Westchester Town Hall Advances TWU Sick Leave Bill

(from left to right): Nick Naber, Yonkers Teacher; Dennis Hanratty, from Mt. Vernon United Tenants, Yrlenny Amparo , TWU Local 100 Bus Matron, Cathrine Boriga, Westchester Legislator, Dr. Allen Beals, former Public Heath Commissioner of Putnam County, Donna Dolan, of the New York State Paid Family Leave Coalition, Sherry Leiwant, from A Better Balance - The Work and Family Legal Center, and Joe Mayhew, Vice President of the Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body

TWU Local 100 took part in a Town Hall meeting in Yonkers on legislation that would mandate thousands of workers in Westchester, including school bus drivers and matrons, be allowed to take up to five paid sick days a year. Approximately 130,000 Westchester workers are now compelled to work when sick because their employers will not pay them unless they punch the clock. School Bus Matron and Local 100 member Yrlenny Amparo was the labor representative on the panel, which also included a small business owner, a member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, a public health professional, a tenants’ group leader and a public school teacher.

“Everybody deserves to have sick days,” Amparo said at the Tuesday night meeting at the Riverfront Library. “It’s very hard going to work when you have a headache and are sneezing and coughing. Sometimes your body has to rest.”

The People’s Town Hall was called to educate and activate Westchester workers and residents in support of the Employee Earned Sick Time bill, which is pending before the Westchester Board of Legislators. TWU Local 100 has been a leading member of the campaign to get the legislation enacted. The bill would enable employees to earn up to 5 paid sick days. For every 30 hours worked, an employee would earn one hour of paid sick time off. The law would apply to employers with five or more employees.

Without paid sick days, workers who are ill go to work and wind up infecting others. Parents who can’t afford to lose a day’s worth of wages send their sick kids to school where they come in contact with other students and teachers. “Allowing that student to stay home with a parent who can get a paid sick day can make all the difference,” Nick Naber, a Yonkers social studies teacher and chairman of the Tuckahoe Democratic Party, said. “As an educator I think this idea is long overdue.” The legislation could come up for a vote in the next two months, supporters said.