cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/34329504
Voters approved sick leave mandate by 58%, but lawmakers are caving to lobbying by the state’s chamber of commerce
Being sick is a costly business for Bill Thompson, who worked in the fast-food industry in Independence, Missouri, for more than 30 years, and recently worked at Guitar Center until early July, when he was laid off as.
“As an older worker, I have health issues from working on my feet and with my hands for many years with no breaks for eight to 10 hours a day. I have done it for 38 years now, living paycheck to paycheck,” 54-year-old Thompson said, noting in Missouri, workers are not mandated breaks of any kind during work.
So when Republicans in Missouri repealed a paid sick leave mandate that the state’s voters approved by 58% after an aggressive lobbying campaign by the Missouri chamber of commerce and industry and other business industry groups, he said, “It was a literal gut punch.”
It was always crazy to me how many of my coworkers thought their breaks were legally protected by law. Spoiler. They’re not. That’s for child labor not adults. Only protection we had was our union and they crapped on it all the time claiming they had a federal right to breaks anyway… can’t fix stupid.
In some states some breaks are. If we all unionized we wouldn’t be dependent on getting rights like that codified.
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It should be illegal (via forcing employers to offer sick leave) to show up to a public facing because what is happening in western countries is someone will show up to work with the flu then make your food, look after your children, or are medical treating you while sick. Just a gaint super spreader of a country.
Most western countries have sick leaves.
Absolutely agree it’s a public health disaster. People will also “save” their sick days and show up sick instead of take them, even when they have them available. We have a very toxic work ethic. Also, our schooling preps us for never missing a day. We’re praised and rewarded from childhood for not missing a single school day. And kids who have health problems or miss school regularly are scorned. I wish I was kidding. Hoping this has changed at least since Covid. But I doubt it.