House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk, and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, just held a news conference outside the Senate chamber during which they complained that Democratic support for the so-called paid sick days legislation, which has failed in recent years, sends the wrong message to business. Supporters of the bill say that it’s a necessary benefit and will keep people who are contagious from showing up at work.
”For God’s sake, our business community needs help,” Cafero said. “Sadly, we’re back to business as usual,” McKinney said, charging that as majority Democrats have adopted the mantra of “jobs,” the law requiring paid sick days sends another signal to businesses that are hurting. “These are businesses that live day-to-day,” McKinney said. “Their doors will close and hundreds of people will lose their jobs.” He asked Democratic leaders for an “unequivocal statement that this bill is dead.”
Just in case anybody was unclear, these guys held a press conference to remind us all that the Republican Party is the party of big business, and will always pick business over actual people. This is not news. So out of touch.
Comment by independentM — February 24th, 2010 @ 4:32 pm
The vast, vast majority of impacted companies will be retail food establishments, which are not placed at any competitive disadvantage by the imposition of a sick leave requirement.
Like the cost of FDA inspectors that make sure food delivered to restaurants isn’t tainted or diseased, the costs will be passed onto consumers. At the very most, this means an increase of 2% in the cost of labor, which is only one part of the cost of serving a customer (raw materials, packaging, rent, insurance, utilities, advertising). Paid sick days may make the cost of a $4 hamburger go up by 3 cents.
In turn, the restaurant gets healthier, more productive workers (which have a $ value and a value in terms of retention and customer service) and public health is improved in the bargain. And, companies that have been treating employees well all along are no longer at a competitive disadvantage to abusive firms.
For those against it, I wonder if they’d support shuttering the FDA to save a few cents off their grocery bill, or shutting down OSHA so businesses can drive workers until they’re crippled and living on disability. Advances in health and public safety are inherently valuable, and in this case, can be had for extremely little money.
Comment by matt — February 24th, 2010 @ 10:13 pm