For Immediate Release

Join Catholic Charities and the Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition to support a bill that would give all Massachusetts workers paid sick days to take care of their own health needs and those of family members.

An Act Establishing Paid Sick Days
Bill: SB688/HB1815
Sponsors: Senator Patricia D. Jehlen, Representative Kay Khan

We need you to call your legislators!
It is a critical time for the paid sick days bill.  We need to get the bill moving and we need your help.  Please ask your legislators today to urge the Labor Committee to bring Paid Sick Days to a vote NOW!

Why now? 
There are many steps that a bill has to go through before it can become a law.  Being voted favorably out of this first committee has to happen now, early in the year, so there is enough time for the bill to make it through all the other steps and onto the Governor's desk before the legislative session ends.  The only way to get bills moving is to make sure Legislators know that their constituents want action!

The 1.4 million MA workers who lack the right to earn paid sick days need your support this week!
"An Act Establishing Paid Sick Days" would ensure that all Massachusetts workers could earn a minimum of seven paid sick days annually to take care of their own health needs and those of family members. Sick days can also be used by victims of domestic violence for their medical, psychological and legal needs.

Take action NOW and when you are done, forward this email to your contacts today so they can call or e-mail their legislators before it is too late! The more people our legislators hear from, the more they'll understand the importance of this bill to their constituents.

To find your legislators go to www.wheredoivotema.com

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[sample script]

Hi, my name is _____________ and I live in _______[town]________________.  I urge you to support the pending paid sick days legislation (SB688/HB1815).  Please urge Rep. Coakley-Rivera and Sen. McGee, Chairs of the Labor and Workforce Development Committee to bring to a vote the paid sick days bill so it can be reported favorably out of committee this week.

The paid sick days bill is a critical piece of legislation that will help the hundreds of thousands of people in Massachusetts by reducing the spread of illness in workplaces, schools, and childcare centers.  It would allow working people to earn paid sick days that they can use to stay home when they or their children are sick.  

It is February and according to health experts, flu season could last three more months.   Today, without a paid sick days law, 1.4 million working people in the state are not allowed to earn paid sick days.  That means they lose pay, and risk their jobs, if they stay home when sick or stay home with a sick child.

Please work to pass the paid sick days bill in this legislative session.  Urge  the Labor and Workforce Development Committee to vote the paid sick days bill favorably out of committee and move the bill through the legislative process.

Thank you.
_________
[your name and home address)