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News release

MomsRising.org to Deliver Orange-Grams to State Legislators

May 7, 2008
Paid Sick Days

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

MomsRising.org, the online grassroots organization for moms and everyone who has a mom, will deliver Orange-Grams (oranges with messages affixed to them) to the California Assembly to urge legislators to support paid sick days legislation:
 
Noon, Wednesday, May 7
North side of the State Capitol (on L Street)
Sacramento
 
The Orange-Grams include messages from California residents encouraging their legislators to support AB 2716, which would guarantee all workers in the state a minimum number of paid sick days. Workers at businesses with ten employees or fewer would earn up to 40 hours (five days) of paid sick leave each year and workers at businesses with more than ten employees would earn 72 hours (nine days) each year. Workers would earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.
 
MomsRising.org gathered the messages through online outreach to its California members. The central message of the campaign is “orange you going to pass paid sick days soon?” Among the messages from members are:
 
“As a Pediatric Nurse, I know the importance of parents being able to have paid sick days so that they can stay home with an ailing child! No one else comes close to making a child feel better quicker!!!”
-- Marcia in San Carlos
 
“As a teacher, I experience daily the consequences of children in school sick just because their parents have to work instead of taking care of them ... and then the whole class gets sick! You don't want that for your children, and we don't want it for ours!”
-- Barbara in Poway
 
“I'm a doctor and I'm glad I get paid sick days. I wish my patients did too!”
-- Elizabeth in Mountain View
 
Almost 6 million California workers do not get a single paid sick day. The proposed legislation would also cover victims of domestic violence who could use paid sick days to care for their physical, psychological, and legal needs.
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.