1199ers in Mass. Raise Up: Union members mobilize to put earned sick time and raising minimum wage on 2014 statewide ballot
September 25, 2013
BOSTON, HYANNIS ─ 1199SEIU members have joined a bold new initiative in Massachusetts to help low-wage workers raise living standards. The Raise Up Massachusetts (RUM) coalition, comprised of religious, civic, and labor groups, is a new campaign supported by 1199SEIU members. RUM is advocating for an increase in the minimum wage and establishing a statewide earned sick time program.
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1199SEIU member Brandi Turner speaks about the importance of having earned sick time at a recent Raise Up meeting.
As healthcare workers, 1199SEIU members understand that we are a part of a broad social justice movement to raise standards for everyone. Our ability to win the best contracts possible and to ensure quality care depends on raising standards for all workers, including those struggling without fair wages or earned sick time. That’s why 1199SEIU members are taking action to support two historic ballot initiatives through the RUM campaign. If passed, these ballot initiatives would ensure earned sick time for all Massachusetts workers and raise the minimum wage to $10.50.
Recently, 1199SEIU members gathered in Boston and Hyannis for information sessions on the RUM campaign and to learn how to get active. Members discussed the need for earned sick time and a better minimum wage that keeps up with the cost of living in Massachusetts. Several more trainings are scheduled across the state in coming weeks. Click here to RSVP for an event in your area on Facebook. Click here to RSVP for an event in your area through 1199SEIU.org.
“It’s not good going to work sick and not being able to care for yourself,” said Brandi Turner, a personal care attendant and union delegate from Boston who, like the more than 30,000 other PCAs in Massachusetts, currently has no earned sick time to rely on.
Trudy Joseph, a union chapter chair at Boston Medical Center, said that a fair minimum wage in the Commonwealth is vital to allowing families to survive: “You shouldn’t have to choose between eating or paying the bills.”
Nearly one million workers in Massachusetts have no earned sick time to use in the event of an illness or to care for a loved one. Under the RUM ballot initiative, workers would be able to earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year.
According to the Mass Budget and Policy Center, the Massachusetts minimum wage has lost 24 percent of its value since 1968. This low wage forces many workers to work multiple jobs to make ends meet and drags down standards for everyone. Under the RUM ballot initiative, the minimum wage will rise from $8.00/hour to $10.50/hour. This could directly impact one in five workers while also growing the Massachusetts economy and helping to create more jobs.
“It’s something that should happen. It’s important to establish a paid sick time program so that people don’t get fired when they’re sick. And the minimum wage is ridiculously low as it is,” said Carol Marasa, a delegate at Cape Cod Hospital who attended the meeting in Hyannis.
There will be other informational sessions across Massachusetts in Lawrence, Brockton, Springfield, Fall River, Holyoke, Lynn, and Worcester.
On Saturday, October 5, there will be a statewide kickoff event for the Raise Up Massachusetts campaign and 1199SEIU members will be active in collecting signatures to help get these two vital initiatives on the ballot in 2014.
To stay informed on the campaign, click here to see the RUM Facebook page or search for @RaiseUpMA on Twitter