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San José City Councilmembers introduce paid sick leave policy to respond to COVID-19

March 13, 2020 by Zeenab Aneez

All working people need to be able to take paid time off if they or their family gets sick, especially as we deal with COVID-19.

In this crucial moment, cities across Santa Clara County must protect our communities and our health. No one should have to choose between making rent and taking care of their family.

This morning, San José City Councilmembers Maya Esparza, Magdalena Carrasco, and Sylvia Arenas took action, introducing the strongest paid sick leave policy in the nation.

We, along with health, housing, small business, labor, workers rights, and community organizations, are calling on all cities in Santa Clara County to join San José and ensure that everyone can take paid sick days when they need them, now and permanently.

Far too many people here have no choice but to keep working while sick. A 2014 study found that 1 in 3 workers in San José had no sick days (some may now have three days under a newer state law, but that’s far from enough for this crisis). These are the people who cook and serve us food, care for our children and seniors, and clean our buildings — and who are disproportionately women and people of color.

Lack of paid sick leave has serious consequences for our public health. Researchers found that during the H1N1 swine flu outbreak, roughly 30% of sick employees had to keep working, and may have infected up to 7 million more people as a result.

As Santa Clara County grapples with some of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the nation, our cities must act. We’ve done this before, when our cities took a first-in-the-nation regional approach to raising the minimum wage.

Now we must join together again to protect our communities, workers, and families — both during the current outbreak and for the years to come.

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Our city's resources should be spent on balanced, Our city's resources should be spent on balanced, long-term solutions that lead to housing justice — no bandaid fixes that merely postpone or hide the symptoms. 

What's wrong with spending all our resources on one quick fix? It's expensive, ineffective and could cost us billions. We know because we actually did the math. 

Use the link in our bio to check out our memo explaining why the City Council should consider the unwritten costs of reallocating Measure E dollars to temporary emergency shelters.
🎞 Join us for a FREE screening of the eye-openi 🎞 Join us for a FREE screening of the eye-opening documentary "Dignidad: California Domestic Workers' Journey for Justice" 🍿

The film follows domestic workers as they organize for workplace protections during the COVID-19 pandemic and centers their voices and stories in leading the movement. The screening will be held at the Santa Clara County Government Center on Tuesday, May 30 from 5pm-7pm.

Sign up at: https://bit.ly/DignidadFilmScreening
📢 Need legal guidance on employment, housing, o 📢 Need legal guidance on employment, housing, or immigration matters?

Whether you're struggling with workplace disputes, rental challenges, or immigration complexities, this free legal clinic with expert lawyers is here to support you. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to gain valuable insights, better understand your rights, and explore potential solutions. 

HAPPENING TOMORROW, May 27 from 11am-3pm at the Holy Family Episcopal Church in San José.
Register for an appointment at: https://tinyurl.com/527LegalClinic
Walk-ins are accepted!
Our failure to invest in affordable housing is rob Our failure to invest in affordable housing is robbing us of a diverse and vibrant future — and it’s the primary reason why so many of our community members have been forced into homelessness.

In 2020 San José voters chose to end this cycle by investing in real, long-term solutions to our housing crisis. Now's not the time to backtrack!

#ProtectMeasureE 
#HomeSweetAffordableHome
YESS! 👏 Parents shouldn’t have to choose betw YESS! 👏 Parents shouldn’t have to choose between economic stability, staying home, and caring for their family! When parents cannot take time off to care for their children, they are more likely to send a sick child to school. And, caregivers shouldn’t have to go to work sick and jeopardize the people they care for because they don’t have good - that's why we're celebrating that #SB616 passed out of the Senate Suspense Hearing and will now move to the Senate floor.

But let's keep up the momentum going; contact your #CAleg representative today 🔗https://workfamilyca.org/paidsickdaysnow

#SB616 is about supporting the health and safety of California’s children, parents, elders, and  caregivers whose essential labor we all depend on.
Congratulations to the first ever cohort of the Wo Congratulations to the first ever cohort of the Worker Power Academy of Silicon Valley for finishing their final session of the program! ✊ These incredible young leaders of tomorrow are equipped with workers’ rights knowledge regarding discrimination and harassment, labor trafficking, benefits navigation, and union rights & organizing!

Thank you to the San Jose Conservation Corps for partnering together to launch a powerful pilot to create new worker leaders.
Our hearts are filled with joy and pride as we mar Our hearts are filled with joy and pride as we marched together — as workers, tenants, immigrants, parents, and community members at the San José May Day Parade today. 

Today is a reminder that we're all in this together, and that the movement for justice is fueled with our joy and love for our communities!! 

#MayDay2023 #WorkerPower #WorkersUnite
Are you a skilled communicator with a passion for Are you a skilled communicator with a passion for community engagement and economic development? 

We're looking for a Coalition Manager to lead a diverse group of stakeholders to create a new, equity-centered approach for economic development in the South Bay—directly informed by workers and impacted community members themselves. 

Join us in our mission to empower working families and make a difference in the Bay Area! Apply now by sending your resumé to jobs@wpusa.org!
❌ Higher Rents = ⛺️ More Tents While corpo ❌ Higher Rents = ⛺️ More Tents 

While corporate landlords keep jacking up prices & collecting our rents, more Californians are being pushed into homelessness & tents. On Tuesday 4/25 we call on @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero to vote YES on the #HomelessnessPreventionAct #SB567
 
Yesenia Miranda Meza is a single mother. Both she and her son have had health problems in the last year and is concerned about losing their home. ""I did not ask for my son to have 3 surgeries in a span of 6 months. I am an increase away from becoming homeless."" 

Over 170,000 Californians are living on the streets and the homelessness is growing in every community. The people most at risk of becoming homeless are people of color and immigrants. Corporate landlords will always choose profits. 

☎️ Will you call @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero TODAY to choose the people and vote YES on #SB567 to #KeepFamiliesHoused and stop the rent hikes and unjust evictions? Without their votes, this bill won't make it. 

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/03/10/legislator-proposes-california-law-to-protect-renters-from-becoming-homeless/
ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap re ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap rent increases annually. We already know rent has been skyrocketing across CA 📈 and a majority of us can hardly make it through the month. So we’re driving calls to ☎️ @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero

Corporate landlords are looting constantly us by controlling rent hikes while we struggle to make ends meet 💰 We can’t afford to wait another day to protect seniors, families, students, and everyday Californians. We need to pass SB567 NOW! 

For too long, real estate lobbyists and corporate landlords have been able to hike rents unchecked but with SB567 we’re about to put a stop to that 🛑 

We gotta get these State Senators on board and out of the pockets of corporate interests so call them TODAY and demand they pass SB567 ☎️ #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap re ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap rent increases annually. We already know rent has been skyrocketing across CA 📈 and a majority of us can hardly make it through the month. So we’re driving calls to ☎️ @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero

Corporate landlords are looting constantly us by controlling rent hikes while we struggle to make ends meet 💰 We can’t afford to wait another day to protect seniors, families, students, and everyday Californians. We need to pass SB567 NOW! 

For too long, real estate lobbyists and corporate landlords have been able to hike rents unchecked but with SB567 we’re about to put a stop to that 🛑 

We gotta get these State Senators on board and out of the pockets of corporate interests so call them TODAY and demand they pass SB567 ☎️ #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
"We already know you’ve heard about the rent inc "We already know you’ve heard about the rent increases and rising homelessness in CA 🗣️ OF COURSE you have! A MAJORITY of Californians are facing skyrocketing rents 🚀 making our cost of living impossible! 

But WHY are these rents are rising, you ask? 📈 Corporate landlords have been buying up housing complexes and single family homes all across California, and then deliberately driving up the cost of rent. In San Diego, Blackstone drove up rents by 64% in TWO YEARS. It’s pushing out seniors, families, students, and so many others from their homes.

And starting this TUESDAY 4/25, our reps are gonna decide what to do about it — because there’s something WE can do about it! We can contact @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero today and demand they vote ✅ YES and pass #SB567 so we can prevent more homelessness, cap rents, and ensure people have a roof over their heads #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
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