Washington Policy Watch

News and perspective on public policy issues affecting Washington's economy and quality of life, brought to you by the Economic Opportunity Institute.

September 7, 2011 • 2:56 pm 0

Poll: 69% of Seattle voters support proposed paid sick days ordinance

From the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce:

It comes as little surprise that paid sick days have received overwhelming public support in Seattle. But until now, it’s been difficult to say with precision just how strong that support really is.

Released today, a poll conducted in late August shows more than two-thirds of likely Seattle voters favor the Paid Sick Days ordinance that passed out of the Seattle City Council Health Committee on August 10th.

The poll reports 69% of voters support the current ordinance, while just 22% oppose the measure.

The poll also asked how a candidate’s support of the paid sick days ordinance would affect voter’s decisions on election day, to which more than four in ten respondents said they would be more inclined to support a mayoral (48% more likely) or city council (44% more likely) candidate who was in favor of the sick leave proposal. Only 20% were turned off by the stance.

“In tough economic times, workers are vulnerable and cannot afford to lose income or risk being disciplined simply because they have the flu or a child needs medical care. So many go to work sick because they do not have paid sick days,” said Marilyn Watkins, spokesperson for the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce. “Rebuilding the middle class, strengthening families’ economic security, and giving all children the opportunity to thrive requires common-sense protections like paid sick days.”

The ordinance passed by the Health Committee was modeled on the common-ground proposal crafted by Seattle workers, local small businesses, faith, labor and community groups. The proposal is set to come to the full Seattle City Council for a vote on September 12th.

Filed under: paid sick days, work and family, , ,

June 24, 2011 • 11:08 am 0

Paid sick days ordinance introduced – now make your voice heard!

Seattle City Council Member Nick Licata announces the official introduction of a paid sick days ordinance.

Via the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce:

Thanks to months of collaboration between local businesses and community organizations, and thousands of emails, postcards and phone calls from paid sick days supporters, the Seattle City Council will officially consider a paid sick days ordinance this summer!

This is a major step forward – we now have a chance to make paid sick days as basic as the 40-hour work week and the minimum wage here in Seattle.  But it’s important we keep up the pressure for action.

Please take a moment now to urge the Seattle City Council to vote on paid sick days this August.

The proposed paid sick days ordinance is backed by 75+ local organizations in the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce, and a growing list of local small business owners – many of whom helped write the ordinance.

But the City Council is already hearing from deep-pocketed interests lobbying against paid sick days. That’s why your message to the Council matters so much.

Tell the Seattle City Council why paid sick days matter to you and your family – and urge them to take action on paid sick days this August.

With paid sick days, you don’t have to choose between leaving a sick child at home alone or losing a day’s pay…or even your job. But 190,000 people working in Seattle don’t have that option – that’s 40% of the private-sector workforce!

You can help ensure everyone working in Seattle has paid sick days – please urge the Seattle City Council to vote on paid sick days this August.

Thank you for your support!

Filed under: paid sick days, work and family, , ,

May 10, 2011 • 8:56 am 0

Paid sick days: Public risks and responsible solutions

Evaluating Paid Sick Leave: Social, economic and health implications for Seattle

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave
Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10

“Stay home when you’re sick” was the key public health message during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, raising public awareness of the responsibility we all share in preventing the spread of contagious disease. The outbreak also highlighted how difficult it is for individuals without paid sick leave to meet competing obligations to their families, employers, their own well-being, and public health.

Paid time off from work to recover from illness, tend to a sick child, or see a doctor is a prerequisite for healthy workers and businesses, public health, family economic security, and even children’s success in school.

Yet four in ten workers get no paid sick leave – including many restaurant, grocery, and health care workers who are on the front lines of food safety and public health.

Seattle is home to about half a million jobs. An estimated 190,000 of those jobs do not offer paid sick leave, including nearly 30,000 in accommodation and food service, 20,000 in retail, and close to 20,000 in health services.

Minimum standards of paid sick days have been passed in three U.S. cities and are under consideration across the country. San Francisco’s paid sick leave ordinance has been in place the longest, since February 2007. The research there shows the new standards are supported by two-thirds of employers and have produced real benefits for half of all workers.

Since it was enacted, San Francisco’s job market has been stronger than in the state of California as a whole, and compares favorably with the surrounding counties. Adopting such a standard in the city of Seattle would protect public and community health, both in the city and throughout the region where Seattle’s workforce lives.

Filed under: paid sick days, work and family, , , ,

March 21, 2011 • 8:01 am 0

Health care budget deficit calculator

From the Center for Economic and Policy Research:

The U.S. health care system is possibly the most inefficient in the world: We spend twice as much per person on health care as other advanced countries, but we have worse health outcomes, including a lower life expectancy. The government, through programs like Medicare and Medicaid, pays for approximately half of the country’s health care, almost all of which is actually provided by the private sector. Thus, the bulk of our projected rising budget deficits are due to skyrocketing health care costs.

Click to use the interactive chart

The CEPR Health Care Budget Deficit Calculator shows that if the U.S. can get health care costs under control, our budget deficits will not rise uncontrollably in the future. But if we fail to contain health care costs, then it will be almost impossible to prevent exploding future budget deficits.

The Calculator lets you see what projected U.S. budget deficits would be if we had the same per person health care costs as any of the countries listed below, all of which enjoy longer life expectancies than the U.S. (Life expectancies are listed in parentheses.)

The yellow line shows projected deficits based on baseline projections from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The blue line shows where the deficits would be if health care costs in the U.S. were to rise only due to the aging of the population and stay even with per capita GDP growth (based on CBO’s “Low Health Care Cost” projection).

Use the CEPR calculator »

Filed under: health care, , ,

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