, family law, health and disability, immigrants, and welfare, GBLS works to improve the lives of thousands of Greater Boston residents. The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action advocates for social justice, civil liberties, and civil rights, inspired by Jewish teachings. Their focus is to create equal opportunity for all workers by eliminating legal, societal and economic barriers that stand between too many individuals and the American dream.
Please visit www.masspaidleave.org, www.gbls.org/, www.massaflcio.org, or www.jewishalliance.org/ for more information.
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Stories from Massachusetts
“Although I'm lucky to have paid sick days by my current employer, I have worked years without any insurance or sick days. My grad school friends also face this situation daily after we graduated. We work as consultants, in under-employment, or temp agencies when we can't find work. It's really too bad to work so hard through college and grad school, un-paid/low-paid internships, Peace Corps, volunteering everywhere, and still not be able to take a day off when facing illness or injury. I urge support of universal Paid Sick Days.”
— Sonja, Somerville, Mass.
“My goodness—when you work as a teacher in a school, you're bound to be around the most germs possible. For example today, I went to the school nurse complaining about my sore throat. She took one look at it, saw puss and said I needed to get to the doctor to have my throat cultured for strep. I'm so thankful for paid sick days because I may need to be out tomorrow due to strep.”
— Dee, Shrewsbury, Mass.
“Each year in January it is guaranteed that my son will be out of school sick; at least for a few days. He was born with a breathing disorder and due to the winter climate we live in he cannot breathe in the coldest months and is out sick. This means I need to take sick days from work in order to stay home with him. I save my sick days so I can be home with him. Then it is almost a guarantee that I will get sick and need a few days to recover myself. Now my employer is looking at taking away my sick days (to save themselves money). In life it is a given people and children will get sick we should not be penalized for this.”
— Tricia, Holyoke, Mass.
“I have some sick time, but i don't have enough. I would like adequate paid sick time at the beginning of the year, so that if i am sick or a family member is sick or hospitalized, i can get paid for it as i cannot afford to take sick time without adequate compensation. i have been sick and i have went to work feeling awful and rundown when i should have been home dealing with my sickness, so that i wouldn't give something to someone else and therefore they pass it on to someone else, and so forth. we deserve to be able to stay home when we don't feel well with full compensation without having to worry about taking the time off and losing pay. No one can afford this.”
— Kathy, Everett, Mass.
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