Left-wing Phila Democrats push forced sick leave bill
Labor allies will try again Thursday
Left-wing Phila Democrats push forced sick leave bill
Joseph N. DiStefano
Philadelphia City Council President Darrell L. Clarke plans to join fellow Democrat Bill Greenlee, the AFL-CIO and other pro-labor union groups Thursday in re-introducing a bill that would force city employers to give workers paid sick leave. The group says "2 out of 5 workers in Philadelphia" have no paid sick leave, including more than 70,000 healthcare, restaurant and hotel workers.
Business owners have objected to previous versions of the legislation, with some complaining their workers are liable to treating sick days as vacation. Mayor Nutter has noted the provision could drive some business owners to locate or expand in the suburbs or other places with no sick leave requirement.
UPDATE: Clarke aide Jane Roh objects to my "left wing" characterization of the council president, in this item's headline, and calls it "laughable." I told her that, if Nutter and Clarke are both Democrats, and Clarke is for this pro-labor legislation, and Nutter is against it, that puts Clarke and his allies to the left of Nutter and his supporters.
Comments (14)
Who wrote this headline, John Boehner or Mitch McConnell. It's demeaning and is from a very specific biased point-of-view. So much for the liberal media!— prgirl- Well, first off, thankyou for the honest headline, a rarity at PNI newspapers. And Mayor Nutter, the left-wing, liberal babysitter in cheif actually raising concerns about the consequences that such wingnut legislation would bring to Philadelphia. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone.— cementhead
- Joe D. --taking a stand, growing some hangers, wow. about time. dont let them intimidate you Joe.— kornbread
- if treating workers right and making sure they don't have to come in when they're sick and getting me sick too is left-wing, then I don't want to be right. It's this kind of idiotic and baseless and puerile name calling that is killing rationale political discourse in our nation. You should be ashamed. Only children and bullies and fools resort to name calling... and that's because they don't have minds capable of logical and reasoned disagreement. this is a good bill, and I'm sure you're glad that the paper gives you sick days, so stop being a corporate shill and get yourself a clue before putting pen to paper again.— wanderlust8000
- Wanderlust, my employer gives sick days because my union brothers and sisters organized and bargained for them. They weren't granted us by a government that failed to solve its own revenue, spending, security and education problems but grandly tried to legislate national issues. And all your misuse of insulting adjectives can't hide the fact that, on this issue, Democrat Clarke stands to the left of Democrat Nutter. Fact.— Joe D
- "if Nutter and Clarke are both Democrats, and Clarke is for this pro-labor legislation, and Nutter is against it, that puts Clarke and his allies to the left of Nutter and his supporters." --- For once we are in agreement. ;)— psyrus
- Hey, city council bllodsuckers, how about forcing the nutterian to honor the firemen's contract & giving city employees a FAIR contract???— Rugged Individual
- I dont think it is left wing to force sick leave on small businesses and force them out of the city. It is just wrong. Do you think the guy who turns the lights off for the City will get sick leave if he develops carpal syndrome that day?— Paul Deon
- I don't think the government should be legislating on something like sick leave. Despite the fact that it's a policy that most people would characterize as left wing, I guess it politicizes it. The policy should be argued on the merit of the policy and nothing more. What’s the reason that City Council addressed the issue?
It's not fair to criticize the city for not solving problems which are unique to urban areas and were largely created by state policies. The city has to deal with a disproportionate percent of the state’s poor and it wasn’t due to city government policies. To expect city residents to fund all of the additional cost of caring for the poor is ridiculous. The city has been battling with the state to provide secure funding for public schools for decades and then people criticize the city for having so many poorly educated poor people. Let’s build affordable housing in Villanova and share the burden. No? Then pay the bill.
— MikeP - Apparently What these politicians don't realize is the fact that they will be killing jobs in the City when they claim they want jobs. Not only will this cause businesses not to come to Philadelphia but it cause existing businesses to pull up stakes and leave the City. It makes no sense in this Obummer economy, because economincally things are going to get worse not better, if you have a job you are ahead of the game. Union bosses don't care all they are interested in are their union dues from memebers forget the fact that the workers the unions bosses are pumping up to demand this stupid bill are cutting their own throats. It's Hostess Twinkies all over again, and the union bosses will move on to the next group of suckers who'll talk their way out of a job.— Speak-truth-2-power
- "left wing". Silly. No need for such bias or smears. Just report the facts, Jack. Be Objective.— CD75
- Let's face it, if workers are given 5 sick days, I guarentee they'll be sick 5 times a year.— LouDiamondPhillipsheadScrewdriver
- Any business that can't afford to pay its workers paid sick leave is already a FAILED business, and any business that can afford to pay its workers paid sick leave (and most can) but refuses to is a humanitarian tragedy. The argument (R.E. lie) that "it will cost jobs if we impose regulations on businesses" has been an unproven scare tactic used to justify inhumane treatment of workers, consumers, and the environment since capitalism was created, almost always made by people who already have the benefit or protection that is being proposed. An economy cannot be based on evil, whether it's slavery in the early South or the pre-union coal mining industry or child labor sweatshops or today's non-union hotels and fast food restaurants.— wowzer1
We the people, are allowed to get sick and get paid for it. We the people, get back to work, to sustain the course of human events, and keep it moving at all, if not always in the correct direction. You can always print more money, you can't replace a person who knows what to do and does it well. Rehiring, retraining, replacing, is expensive. Best to let the human condition get back into working condition so profitable enterprise can continue. Paid leave, an investment in Human Capital, just like a plant closing down for maintenance. Deal with it emotional midgets, take some time off to see a doctor and get your blood pressure checked.
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Joseph N. DiStefano blogs about the latest news in the Philadelphia business community and elsewhere. Contact him at 215-854-5194.
Reach Joseph N. at JoeD@phillynews.com.
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