Newark Mayor Cory Booker
The movement for paid sick leave has spread to New Jersey—or at least to its two largest cities. This week,
Jersey City's city council passed a paid sick leave bill by a seven to one vote; Mayor Steven Fulop supports the bill.
Workers’ advocates said the bill would allow 30,000 employees in businesses with 10 or more employees to earn up to five paid sick days a year. Employees of smaller businesses will be able to earn up to 40 hours of unpaid sick time.
Meanwhile,
Newark's city council is expected to pass a similar bill, which Mayor Cory Booker would have the chance to sign immediately after the special election that will likely send him to the United States Senate. It's unclear whether Booker will sign the bill, Josh Eidelson reports:
In an afternoon email to Salon, Booker’s director of communications, James Allen, expressed support for the concept but stopped short of committing to back the council members’ bill. Noting that no formal proposal had yet been introduced, Allen said, “Mayor Booker supports paid sick leave and will carefully review any legislation to ensure the city passes something that protects both workers and the small businesses that employ so many Newarkers.”
New Jersey Working Families Alliance policy and communications coordinator Rob Duffey told Salon earlier this afternoon that advocates have had “talks with Mayor Booker’s office” on the topic, but “he’s yet to weigh in.” Duffey called backing paid sick leave “a great way to establish his progressive bona fides and prove he can not only talk the talk but walk the walk when it comes to addressing poverty.” Duffey’s group is closely tied to the national Working Families Party, whose affiliates have been at the forefront of paid sick leave efforts across the country.
As that tie between the New Jersey Working Families Alliance and the Working Families party demonstrates, New Jersey earned sick leave efforts benefit from the state sharing some of the activist groups that gained experience pushing the laws in New York City and Connecticut.
Additionally, while city officials like Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn have held up and weakened sick leave bills, the laws appear to be gaining steam. In the New York area, the damage to Quinn's mayoral hopes done by her long period of blocking a sick days bill before allowing a weakened version to come to a vote may be a lesson to politicians that while business will be angry if they do support earned sick leave, they could pay a price with voters for opposing it. That doesn't answer what Booker will do, though, both given his large lead in the Senate special election and the fact that Newark's sick leave bill won't reach him until after the election. As such, his answer on this issue will be an early indicator of whether he'll be a senator for the Wall Street interests he's long been friendly with or for the working people of New Jersey.