Posts Categorized: Legislation and Politics

Last Wednesday, more than 100 members from UFCW Locals 23 and 400 met with state senators and delegates from both parties to explain how devastating a right to work law would be to West Virginia’s working families. Like too many other states, West Virginia is considering unfair right to work legislation.

“We are lobbying today to put a stop to this anti-worker legislation,” said Richard Ruth, a UFCW Local 23 member who works at Kroger in Weirton, West Virginia. “I explained to every legislator I spoke with that this law will hurt workers, including myself. Thanks in large part to being part of a union, I’ve earned a decent living my entire career and this law will just take away everything I’ve gained over the years. I wish they would focus on creating good paying jobs. This law just attracts low-wage, minimum wage jobs. We want and deserve better than that.”

Tim Cyrus, a UFCW Local 400 member who works at Kroger in Hinton, West Virginia, was frustrated that state legislators were not spending time on more important issues.

“It’s insulting that they only meet for 60 days and they choose to pursue a law that has been proven to lower wages,” he said. “Just look next door at Virginia; people there are making less money for the same work we do. That’s not fair. I would like to see them pass laws to help our struggling schools. This right to work bill is just a complete waste of time.”

Tami Faulknier, a UFCW Local 400 member who has worked at Kroger in Dunbar, West Virginia, for 30 years, spoke to legislators about the stability that comes to working families when they have the security of a union.

“I’m concerned that we’re going to pass right to work and take our state backwards,” said Faulknier. “Right to work will erode our bargaining power and make it harder to earn the raises and benefits that we deserve. Sticking together has helped so many workers in West Virginia; it’s wrong to attack them. Working people deserve better, and right to work would only leave them worse off.”

UFCW members left the Capitol feeling proud of the impact they made.

“Being here today was important because we, the working families, are the backbone of the middle class,” said Alesia Brogdon, a UFCW Local 23 member who works at Kroger in Weirton, West Virginia. “West Virginia can’t be strong unless we’re strong too. What needs to happen is simple; businesses need to provide a living wage with fair benefits. Right to work makes it more difficult to earn a living wage. It’s a completely unfair law that does nothing to help the average person.”

Recently Senator Patty Murray and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro reintroduced the Healthy Families Act, federal legislation that would allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days. Twenty jurisdictions nationwide—three states and 17 cities—have adopted paid sick laws. That’s a four-fold increase since the Healthy Families Act was last introduced in March 2013. However, despite this substantial progress, nearly 43 million workers still don’t have access to paid sick days and more than one-third of U.S. states have never passed a single law recognizing the dual demands of work and family.

Members can help working families and support the Healthy Families Act by:

• Contacting your members of Congress and ask them to be a cosponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which would give people the security of earned paid sick days.
• Visiting www.WeTweet.org: Enter your zip code to find your Members of Congress and automatically send a tweet in support of the Healthy Families Act.
• Calling the Capitol Switchboard to be connected to your representatives: (202) 224-3121
• Writing a letter or sending an email: You can find your legislators’ contact information on www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.

Helpful talking points on the Healthy Families Act:

• The Healthy Families Act would allow workers in businesses with 15 or more employees to earn up to seven job-protected paid sick days each year to be used to recover from their own illnesses, access preventive care, provide care to a sick family member, or attend school meetings related to a child’s health condition or disability.
• Workers in businesses with fewer than 15 employees would earn up to seven job-protected unpaid sick days each year to be used for the same reasons, unless their employers choose to offer paid sick days.
• People get sick. They should not be forced to risk their job and their livelihood due to something they can’t control.
• Without paid sick leave, employees are at risk to lose their job if a child gets sick or if they fall ill themselves.
• Paid sick leave does not negatively affect job growth.
• Providing paid sick leave will make every work place healthier and more productive.
• The United States is the only developed country that does not guarantee paid sick leave to workers.
• 75% of adults support a policy giving employees a minimum number of paid sick days.
• Paid sick leave will help give working Americans job security and will strengthen the middle class.
• In short: When people have access to paid sick days, workers and their families, businesses and the economy do better and everyone has a fair shot at getting ahead.

Additional resources can be found in the UFCW Paid Sick Leave toolkit.

• Support Paid Sick Leave Flyer
• Sick Leave Talking Points
• Sick Days Facts