No rest for sick workers

More Americans are denied sick leave at work, thanks in part to ALEC's efforts to ban local governments from mandating paid sick days for workers.<br /><br /><a href="http://alecexposed.org/" rel="nofollow">ALEC</a>, the American Legislative Exchange Council, functions as a <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" rel="nofollow">corporate dating service for state legislators.</a> In state after state, ALEC is succeeding in getting laws passed for its corporate members who don't want their workers to take sick days off.<br /><br />And more Americans are showing up to work sick -- <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/90-percent-work-sick_n_4174464.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&ir=Business" rel="nofollow">over 90 percent of workers show </a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/90-percent-work-sick_n_4174464.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003&ir=Business" rel="nofollow">even when they know that they will infect somebody else.  </a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF9wHWcn6n2qzeclW3EkgdU1Agl6ilSUAq1cDc_fWM39G9dI2yo8WdftYN-5XAGfb6urHvDKqRf6S_4okgD_IntmJDEZNtGTeyOEl-zPcT97Ud8CFHzqejUoXSxmmiAdS0bQtTgtaBZaC/s1600/Sick-at-Work.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF9wHWcn6n2qzeclW3EkgdU1Agl6ilSUAq1cDc_fWM39G9dI2yo8WdftYN-5XAGfb6urHvDKqRf6S_4okgD_IntmJDEZNtGTeyOEl-zPcT97Ud8CFHzqejUoXSxmmiAdS0bQtTgtaBZaC/s320/Sick-at-Work.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/opinion/sunday/working-while-sick.html?_r=1&ref=opinion" rel="nofollow">Small wonder when over 40 million Americans</a> don't have any paid sick leave and <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/156031/%22having_it_all%22_the_wrong_question_for_most_women?paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark" target="_blank">almost a quarter of workers</a> have lost or were threatened with losing their job because they took time off for illness. <br /><br />Last week, Pennsylvania became the 14th state to introduce the ALEC bill, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/24/2828431/pennsylvania-paid-sick-days-preemption/" rel="nofollow">thanks to </a><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/24/2828431/pennsylvania-paid-sick-days-preemption/" rel="nofollow">ALEC member and </a><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/24/2828431/pennsylvania-paid-sick-days-preemption/" rel="nofollow">Pennsylvania state Rep. Seth Grove</a>.  Eight states have already passed some form of the bill including Florida, where<a href="http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-06-14/news/os-scott-signs-local-paid-sick-time-ban-20130614_1_florida-chamber-ballot-orange-county" rel="nofollow"> over 50,000 voters had already signed a petition for a countrywide paid sick leave law.</a><br /><br />These <a href="http://familyvaluesatwork.org/blog/paid-sick-days/how-corporate-giants-try-to-suppress-democracy" rel="nofollow">so-called pre-emption laws are devastating to local communities and workers</a>.  This ALEC bill forces workers to choose between paying their rent and getting better -- even in communities that want all workers to be covered with paid sick leave.<br /><br />Paid sick leave is not just pro-worker reform; it is good for businesses as well.  Studies have shown mandatory sick leave has no impact on businesses -- unless <a href="http://washington.mainstreetalliance.org/files/2013/09/PSD-1-Year-Report-Final.pdf" rel="nofollow">it helps the business make money</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Multiple national studies have found that providing paid sick leave can benefit businesses through higher morale and productivity, less absenteeism, and lower rates of turnover, offsetting some or all of an employer’s direct cost of providing paid leave.</blockquote>Paid sick leave allows parents to stay home with sick kids and prevents diseases being spread to coworkers and customers.<br /><br />With all of the benefits from paid sick leave, only an heinous anti-worker group could deny workers the right to recover from illness.<br /><br />But ALEC is fine with doing just that.<br /><br /><br /><br />

ALEC paid sick days No rest for sick workers

More Americans are denied sick leave at work, thanks in part to ALEC's efforts to ban local governments from mandating paid sick days for workers.ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, functions as a corporate dating service for state legis…

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Today's Teamster News 10.15.13

<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/11/2773151/osha-shutdown/" rel="nofollow">Workplaces Go Without Safety Inspections During The Shutdown</a>  ThinkProgress   ...When the government shut down on October 1, 90 percent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) inspectors were furloughed...<br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeremy-warner/10378666/The-sun-is-setting-on-dollar-supremacy-and-with-it-American-power.html" rel="nofollow">The sun is setting on dollar supremacy, and with it, American power</a>  The Telegraph   ...A serious alternative to the dollar is still a long way off, but the latest shenanigans on Capitol Hill have given the search for them renewed momentum...<br /><a href="http://www.courierpostonline.com/viewart/20131013/NEWS02/310130056/Normalcy-eludes-many-year-after-Sandy-hit-NJ" rel="nofollow">Normalcy eludes many a year after Sandy hit NJ </a> Courier-Post   ...full recovery from Superstorm Sandy is still elusive nearly a year after the storm pummeled the state Oct. 29...<br /><a href="http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2013/10/wsj-more-homes-for-sales-fewer-sales.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CalculatedRisk+%28Calculated+Risk%29" rel="nofollow">WSJ: More Homes for Sales, Fewer Sales, Slowing Price Increases in Certain Areas</a>  Calculated Risk   ...The sharp home-price rally in some of the hardest-hit housing markets is likely to fade in the coming months amid a pullback in investor purchases and steady increases in the number of homes listed for sale...<br /><a href="http://wallstreetonparade.com/2013/10/banks-are-still-failing-at-ten-times-the-pre-2008-crash-rate/" rel="nofollow">Banks Are Still Failing At Ten Times the Pre-2008 Crash Rate </a> Wall Street on Parade   ...Before Wall Street took a bazooka loaded with credit default swaps and toxic mortgage securitizations and fired it directly at the heart of the U.S. economy, we had a very stable banking system...<br /><a href="http://www.enetenglish.gr/?i=news.en.home&id=1536" rel="nofollow">100,000 applications for 10,000 temporary jobs paying €427-490 a month</a>  ENet   ...At last count, in July, there were 1,374,054 people recorded as unemployed in Greece by the Hellenic Statistics Authority (Elstat). But of the 1,004,000 unemployed on OAED's books, only 145,865 – about 10% – were entitled to unemployment benefit...<br /><a href="http://portside.org/2013-10-13/are-our-parents-stealing-our-kids-no-theyre-not" rel="nofollow">Are Our Parents Stealing from Our Kids? No, They're Not </a> Portside   ...the data suggest that more spending on seniors is associated with more spending on kids...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/14/garment_workers_held_boss_captive_until_he_paid_promised_bonus/" rel="nofollow">Garment workers held boss captive until he paid promised bonus</a>  Salon   ...Bangladeshi workers on minimum wage held factory boss for over 18 hours after months of tense labor disputes...<br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/14/hospital_giant_fails_in_bid_to_swipe_nurses_sick_days/" rel="nofollow">Hospital giant fails in bid to swipe nurses’ sick days</a>  Salon   ...After nine strikes, nurses won the right to keep taking paid sick days rather than spreading disease to patients...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/11018894" rel="nofollow">Report: NSA collecting millions of contact lists</a>  The Guardian   ... the spy agency intercepts hundreds of thousands of email address books every day from private accounts on Yahoo, Gmail, Facebook and Hotmail. The NSA also collects about a half-million buddy lists daily from chat services and email accounts...<br /><br /><br /><br />

Bangladesh government shutdown Greece home prices paid sick days Sandy social security spying Wall Street Today's Teamster News 10.15.13

Workplaces Go Without Safety Inspections During The Shutdown  ThinkProgress   ...When the government shut down on October 1, 90 percent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) inspectors were furloughed...The sun is setting on d…

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