The Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce doesn’t speak for me (“Chamber CEO: Portland mayor’s divisive politics bode ill for businesses,” May 21).

My husband and I have owned and operated a small business in Portland since 1980. We’re proud to have been a union print shop for more than 25 years because we believe in treating our employees well and we know that doing so is good for our bottom line. We support the proposed ordinance to allow every worker in Portland to earn paid time off when they or a loved one are sick.

We all get sick, but not everybody can afford to take the time to get well. That’s just wrong. The lowest-paid workers are the very ones least likely to have even one paid day off, making it that much more likely that they will go to work sick, spreading their illness to others.

I worked for 15 years as a nurse at Mercy Hospital, and I know just how important it is to stay home when you are sick to stop the spread of communicable disease. I’d like to remind Chamber CEO Quincy Hentzel that 82 Maine people died from the flu this year and that at the peak of the season, in February, emergency rooms at Mercy and at Maine Medical Center were overwhelmed. That’s tragic, but the good news is there’s something we can do about it.

The proposed ordinance would allow every worker in our city to earn one hour of paid time off for every 30 hours worked. The total number of hours allowed would be capped at 48 hours, or six days in a year. That’s perfectly reasonable.

It’s also part of a growing trend across the country. Today, more than 20 cities, eight states and the District of Columbia allow workers to earn paid time off, and their experience shows that the predictions of gloom and doom from opponents haven’t come true.

The business community always seems to fight proposals to improve the lives of workers. In the 18 years I served as a legislator, they fought countless good ideas, from minimum-wage increases to fair treatment of injured workers. Now, unable to argue against a reasonable proposal on its substance, they label it “divisive.” I don’t think that wanting to stay home from work when you are sick, or to care for a sick child, is divisive. I think it’s good public health policy and a basic human need, and I would hope we could all get behind it.

The people least likely to have paid time off when they are sick work in the service, retail and hospitality fields, including in Portland’s restaurants, or caring for our elderly or for young children. I don’t want the person cooking or serving my food to work sick. I don’t want the person caring for my precious granddaughter to work sick. I want them to take the time to get well, and the best way to make sure they can do that is to allow them to earn paid time off.

Let’s apply this sensible policy to all people, whether they work part time, seasonally or on a per-diem basis. (They’ll earn the benefit more slowly, of course.) Getting sick isn’t something that happens only to full-time workers. And let’s be sure it applies to everyone, no matter how big their employer. I say that as the co-owner of a small business.

Portland is currently experiencing a strong economy and a building boom. There is no better time to make sure that everyone shares in the economic benefit, including the people who care for our children and our parents, who cook and serve our food, who wait on us in stores and who clean our offices. Ensuring that every worker can earn paid time off when they or a loved one are sick will do just that. Far from being divisive, it’s a way to build a stronger, healthier and more diverse community.

I encourage the City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee to be strong leaders and vote to recommend that the full council adopt the ordinance.

 

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