Veto stands on paid sick-leave bill in Phila.
Philadelphia City Councilman William K. Greenlee's paid-sick-leave bill died Thursday when he did not call for a vote on overriding Mayor Nutter's veto, saying he could not find the necessary votes. The bill was passed last month, 11-6, and Greenlee, its sponsor, would have needed 12 votes to overturn the veto.
Philadelphia City Councilman William K. Greenlee's paid-sick-leave bill died Thursday when he did not call for a vote on overriding Mayor Nutter's veto, saying he could not find the necessary votes. The bill was passed last month, 11-6, and Greenlee, its sponsor, would have needed 12 votes to overturn the veto.
Despite pressure from unions and a coalition of advocacy groups, all six Council members who voted against the bill - Republicans Brian J. O'Neill, Dennis O'Brien, and David Oh, and Democrats Bill Green, James F. Kenney, and Mark Squilla - stood firm.
Greenlee apologized to those whom he described as 180,000 workers in the city who do not get paid sick days from their employers. He vowed that Philadelphia would someday join cities such as San Francisco that have passed the requirement.
"It's just a shame we won't be in the forefront and instead will be bringing up the rear," he said. The bill passed in 2011 by 9-8 and Nutter vetoed it then as well. - Troy Graham