Related,
paid sick leave is a left wing proposal? I guess that makes the majority of Americans left wing, since it's a very popular idea. Not to mention we're in the middle of a flu epidemic showing why paid sick days are an important idea for public health.
And in Massachusetts, a rally was held to support a paid sick leave bill in the state legislature.
And more:
- It's very rare you see education expert Diane Ravitch quite this excited. But she's raving about California Gov. Jerry Brown's State of the State address, in which he said "Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice" and slammed testing-driven education.
- The New York City Council passed a bill prohibiting discrimination against unemployed job-seekers by a veto-proof margin. Now if Speaker Christine Quinn would just bring sick leave to a vote ...
- What are the chances former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship will do time for his role in the Upper Big Branch mine explosion?
- Did you notice Barack Obama didn't mention unions in his inaugural address? Josh Eidelson did:
But Obama’s celebration of collective action was also noteworthy for the proper nouns he didn’t name: Lowell. Pullman. Flint. Memphis. Delano. Obama’s speech celebrated feminist activism, civil rights activism, and LGBT activism, but didn’t mention labor activism. That’s a noteworthy omission, not an accident of alliteration.
- City workers in Charlotte, North Carolina (the state with the lowest union density in the country) will get to have their union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks if they want.