Don't Sneeze in My Food -- Call Your Commissioners Today

Please call your Miami-Dade County Commissioners & Ask them to Vote for Earned Paid Sick Time

On Tuesday, November 20 at 2:00 pm at a Miami-Dade County Commission Hearing, Commissioner Barbara Jordan will introduce the Miami-Dade Earned Sick Time Ordinance. Please call or email (contact information below) your commissioner today or tomorrow morning to express your support for the Ordinance. Employees should not have to choose between their job and their health or the health of their loved ones. The ordinance will not only improve the conditions of workers in our community, but will also safeguard their families and the public health.

**The majority of employees without paid sick days work closely with the public elevating the potential for the spread of contagion, increasing not only the public health risks but also the cost of local health care

**Businesses suffer as employees who go to work sick stay ill longer and spread the illness to their co-workers affecting productivity

**Sick children are often either left home alone when a parent cannot stay home to care for them or sent to school ill, thus spreading the illness to other children and affecting our educational system

**Women are also disproportionately affected by the lack of an earned sick time ordinance as they are frequently the caretakers in families

We all benefit from an Earned Sick Time Ordinance. And it's the right thing to do.

Please call or email now.

District 1- Commissioner Barbara Jordan
305-375-5694 or 305-474-3011 E-mail: bjordan@miamidade.gov

District 2 - Commissioner Jean Monestime
305-375-4833 or 305-694-2779 E-mail: district2@miamidade.gov

District 3 - Commissioner Audrey Edmonson
305-375-5393 or 305-636-2331 E-mail: district3@miamidade.gov

District 4 - Commissioner Sally Heyman
305-375-5128 or 305-787-5999 E-mail: district4@miamidade.gov

District 5 - Commissioner Bruno Barreiro
305-375-5924 or 305-673-7743 E-mail: district5@miamidade.gov

District 6 - Commissioner Rebeca Sosa
305-375-5696 or 305-267-6377 E-mail: district6@miamidade.gov

District 7 - Commissioner Xavier Suarez
305-375-5680 or 305-669-4003 E-mail: district7@miamidade.gov

District 8 - Commissioner Lynda Bell
305-375-5218 or 305-378-6677 E-mail: District8@miamidade.gov

District 9 - Commissioner Dennis Moss
305-375-4835 or 305-245-4420 E-mail: DennisMoss@miamidade.gov

District 10 - Commissioner Javier Souto
305-375-4835 or 305-222-2116 E-mail: district10@miamidade.gov

District 11 - Commissioner to be Juan Zapata on 11/20/2012
305-375-3511 or 305-552-1155 E-mail: district11@miamidade.gov

District 12 - Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz
305-375-4343 or 305-599-1200 E-mail: district12@miamidade.gov

District 13 - Commissioner Esteban Bovo
305-375-4831 or 305-820-8424 E-mail: district13@miamidade.gov

Interfaith Perspective Regarding Walmart Workers

This Black Friday, thousands of workers and faith advocates across the country are protesting the low wages, lack of benefits, abusive scheduling practices, and unsafe conditions at Walmart stores and contracted warehouses.

Walmart and its contractors employ 1.4 million Americans, making it the largest retail employer in the nation. The corporation has the potential to set a high standard of honorable employment practices in the industry, but instead, workers are paid so little that the families of Walmart employees use an estimated 38% more in public assistance programs than the average families of other large retail employers. Walmart regularly outsources its warehouse work to other companies, where unpaid wages and health and safety violations are common, to avoid blame for such illegal cost-cutting measures.

As the prophet Isaiah writes, “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high” (Isaiah 58:3-4). Our God is a God of justice, who despises wickedness and cares for the oppressed.

The Jewish tradition believes in the dignity of all creation and in special care for the orphaned, widowed, and the stranger. As is written in the Book of Deuteronomy, “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger in one of the communities of your land. You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets, for he is needy and urgently depends upon it.” (24:14-15).

Islam is a religion that believes in freedom, justice, and equality. Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said, “When you hire, compensate the workers and treat them fairly.”

As the Catholic Catechism states, “A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice” (2434). In the New Testament, James writes, “Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” (5:4).

As people of faith and conscience, we cannot be complicit in the exploitation of Walmart workers for the sake of our own convenience. We have a historic opportunity to be a part of a change whose time has come.

You can support these workers by joining or organizing an action in your community, or calling or delivering a letter in support of workers to your local Walmart store manager. Visit IWJ.org for more information or contact Jeanette Smith (jeanettesmith@sfiwj.org) for help organizing an action.

Earned Sick Days – the Right Thing to Do

Earned Sick Days – the Right Thing to Do
by Rabbi Solomon Schiff

Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to celebrate the many blessings in our lives, but it’s also a time to reflect on how we’re giving back to the community—a time to remember the importance of treating others the way we want to be treated. And this holiday season, we have a chance to do just that for Miami-Dade’s working families.

Our faith traditions teach us to respect the dignity of workers and to affirm their right to proper treatment. As we approach this holiday, we must heed the words of Deuteronomy Chapter 24 which command us in effect to not abuse a needy and destitute laborer (Deuteronomy 24:14).

County Commissioner Barbara Jordan has introduced an ordinance to guarantee earned sick time for the hardworking women and men that serve our community and power our economy. The basic premise of the initiative is simple: no one should have to choose between their health and their job, and no working parent should be fired for taking time off to care for a sick child.

This isn’t just an issue for employees and their families. Many of the workers who cannot earn sick time are employed in caregiving or service professions with a high level of personal contact with the public, especially seniors and children. In our booming restaurant industry alone, 90 percent of workers can’t afford to take time off when they’re sick, needlessly endangering the health of customers and co-workers. This is no way to treat the workers who keep our economy moving every day.

Meanwhile, communities suffer when the common cold becomes an economic crisis for working families struggling to make ends meet, who can no longer afford basic goods when forced to take time off work for their health.

From both a moral and economic standpoint, we must act now to address these challenges. Fortunately, the earned sick time initiative before the County Commission offers a quick and commonsense solution.

By guaranteeing earned sick time for workers, this ordinance would pave the way for a healthier future for employees, their family members, and the customers they serve. In addition to the immediate public health benefits, earned sick time also helps create economic security for families living paycheck-to-paycheck, generating greater economic stability for the entire community.

That’s not just speculation. Numerous studies show the positive impact that earned sick time has on businesses and the economy. In fact, in 2011, PricewaterhouseCoopers rated San Francisco, which passed earned sick time into law four years ago, as one of the top cities in the world to do business. Six out of seven San Francisco business owners support the law.

So there’s no question that earned sick time is not only the smart thing to do., but is also the right thing to do.

As a faith leader, I applaud Barbara Jordan for her leadership and urge the County Commission to pass this ordinance at the earliest opportunity. This holiday season, let us give back by strengthening economic security for working families, making workplaces healthier and more productive, and protecting public health.

Miami-Dade families can’t afford to wait — and as people of faith, neither should we.

Workers at the Ft Lauderdale Airport Stand Up

I had the privilege of joining Ft. Lauderdale airport service workers today as they stood up for better working conditions for themselves. With over 21 million travelers passing through the Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL) last year, FLL is one of the region’s economic engines, contributing over $2.6 billion to the local economy and generating 44,000 jobs, but yet many workers can't even afford a Thanksgiving dinner for their families.

One of those workers, Edson Jocelyn, shares his story below and in the Sun Sentinel.


I’m Thankful but I Want Change

By Edson Jocelyn –
Passenger Assistant at Fort Lauderdale International Airport
North Miami (305) 506-9159

Like many of you, I love having family and friends over for Thanksgiving. Turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce. Plenty of mashed potatoes on the side and a good slice of pumpkin pie. Mmmm, happiness can be so easy. Except when you can’t afford dinner.

Thanksgiving, my favorite American holiday, is coming up, but our dinner this year won’t be one of celebration. This month, like so many other airline workers who clean terminals and airplanes, push wheelchairs, handle baggage and keep Fort Lauderdale Airport safe and secure, I’m about to run out of money. I can barely pay rent and I definitely can’t afford a turkey for my children.

When you struggle to pay the bills on $4.65 an hour plus tips and no health insurance, finding reasons to be thankful becomes a real challenge. But I say grace, pray for my family, and try to make the best of it.

I’m thankful for my wife and my beautiful children. They are the center of my life. I wish I could spend more time with them. But working full time -- plus commuting by bus for 4 hours every day -- I barely have the chance to play with my girls or kiss them goodnight.

I’m thankful I don’t get sick a lot, because when I have to stay in bed with a fever, I don’t get paid. When I have a cold, I want to work but sometimes don’t. My job puts me in contact with senior citizens and people who are frail or ill; it wouldn’t be right to expose them. So I stay home sick and lose a day's pay.

I’m thankful for Medicaid. Our children are finally covered. I say grace.

I’m thankful I was able to come to this country looking for a better life. I’m thankful for life, but life needs to change. The airport needs to change. We cannot continue to live this way; I only have time to work and sleep. I'm always tired. And broke.

Today, I’m thankful; I got a ride from a friend. I got home in just 30 minutes. I was tired but thankful: I was able to play patty cake with my girls. Sometimes happiness can be so easy. I’m thankful, but I want change.