Progressive Caucus

Floor Speech

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Mr. ELLISON. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I am here to tonight to claim the time on behalf of the Progressive Caucus. The Progressive Caucus come to the floor every week to talk about a progressive vision for America, to discuss what America is and could be, to embrace the idea that everyone does better when everyone does better, to embrace the idea that we should look at the world with courage, not with fear, that we believe in dialogue, we believe in discussion. We believe in people doing well, and we believe in radical abundance, not fear of scarcity, a progressive vision; yes, even a liberal vision of an America which is doing well because everybody is working. We are promoting broad-based economic policies that allow for a higher quality of life for all Americans.

Yes, the Progressive Caucus comes to the floor every week to talk to the American people and with our colleagues about these critical issues.

Tonight we have a great topic, but before I announce tonight's topic, I just want to say we are very, very happy and pleased to be joined by a dynamic advocate for the cause of human justice, none other than Congresswoman GWEN MOORE of the great State of Wisconsin.

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Mr. ELLISON. I quite agree with the gentlelady from Wisconsin who pointed out that the Healthy Families Act is a great piece of legislation, something that is progressive, something that makes sense for America, much like legislation of the past which supported workers' rights. What this piece of legislation would do for Americans, it would allow Americans to recover from short-term illness, it would allow Americans to care for a sick family member, it would allow Americans to seek routine medical care, or to seek assistance related to domestic violence.

Some people might think, ``Oh, my God, that's going to cost us a lot of money.'' If people are that sick or in serious dire straits, they're taking the time off anyway. You're not planning for it, it's not in the schedule and there's no accommodation. If somebody can come in and say, look, straight up, I've got to take the day off because I'm sick and I have 7 days I can take, then what happens is you have greater productivity because workers are taking the time off they need to get well; workers are taking their kids to get the immunizations they need; workers are now actually engaging in preventive health care which means that they are not going to have to take extended periods of time off and thereby cut productivity.

By expending the money that it would take to provide the 7 sick days that are called for under the Healthy Families Act, businesses would save money. Businesses would be better off because we would have greater productivity and a healthier workforce over time. It's what my mother would call being penny wise and pound foolish to deny this legislation. But it would also be what my mother would call an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure if we were to have a great piece of legislation like the Healthy Families Act.

As you pointed out, as fear of the missed and inaccurately called swine flu is going around, and it should be called the H1N1 virus--not as catchy but it's more accurate--the fact is that such legislation at

this time, so people could get the flu shots and checkups that they need, in times like this would be a great idea. As you pointed out in your original 5-minute, it would help moms out, wouldn't it?

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Mr. ELLISON. I do thank the gentlelady for nailing this point. It is so important. It is part of the progressive vision that we would have an important piece of legislation that would really help Americans like the Healthy Families Act. At a time when we are concerned about illness and sickness, this kind of bill would be embraced by a progressive vision. A bill that says, hey, look, you guys, let's give 7 paid sick days to workers. This is not unusual when you compare it to what workers get in Europe, for example.

It actually makes a lot of sense. You would have healthy workers, more productive workers, and as you pointed out, the gentlelady from Wisconsin, Congresswoman Moore, we would have people who go to the doctor rather than come in while they're sick.

Let me just point out a few other important facts; you already hit a number of them already. But according to that University of Chicago study that you referred to, one in six workers report that they or a family member have been fired, suspended, punished, or threatened with being fired for taking time off because of personal illness or to take care of a sick relative. The lack of paid sick days is a major public health concern.

As we try to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, has issued important guidelines that are sound and prudent: if you get sick, stay home; if you get sick, don't go to work or school; limit contact with other people. But how can you do this, I ask the gentlelady from the great State of Wisconsin, if it is going to cost you economically, if you are already close to the edge economically, if that job that you're on says that you don't have health insurance? You are paid by the hour, and you know that if you don't work, you don't get no money, you don't get paid. What, then, do you do if you do not have a bill like the Healthy Families Act? I think it is important that we get such legislation.

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Mr. ELLISON. Well, I think what you are saying is so very important. It is part of a progressive vision for America. It is part of the idea that, hey, we all do better when we all do better. You are not a sucker or you are not a person who is gullible if you believe that it is a good idea to look out for your fellow Americans. You are a person who may be a very savvy business person because you know that by supporting the Healthy Families Act, it may cost you a little bit to give paid sick leave days for some of your low- and medium-income workers, but it will allow you to keep that dry cleaners going over the long term; it will allow you to keep your small business moving, your store, whatever it is that you may be doing, your lawn care business. You may be able to stay out there because you know you have workers who can take the day off and go get that checkup, who can take the day off and look after that child so that when they are at work, you have an alert, healthy worker. It makes so much sense.

And as we began this health care debate, I noticed that one of our colleagues was doing a 5-minute speech, talking about how he is against a public plan. Well, I want to tell everybody, and I think it's important to note that when you talk about comprehensive health care reform, part of it has got to be giving low-income and medium- and moderate- workers paid sick days. Let's face it, if you are an executive, if you are at the top of the food chain economically and you are sick, you can take a day off. But what if you are a line worker, what if you are at the front desk, what if you are a low-wage worker, what if you are a minimum-wage worker? That's when you don't see many of the bennies going around. Or you could take a day off, but you're not getting paid for it. And in that case, you are forcing the worker into a terrible choice: lack of income or health. Which do you want to pick today? And that is something that people are too close to the edge to make a decision on.

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Mr. ELLISON. Well, thank you for that important statistic because we have got to count up the bill.

The real difficulty in a bill like the Healthy Families Act is that we know that some people who are just looking to the next quarter, the next minute, the next moment, and if they are going to have to spend a little bit of money in the short term, they are going to say, well, that is going to cost money. Well, you know what? Not doing it is going to cost way, way, way more money.

So the Healthy Families Act is a part of a progressive vision. It is just like the Wagner Act, which guaranteed workers the right to organize, just like Social Security, just like Workers' Compensation, just like a number of important programs and pieces of legislation passed in America that may have been considered liberal--or even radical at one time--but Americans have come to rely on and expect from our government. It is part of what we do as Americans together: we share. We allow in the marketplace that you can do your own thing, you are free to come up with your idea and make your money, but certain things we do together. We defend the Nation together. We defend our streets with the police together. We provide justice through our courts together. We make sure our elderly are not eating dog food through Social Security. We do this together. We make sure that people whose parents die have survivor benefits through Social Security. We build infrastructure together. And this is another thing we should do together. We should come together and say that 7 days of paid sick leave a year is a very modest request, particularly for low- and moderate-income workers. And it pays tremendous dividends down the line.

If the gentlelady would allow me, I just want to share a couple of stories from my own State of Minnesota.

Chrissy from Minnesota. Chrissy says, ``I am currently a stay-at-home mom''--happy Mother's Day, Chrissy--``however, prior to that I worked as a natural foods manager in a conventional grocery store for 6 years. This company offered no sick leave at all to any of its employees. Many people often work sick out of necessity.''

Chrissy, we are trying to do something about it.

Amanda from Minnesota: ``I am fortunate enough to have sick time at my job at the University of Minnesota. When I was in my early 30s, I was totally healthy, exercised regularly, was at a healthy weight, and suddenly developed a rare kidney disease requiring multiple trips to multiple clinics to get multiple diagnostics. This took a lot of time away from work. Thankfully, I was able to get paid for this time. If I didn't have any income, in addition to the stress of the condition, it would have been unbearable.

``I am not so naive to believe that this is a reality of every workplace. I am very much aware of the fact that many people face struggles similar to mine on a daily basis. It is time to guarantee workers paid time to care for themselves so they are able to get their work done efficiently at no risk to themselves or their coworkers.''

Or what about the situation that Cindy is in. Cindy from Minnesota: ``I work a part-time job for a university as a researcher. In my category, sick leave is all discretionary and flexible; however, no paid vacation days accrue ever for me. The only way I feel legit in scheduling a week's vacation is if I am never sick and make up those hours pre and post.'' That's from Cindy.

I offer these stories because I think it is important to point out that the Healthy Families Act is going to help Americans all over the United States. Real people are suffering because of a lack of paid sick days. This is in keeping with the protection for workers' right to organize, Social Security, workers' compensation. This is right in line with every important and progressive step Americans have made in order to improve the quality of life for your average Americans. This is like the minimum wage; this is like workers' rights; this is like civil rights; this is like women's rights. This is what we should do at this time. It is part of a progressive vision that we are going to work to make a reality for Americans.

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Mr. ELLISON. I just want to say that if we were to pass the Healthy Families Act, then the medium to larger businesses would provide these 7 days. Now, Big Business has a way of setting a trend for small business. So if big businesses did this, perhaps small businesses with fewer than 15 employees would say, hey, it's working for them, it's the industry standard, it makes sense, we might just do it voluntarily.

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Mr. ELLISON. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

Let me tell you about Leslie from Minnesota. Leslie says: ``I used to wait tables full time. And there are rare occasions where you can get paid sick days, like when I worked for a large chain hotel. However, most people don't realize that you will be paid your hourly minimum wage, but not any compensation for lost tips, which is the vast majority of your money earned as a wait person. In fact, most servers barely seek a paycheck; it is eaten up with taxes taken for declared tips--yes, you are required to declare tips. It is a myth that you can conceal this information.

``So even if you do get paid sick leave or paid vacation--which is unlikely--it is not in your interest to use it. Servers basically cannot get paid unless they are physically at work. And restaurants are such hectic places that if you are short staff, the quality of service suffers everywhere. Customers in restaurants are notoriously unsympathetic to details like this.''

Just another quick one, Kari from Minnesota: ``My kids are ages 2 and 3, and the child care center doesn't take them when they're sick. Neither my husband nor I have paid sick days. Please pass the Healthy Families Act.''

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Mr. ELLISON. Well, you might end up being charged with negligence. Knowing that you're sick, knowing that you're contagious and still going to work, potentially some smart lawyer might figure out a way to sue you for negligence because you exposed them to an illness. Of course, it could be taken up by workers' compensation, but somebody's going to have to pay something somewhere. And the fact is, clearly, if you've got an on-the-job illness or injury, it would be a workers' comp claim. So the bottom line is it is something that we all need to be concerned about.

I want to thank the gentlewoman from Wisconsin. As she knows, she is one of my very favorite Members of this House of Representatives, and I want to wish the gentlewoman, Gwen Moore, a Happy Mother's Day, and I also want to thank her for her very important presentation on global health for mothers.

I just want to say that we have a duty and obligation to present a progressive vision for America. Which way forward? Well, the way forward is to be more inclusive, to bring more people into the warm embrace of the American people's generosity. The way forward is peace and dialogue. The way forward is to have a better America, a higher quality of life for everybody because everybody does better when everybody does better, as the late great Senator Paul Wellstone said.

So, with that, it has been another progressive message, and I want to thank the gentlewoman.

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