Washington Work and Family Coalition

Equal Pay, Paid Sick/Safe Leave, FAMLI Act Legislative Update: April 1, 2015

Late yesterday, Senator Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, cancelled today’s meeting of the Washington Senate Commerce and Labor Committee which he chairs. Since today, April 1, is “cut-off”, that means that the equal pay, paid sick days, and minimum wage bills heard in committee on Monday are essentially dead for this year.

But all of this year’s bills can be reconsidered again, starting next January. The Washington Work and Family Coalition will be working hard in the meantime to be sure that all of our priorities are priorities for our legislators in 2016.

And you can help send them the message.

Women deserve equal pay whether they live in Spokane or Seattle, Yakima or Grays Harbor, Bellingham or Vancouver. Yet we heard in testimony Monday that employers across the state impose wage secrecy policies, so no one knows if some co-workers are getting paid more than others for the same work. And managers in high tech companies, grocery stores, and hospitals use their discretion – and assumptions about gender roles – to more often recommend men for promotion and assign them to higher paying departments. That is why we need to pass the Equal Pay Opportunity Act.

We also know that everyone gets sick, but 1 million workers in Washington get no paid sick leave, and even more are discouraged from using the sick leave they’ve earned. Every day in every school district in our state, sick kids are waiting miserably at school because no adult in the family can leave work to pick them up. Children as young as 9 or 10 are missing school to stay home with their sick younger siblings because their mom can’t risk missing another day of work.

The Washington State Board of Health, in a comprehensive health impact review of House Bill 1356, establishing Paid Sick and Safe Leave, concluded: “Evidence indicates that HB 1356 has potential to improve financial security; decrease the transmission of communicable disease; improve health outcomes; and to decrease health disparities by income, educational attainment, race/ethnicity, and geography.”

Meanwhile, with over 20 U.S. jurisdictions now requiring paid sick leave, including Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland, we know that businesses thrive with healthier and more productive workers and more financially stable customers.

And we haven’t forgotten Family and Medical Leave Insurance, which “died” in the legislature a few weeks ago. No one should have to forego needed surgery or drag themselves back to work before they’ve fully healed because they don’t have enough paid leave. Our elders should have family surrounding them through serious illnesses and during their final weeks of life, whether they’re part of the 1% or the 99%.

Every baby born or adopted in our state deserves several months of uninterrupted, unstressed time with their parents while their little brains and bodies are developing most quickly. We know from states with universal paid family and medical leave programs already in place that babies and moms are healthier, both moms and dads take longer leaves from work, fewer families are forced to rely on public assistance, and more moms are employed and for higher pay a year following childbirth.

Equal pay, paid sick days, and paid family and medical leave are all simple concepts that the vast majority of voters support – whether Democrat, Republican, or Independent, whether they live in a big city or not. The Washington Work and Family Coalition will continue fighting for these policies.

Let your elected officials know that you will, too.

One step closer to real progress for Washington women and their families

We’ve just learned that the Chair of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Paid Sick and Safe Days, the Equal Pay Opportunity Act, and minimum wage legislation next Monday, March 30th at 1:30 p.m.

This puts us one step closer to real progress for Washington women and their families!

It’s going to be close, though. The committee must vote to move these bills forward by Wednesday, April 1 (no fooling!) or they will be dead for the rest of this year.

And we’ve heard that some corporate lobbyists are hard at work to kill the bills – or whittle them down to the point where they actually make it harder for women to earn equal pay and paid leave to support and protect themselves and their families.

Please take a minute to tell your Senator that Paid Sick and Safe Days (HB 1356), the Equal Pay Opportunity Act (HB 1646), and a $12 state minimum wage (HB 1355) are steps that help Washington women advance and strengthen our whole economy. Urge them to pass these bills without crippling amendments.

Washington state has led the charge for women in the past. Women here won the right to vote in 1910, a decade before the rest of the country. We passed the first Equal Pay Act in 1943, while Rosie the Riveters were helping win World War II.

But too many companies continue to discriminate, hiding behind pay secrecy policies and passing women over for higher paying jobs. And too few women – breadwinners for their families – can earn paid sick days on the job.

Take a moment now to tell your state Senator: Washington women deserve a raise, and the right to paid sick and safe leave. All workers do.

Thank you!

A woman’s work is never done: A new economic agenda

marilyn watkins — Marilyn Watkins, Policy Director at the Economic Opportunity Institute

Women’s work is central to our economy. Most households couldn’t make ends meet without women’s income. Yet, women make less than men across every occupation. Because employers find ways to pay women less, families struggle to pay their bills, and can’t save for education or retirement.

To reach the same income the typical white man makes in 12 months, White women in the U.S. have to work full time until March of the following year, Black women to mid-July, and Latina women to October – of the second year!

Three bills before Washington’s State Legislature would strengthen finances in households all across our state by giving women a better chance for equal pay. The Democratic-controlled House has passed bills to raise the state minimum wage to $12 over four years, assure all workers can earn paid sick leave, and help women achieve equal pay. But all three could die in the Republican-controlled Senate. Of course, fair wages for women along with a higher minimum wage and access to sick leave, will boost incomes for men, too, but these are especially women’s issues.

The Equal Pay Opportunity Act, House Bill 1646, targets the gender pay gap by protecting the right of workers to talk about wages and job opportunities, so women can find out if they are being paid less or passed over for promotion. Even though pay discrimination based on gender has been illegal in Washington State since 1943, many employers prohibit employees from discussing pay. And many employers make culturally based assumptions about women’s capability for leadership, complex assignments, or traditionally male jobs.

Women in high tech complain about being passed over for promotions and having their ideas appropriated by men. In groceries, nine in ten meat cutters are men, while most deli workers are women. Guess which job pays more? The Equal Pay Opportunity Act will protect freedom of speech about compensation and require that differences in pay and career opportunities be based on job-related factors such as education or experience, not on perceptions about gender roles.

So far, none of our state’s major corporations have had to take a public position on the bill. It’s been largely ignored in the news media , so corporate lobbyists can whisper their position quietly to legislators.

Women are the majority of low wage workers. Some occupations that require skill and are important to society – like childcare and home healthcare – pay very little because they are deemed “women’s work.” Women also take home less than men in restaurants and retail jobs. Raising the minimum wage, as House Bill 1355 proposes, gives low wage workers and their families greater economic security, keeps people in jobs longer, and puts that money right back into neighborhood businesses.

Limited access to paid sick leave is also a women’s issue. Mothers are more likely than fathers to have to stay home with a sick child. Six in 10 of those moms get no paid sick leave when they do. About 1 million workers in Washington don’t get a single day of paid sick leave. They have to make the tough choice of working sick or when their ill child needs them – or losing pay, and maybe risking their job.

When sick people can’t stay home, they spread their germs to the rest of us. Sick workers are also less productive and more prone to accidents, and sick kids can’t learn. Assuring that all workers can earn a few days sick and safe leave, as House Bill 1356 will, protects public health, keeps families economically stable, and enables domestic violence victims to seek safety. We also know from the successful laws in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and other cities and states that businesses thrive with paid sick days laws.

These three bills help businesses as well as families by helping companies retain trained workers, maximizing the abilities and contributions of all employees, and gaining new customers. These policies also help the state budget. Additional income for families means less reliance on public services and more money flowing through the economy producing tax revenue. Moreover, healthier kids with more stable lives will do better in school and in later life.

So why wouldn’t these great policies sail right through the Senate? That’s a good question to ask your state senator. You can send a brief message to your district legislators through the in-state toll-free Hotline number: 800-562-6000, or find your legislators’ contact information at here.

Via the South Seattle Emerald