Tag Archives: Contracts

Steelworkers Disgusted by Caterpillar CEO’s Shameful 2012 Cash Grab

  By New Hampshire Labor News | April 23, 2013 - 5:12 pm | ,
Comments
Steelworkers logo USW

PITTSBURGH – The United Steelworkers (USW) today denounced Caterpillar Inc. CEO Douglas Oberhelman’s 32 percent compensation increase from $16.9 million in 2011 to $22.4 million in 2012 as shameful and unwarranted.

USW District 2 Director Michael Bolton said that rewarding Oberholman’s  job performance by boosting his already lavish compensation by nearly one-third in 2012, despite lower than expected earnings, sends a dangerous message to other CEOs that lining their pockets at the expense of their workers is somehow acceptable.

“In 2012, Caterpillar Inc. put 700 people out of work by shutting down its Electro-Motive Diesel plant in London, Ont. after locking out its workers when they rejected a 50 percent wage cut; then the company bullied almost 800 workers into major wage and benefit concessions after a three-month labor dispute in Joliet, Ill.,” Bolton said.

“In South Milwaukee, Caterpillar management threatened to lay off 40 percent of the plant less than a week before our negotiations started,” Bolton said, “and when we got to the table, the company proposed unnecessary, sweeping changes to our contract language and continues to demand unfair concessions in other major economic and non-economic areas.”

“There’s no secret to Caterpillar’s approach to labor relations,” Bolton said. “The company clearly is willing to hold jobs, families and entire communities hostage in its drive to bust unions, depress workers’ incomes and slash workers’ health insurance and other benefits so that Oberholman and other top executives can cash in.”

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in public sector and service occupations.

USW Local 1343 represents 803 Caterpillar workers in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Is A Woman Only Worth 80% Of A Man? Then Why Are Women Still Fighting For Equal Pay?

  By Matt Murray | April 8, 2013 - 2:17 pm | , ,
Comments
From BLS

Fifty years ago, President Kennedy signed into law the Equal Pay Act that was intended to end the wage gap that exist between men and women.  In 1963, the wage gap was 59 cents on the dollar for women in the workplace.  That is just over half what a man made for the same job (assuming they would have even hired her for the same job).  With fifty years of growth and progress, surely we have ended this silly gap and no longer need laws like this, right?  Sadly, no.

Today, a woman makes on average 80 cents on the dollar to a man.  That’s is truly sad, that we are still fighting the same fight over and over again.  Why?  That I cannot answer. What I can say is that there have been people who have always worked to reduce the wage gap: labor unions.

Labor unions have always been fighting back against discrimination of any kind. They fight back against racism and sexism the same way.  They treat everyone equal in every way.  Every member gets the same one vote.  Every member gets their voice heard.  Every one is paid the same for the same work.

Unions negotiate starting pay for workers as part of their contract.  That starting pay does not change if you are a white man, an African-American women, or vice-versa.  The base pay is just that: the base pay.  Everyone starts at the same place.

Some people, like Nashua State Rep Jan Schmidt understand this.  Here’s what she told me:

“People ask me why there are unions today… people who have no memory or sense of history, people who blindly believe that a person alone has complete power to shape their own fate, people who have listened to too much talk radio with their constant pounding of union-hate paid for by corporations that know if unions gain a foothold, they may have a few pennies less in their Cayman bank account.

“This is one reason we need to remember Equal Pay Day, corporations willingly pay the people they expect to buy their goods with wages so low that they leave the state picking up the food stamp cost for that family. To them (the corporation CEOs)… the pennies in their accounts are worth more than the lives they sacrifice.”

So when you ask me, hey Matt, how do we solve the gender wage gap? I will give you the same answer I have given time and time before: JOIN A UNION!

 

After Two Years NH Community College Adjunct Professors Still Have No Contract!

  By New Hampshire Labor News | March 11, 2013 - 9:00 pm |
Comments
SEIU Adjunct 2

SEIU Adjunct 2

Two Years and Still No Contract – Aren’t the Community College Students Worth It?

Earlier today a group of Adjunct (part-time) Faculty members in the NH Community College System demonstrated with signs and chants at the Manchester Community College Campus.  They were there to call attention to the fact that since the Adjunct Faculty overwhelmingly decided to form a union over two years ago; they are still without a first contract.  The administration has stalled the contract process repeatedly and is apparently not interested in negotiating.  Since the two sides have not been able to agree upon a contract, the matter 063 copy_low resis currently in mediation.  The group welcomed members of the administration’s mediation representatives as they entered the building prior to the beginning of today’s meeting.  They also delivered over 500 petitions to the administration that have been signed in support of the adjunct’s cause.

About three quarters of the teaching staff in the CCSNH system are adjunct faculty members.  Their part-time status means they earn lower wages, have no access to health benefits, do not earn vacation time and are ineligible for retirement benefits.  “This is an academic sweat shop,” said adjunct member Mary Lee Sargeant.  Sargeant taught full-time for 34 years in the Illinois community college system before teaching as an adjunct in NH. “I’ve been an adjunct here for the last ten years and it is infuriating – the treatment and lack of empathy the adjunct faculty have here.” “In Illinois, part-time faculty members are respected, they earn decent wages, benefits and support from the administration,” she said. “They are valued.”

Sargeant spoke of a colleague who had been teaching eight to ten courses per year at several of the CCSNH campuses and was earning only $20,000/year.  It is no longer possible for adjunct faculty to teach that number of courses. Immediately after the group decided to unionize, the administration issued a policy change that adjunct faculty could not teach more than nine credit hours each semester. Faculty members believe this was a retaliatory act and a function of them speaking up about the working conditions.

“I want to tell the administration, don’t squash me,” said Dave Fink, another adjunct faculty member. “I’m teaching all the students. What would you do without me?”

Ironically, at the same time NH teachers are fighting for respect and to earn a decent living, one of Governor Maggie Hassan’s priorities is education.  She is 068 copy_low resattempting to restore funding to the state’s higher education system. “How come the administration leaves its largest teaching force living in poverty and at risk? There’s an inherent hypocrisy telling students a good education is key to your future while you also treat your own employees like disposable human beings,” said Diana Lacey, President of the State Employees’ Association (SEA SEIU Local 1984).  The Adjunct Faculty is affiliated with SEA SEIU Local 1984.

To add to the irony, the CCSNH Board of Trustees approved significant salary increases for all the non-union administrators effective in January 2013. One college president received a $24,000 salary increase. (Source: CCSNH Board of Trustees October 4, 2012 minutes). That increase is more than an adjunct faculty member’s annual income from teaching.  There seems to be something terribly wrong with this picture.  Not only is this bad for the adjunct faculty, it is also bad for the consumers – the students.

Watch video from the event here.

 

Thanks to SEA/SEIU 1984 for sharing this post with us. (Original Link) We look forward to follow up stories on this.

This Tuesday Support The Local Union (AFT-NH) Contracts On Local Ballots

  By New Hampshire Labor News | March 10, 2013 - 1:30 pm | , ,
Comments
aft sqaure

PLEASE SUPPORT FELLOW AFT-NH MEMBERS
Town Election Day is Tuesday, March 12th

We have AFT-NH locals that have contracts coming before the voters on Tuesday March 12th. Your colleagues need your support! We also support our other Union colleagues who have contracts on the ballots in these towns and ask you to support them. For example, in Hudson many of the town employees have been without contracts for several years.  Please review the voting information below and vote on Election Day!

As fellow union members, we know we can make a difference in local elections! We are asking that if you live in one of the towns listed below that you support your fellow union members.

Please pass the word along and encourage others to get out and vote. Our members have negotiated extremely reasonable contracts. Any support you can provide would be great!

Thank you very much.

In Solidarity,

Laura Hainey
AFT-NH President
TUESDAY, MARCH 12TH

Ellis School Support Staff, AFT Local #6223  (Fremont)
Fremont Safety Complex  7am-8pm
Yes on Articles #5 and #6 (Please support the Fremont Teachers as well!)

Hudson Federation of Teachers , AFT Local #2263 and Hudson Federation of Paraprofessionals and School Related Personnel, AFT Local #6245
Lions Hall (Community Center) 7am-8pm
Yes on Articles #2 and #3  (Please also support the town employee contracts!)

Raymond Educational Support Staff  AFT Local #4863
Iber Holmes Gove Middle School Gymnasium 7am-7pm
Yes on Articles #3 and #4  

Timberlane Teachers’ Association, AFT Local #4796
(Atkinson, Danville, Plaistow and Sandown)
Atkinson     7am-8pm         Atkinson Community Center
Danville      8am-7pm         Danville Fire Association
Plaistow     7am-8pm         Pollard School
Sandown    8am-8pm        Sandown Town Hall
Vote Yes on Articles #4 and #5

Nashua Mayor Uses State Of The City To Bash Unions For Not Taking More In Concessions

  By New Hampshire Labor News | February 21, 2013 - 4:53 pm |
Comments
Image courtesy of Inventorchris on Flickr
Image courtesy of Inventorchris on Flickr

Image courtesy of Inventorchris on Flickr

Like many large cities, Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau hosted the annual State of the City address. The local media organizations were quick to mention that Mayor Lozeau went right for the unionized workers at the Nashua Police Commission.

The Nashua Telegraph (NT) editorial board talked about this in their article, Two takeaways in mayor’s State of City address.

“The mayor called out the Nashua Police Commission and its five labor unions for being the only ones that have yet to approve a new contract that contains employee concessions for health care.” (NT)

Do you know why they have not accepted a new contract with the city? They are not willing to shoulder another pay cut, in the form of higher health care costs.

“This not only is unfair to their colleagues in other city departments, Lozeau said, but it has cost the city $438,415 in health care premiums that should have been shouldered by Police Department employees.” (NT)

What Mayor Lozeau is not saying is that all of the other Nashua unions she mentioned agreed to a 10% hike in healthcare costs. Now she wants the remaining five departments employees to take the additional $438,000 in healthcare costs.

“The five police unions, which all have contracts that expired in July of 2011, include a supervisor union, patrolmen union and three civilian unions consisting of a Teamsters group, communications union and United Auto Workers union. (UL)”

The five unions represent 250 employees, and why should they pick up the $430,000 dollar tab.

Today the NH Union Leader (UL) ran the article, Police chief blasts Nashua mayor’s union remarks.

“Ten other unions have found a way to do that with their employer boards. There is no reason for the Police Commission and their unions to fail to do so,” said the mayor.”

“I believe it was a little uncalled for, and a little unprofessional,” Chief John Seusing said on Wednesday”

“We certainly believe we are making a good-faith effort and have been for almost two years,” said Police Commissioner Thomas Pappas on Wednesday, adding that he has personally attended numerous mediation sessions. “We are trying hard. We are taking this very seriously. I can understand the frustration, as we are a bit frustrated ourselves.”

Why should they accept a bad deal from the Mayor if it will only hurt the members. It is obvious that the unions do not feel they are getting a fair deal in these negotiations, which is why they have not come to an agreement. Since the details of the negotiations are supposed to be confidential, I have no knowledge of what the city is offering in return for a 10% hike in healthcare. Given that the city seems to be in a money crunch and is trying to force employees to pay more for healthcare, I highly doubt they are offering any pay raises in the contract. Without a pay raise the city is trying to chip away at the pay of the workers and that is wrong.

Why Kevin Landrigan May Be Wrong About The State Employees Contract Negotiations

  By Matt Murray | February 3, 2013 - 9:43 am |
Comments
contract signatures

contract signatures

I want to start by saying, that I completely adore Kevin Landrigan.  He is knows more about State Politics in New Hampshire than many of the actual legislators.

However today Kevin and the Nashua Telegraph released this video  ”Pay raise for state employees likely to come at a price” (http://bcove.me/qdgazvi5).  In this short two minute video, Kevin talks about how the State Employees Association is currently entered in negotiations for a new contract.  In this contract negotiation, the SEA is asking for a pay raise among other things.

As always Kevin was very knowledgable about the work that the SEA and other labor unions did to help elect Governor Maggie Hassan.  This however is where I would like to correct Kevin.  The labor unions in New Hampshire who worked to elect Maggie were not doing it to get some huge pay raise.  Many of the unions in NH worked to ensure that Ovide Lamontagne did not get elected.

Yes, as Kevin said, labor and Democrats have a “symbiotic” relationship.  This is mostly because the Republicans tend to be more business friendly, while the Democrats tend to be more worker friendly.  This was completely the case in the race for NH Governor.  The election of Maggie was more about survival.   Ovide Lamontagne was a strong supporter of Right To Work, as well as against Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s).  Lamontagne’s ideas were anti-worker and very anti-union, this is why labor unions were against him.

Now back to the present negotiations with the SEA.  In the video (http://bcove.me/qdgazvi5) Kevin talks about how the SEA is looking for a pay raise.  The problem is that the Governor has a very very tight budget on her hands this term. A budget that, I am sure Kevin would agree with me, will shape her political future as Governor.

Kevin brought up one good point that the SEA is ensuring that everyone knows.  The State Employees (SEA) have gone with out a pay raise for nearly four years.   This has been the case for many employees not just state employees.   Workers pay has been stagnant for quite a while and the recession has pushed workers further down.   The collective bargaining process is one of the ways that workers are going to start making gains in the workplace again.

The process of negotiations is a very delicate balance. It is give and take.  If one side does not give, then the negotiations fall apart. So the idea that in order to get a pay raise the SEA must give something back is a given. The problem is that they have already given. They have given for two full contracts now.

Kevin suggested that if the SEA wants to get a pay raise they are going to have to make concessions on their healthcare package.  I want to make something very clear, giving up on healthcare for a pay raise is not a win.  For example if a worker gets a $1.00 per hour raise, but healthcare goes up by $50.00 per week then workers again lose! ($1.00 p/h X 40= $40 -$50.00 = -$10)

This is a common trick used in corporate business, give the workers a small pay raise and increase their cost (retirement deductions, or healthcare).  The employees are tricked to believe that they are getting something when they are actually being pushed further down.   It is a shell game and I hope that the SEA (and everyone else) does not fall for it.

In many cases labor unions have forgone a pay raise in order to keep their benefits the same.  This is still a net loss for the workers, because the cost of living is always going up.  Just to keep up with inflation workers need a pay raise and this has not happened in years.  This applies to all workers, not just the SEA.  I am sure that Diana Lacey and her team will not be falling for this type of shell game.

I would also like to applaud Kevin Landrigan for his exceptional coverage, of the State House and Government operations.  I just wish that in his next video, he would not imply that workers must give more, to get pay raises that are long overdue.

HB 178 ‘Binding Arbitration For Public Labor Disputes’ But What Does That Mean And Why It Is Important

  By Matt Murray | January 28, 2013 - 1:30 pm | , ,
Comments
NH House-2

Have you ever had a debate with someone and and then turned to someone else and say ‘what do you think?’  That is very similar to the new law being proposed by a group of legislators in the NH House.

The bill, HB 178 “AN ACT relative to binding arbitration in public labor relations disputes.” is a very simple change that helps solve contract disputes and avoids any type of strikes or collective actions.  

Those of us who are familiar with contract language, arbitration and mediation will understand this law change easily.

“If the impasse is not resolved following the action of the legislative body, each party shall submit its last best offer to binding arbitration. The arbitrator shall choose the offer of one of the parties in its entirety and such offer shall become the new agreement and shall be binding on both parties, although still subject to approval of cost items by the legislative body.”

For those unfamiliar with contract negotiations let me explain.  In the negotiation process sometimes both sides are unwilling to give on a certain issue.  In many negotiations pay and vacation time are the most common issues that lead to an ‘impasse’ (a deadlock).  

After one side declares ‘impasse’ or the both sides can agree to mediation. This is where a neutral third party is introduced.  Sometimes the mediator can help work out the differences between the two sides and come up with new suggestions to resolving the deadlock.

If mediation fails, the employer can choose to impose their ‘last best offer’ as the new contract.  This was the case in the dispute between the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and the FAA.

There is one more avenue that can resolve the impasse and is very effective.  This is called ‘binding arbitration’.  Binding arbitration is where the neutral third party (most cases the mediator) makes a ruling on the dispute.  This means that however the arbitrator rules both sides must accept it and move on.

To avoid being forced into another imposed work rules situation again, NATCA pushed for a similar ‘Binding Arbitration’ bill in the US Congress.

Binding arbitration does not always benefit the union, so why would the unions be pushing for binding arbitration?  Because having a ruling against you is better than not solving your contract dispute and being forced to go on strike.   This is even more beneficial for public sector unions who are forbidden from striking.

The ultimate goal is to bargain collectively and reach an agreement.  This law change will help labor unions and public employers reach agreement and resolve their contract disputes in a fair and equal process.

The NHLN says yes to this bill!  While this may not solve all of the issues between contract negotiations in NH, anything to move the process along is a win for everyone.

Amherst School Board and Teachers Did Not Settle Contract

  By New Hampshire Labor News | January 8, 2013 - 4:25 pm | ,
Comments
via facebook http://on.fb.me/TJnS8M

The power of collective bargaining has been proven time and time again, so it is sad to hear that the Amherst School Board is unwilling to settle with the Amherst Education Association.

via facebook http://on.fb.me/TJnS8M

The Amherst Education Association and the Amherst School Board were not able to reach a settlement on a contract before the January 8th SB2 budget submission deadline. As a result, Amherst PreK-8 teachers will be working without the stabilizing influence of a contract for the third time in the past nine years.

The Amherst Education Association has already voiced significant concerns over the Board’s proposed 2014 budget, which relies on unprecedented reductions in teaching staff and increases in class size based on fiscal reasons rather than educational policy. Coupled with the failure to settle a contract, the AEA feels the Board was not willing to explore any options that would best serve the Amherst voters and the teachers that serve them.

Will Amherst follow the same path as other districts (notably Manchester) and move towards larger class sizes? What will happen to the district’s high ranking among NH schools? Amherst teachers strongly believe increased class sizes and fewer teachers are not in the best interest of Amherst’s PreK-8 students.

With hope, the Amherst Education Association and the Amherst School Board can resolve these issues before people are forced out and Amherst students’ learning environment is negatively impacted.

The Amherst Education Association represents Amherst School District teachers at Clark, Wilkins and Amherst Middle School, covering grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade.

IBEW Union Members Ratify Contract at NH Electric Co-op and Avoid Strike

  By New Hampshire Labor News | October 5, 2012 - 1:31 pm | , ,
Comments
Ibew logo

Plymouth, NH – Union members at the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative have ratified a new 5 1/2- year contract agreement that provides wage increases and preserves a defined benefit pension plan for current and new employees. Today’s ratification vote prevents a looming strike at the utility that serves some 83,000 homes and business across 115 towns and cities.

This morning’s vote at NHEC’s Plymouth headquarters followed a week’s contract extension requested by a federal mediator. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #1837 represents approximately 85 employees at the company. These dedicated men and women have received near universal praise for their outstanding work, particularly following storm-related power outages.

“While I’m pleased that we were able to reach agreement with the Co-op on a new contract, I’m disappointed that the Company chose to paint our union members as greedy and uncaring about their customers,” IBEW Business Manager Dick Rogers said. “They ought to be ashamed of themselves.”

Earlier this week, NHEC President/CEO Fred Anderson and company spokesman Seth Wheeler issued deliberately misleading statements to media outlets about concessions made by employees in 2009. While it is true that union members weren’t forced to accept the same pension cuts as NHEC’s non-union employees, IBEW voluntarily agreed to major concessions at that time, accepting 20 unpaid furlough days and significant layoffs. The company’s willful deception left IBEW members hurt and angry in the days leading up to today’s vote.

Kimberlyn Davis, the wife of Lineworker Don Davis put the feelings of many NHEC families and customers into words when she wrote her letter to the Laconia Citizen newspaper:

“When everyone else is told to “stay inside” and “be prepared” by the weather man, it is our husbands and fathers who put on their boots and the warmest clothes they have and head out into the middle of the night to go walk the power lines that run through the woods to find the problem, cut down trees that are dangerously laying on wire which could recoil as soon as the cut is made, climb utility poles in severe weather conditions as all power lines don’t just run along the roadside and bucket trucks can’t go everywhere. ”They do all of this with ice coating the trees which causes the potential for a limb to snap off or a tree to tip over due to the weight of the ice.

“That is just one scenario but those are the fears that we wives and families face every time our loved ones walk out that door in the name of NHEC.”

“Now that I’ve given you that scenario think about every holiday, every family event, any vacation planned, or just having a relaxing weekend at home. There is no such thing for these guys.”

“I know this has been a difficult time for IBEW members at NHEC and I’m glad we can put this chapter behind us,” IBEW 1837 Assistant Business Manager Tom Ryan said. “They now can continue their excellent service to NHEC customers and their communities.”

“On behalf of all our IBEW members, we want to thank the Union Negotiating Team for all their hard work in nearly 20 bargaining sessions going all the way back to April,” Rogers said. “Their efforts are greatly appreciated,” Ryan added.

The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative is a member-owned and controlled distributor of electricity where approximately 85 members of IBEW Local 1837 are employed helping deliver electricity to a wide swath of New Hampshire. At the Co-op, IBEW Local 1837 represents employees including District Representatives, Working Foremen, Lineworkers, Operations  Coordinators, Line Design Technicians, Auto Mechanics, System Electricians, Meter Technicians, Warehouse Workers and other Technicians.

NH Labor News 8/9/12: Privatize the Post Office? Expanding Medicare, UNH Profs Get New Contract, and more

  By New Hampshire Labor News | August 9, 2012 - 2:16 pm |
Comments

Michael Hiltzik: Be wary of talk about privatizing post office – latimes.com: “It’s right there, at Article I, Section 8. Yet, in some quarters, talk of privatizing the post office never seems to ebb. That talk is experiencing another surge just now, because theU.S. Postal Service is in the process of defaulting on a payment of more than $5 billion owed to the Treasury.

The default has conservatives and libertarians chattering again about how the Postal Service long ago outlived its usefulness. Almost nobody uses the mail anymore down our way (goes the argument), and universal flat-rate service, the governing principle of theU.S. mailfor some two centuries, is a relic of the past and should be put to sleep. The post office, it’s said, should be privatized.”

Pantries have less food, greater demand – NashuaTelegraph.com: “Cowette said more than 12 percent of people in Coos County don’t know where their next meal is coming from; in Hillsborough County, it’s more than 9 percent.

She said the “more shocking” figure is that one in four children in Manchester don’t know where their next meal is coming from – a situation social service agencies refer to as “food insecure.” Cowette said that description fits 143,000 New Hampshire residents – or one in nine.”

It makes sense to expand Medicaid, by Mark Fernald – SentinelSource.com: Guest: “Many New Hampshire Republicans, including gubernatorial candidates Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith, and House Speaker William O’Brien, have lined up to oppose any expansion of Medicaid.
If this becomes the law in New Hampshire, it will be the triumph of ideology over common sense, and New Hampshire will have lost an opportunity to improve the health of its citizens, lower the cost of private health insurance, and boost the state’s economy.”

New contract in place for UNH professors – Boston.com: “DURHAM, N.H.—University of New Hampshire professors are heading back to school with a new contract.

Salaries will increase through a combination of across-the-board increases and merit and equity-based pay hikes. That averages out to an annual salary increase of 2.4 percent between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2015.

UNH’s board of trustees voted to accept the new contract in June, as did the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Union President Deanna Wood told Foster’s Daily Democrat (http://bit.ly/O6oZvc) it had taken 2 1/2 years to arrive at the contract and each side felt it had reached the point where two fact finder reports had come in with very similar recommendations, and it was time to settle.”

Labor department visits Lilac City center today – Fosters: “The Deputy Secretary of Labor is scheduled to tour the Rochester Training and Academic Center facility at the Lilac City Mall affiliated with Great Bay Community College Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

The site is currently under lease to Great Bay with plans to renovate and create labs for advanced composite manufacturing and other related coursework there.

Lisa Proulx, public information officer for the college, wrote in an email the site is also involved with Workready NH, a HR State Council of New Hampshire program that works to improve job-seekers skills and help companies foster a skilled workforce.”

» NYT: “American workers should have paid sick leave, and New York City could set a standard for the rest of the nation.”: “36 of 50 New York City Council members currently support a proposed law to provide sick leave for 1.2 million city workers. However, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, perhaps pandering to the city’s business interests before her 2013 mayoral campaign, refuses to bring the bill to the floor.

In 145 countries, national laws require employers to provide paid sick days. America is not among those as nearly 40 million American workers have no paid sick days at all. This leads to situations in which workers are risking their health and that of their co-workers by coming to work ill, finding themselves in financial hardship due to illness, or worse — being fired.”