Voters in 3 red states cast ballots on paid sick leave

[Passages]

St. Louis — Voters in Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska will soon decide whether workers there should be entitled to paid sick leave.

If approved, the ballot measures would allow many workers to accrue paid time off, a benefit supporters say means workers — especially those with low-paying jobs — would no longer have to fear losing wages or possibly the jobs themselves for getting sick. Proponents say such policies benefit the broader public, too, allowing workers to stay home when sick or to care for ill family members to stem the spread of infectious diseases.

SNIP
The three sick leave ballot measures up for vote are in Republican-led states. Ballot measures, which are allowed in 24 states, let voters amend state constitutions or enact laws by voting directly on an issue, allowing them to bypass state legislatures. For example, voters ushered in Medicaid expansion in Missouri and Nebraska in 2020 and 2018, respectively, after their legislatures wouldn't pass it.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/voters-in-3-red-states-cast-ballots-on-paid-sick-leave/ar-AA1tk7qI


Power to the people.

[Aristus]

1. My first job out of the Army was a minimum wage job in a bookstore. (Remember those?)

No paid sick leave. No health insurance, either, so when I got sick, it was just stay home and tough it out.

Every single month was a desperate scramble for working hours so I could pay what few bills I had in my bare bones existence. I got so sick once, I was out from work for a whole week. It nearly wiped me out.

Paid sick leave should be a right, not a perk.