The New York City Council Progressive Caucus applauds today’s agreement on legislation to provide Paid Sick Leave to over one million additional New Yorkers. The Paid Sick Leave bill has been a top priority of the Progressive Caucus since our founding three years ago and we were proud to be a part of the broad progressive coalition that led the fight.
We want to congratulate the entire Paid Sick Days coalition, including the Working Families Party, A Better Balance, Make the Road, SEIU, the Central Labor Council, New York Communities for Change and of course the bill’s lead sponsor, Council Member Gale Brewer. The coalition — through innumerable rallies, petitions, neighborhood meetings and studies — demonstrated the kinds of grassroots organizing that is needed to bring about a more inclusive New York City.
It is no secret that Paid Sick Leave was a contentious issue. The revised legislation is a strong bill that will make it easier for small businesses to implement the law and there will continue to be studies and safeguards to ensure that the legislation is working. We thank Speaker Quinn for moving this legislation forward.
We still have a long way to go to improve job quality and working conditions for low-wage workers in New York City. We proposed a number of ideas in our new policy platform, 13 Bold Ideas for 2013 (13boldideas.org). Paid Sick Leave is just one of many important steps in the fight for fairer working conditions, and we will keep working and organizing.
To stay involved in our work, sign up here, follow @NYCProgressives on Twitter, and like our Facebook page.