BY JIM CAVANAUGH, SCFL PRESIDENT
In the months leading up to the Madison Common Council’s vote on the paid sick leave ordinance, three of the Council’s committees voted overwhelmingly to recommend a yes vote; one recommended a no vote and one sent a mixed signal.
On the day the Madison Common Council took up the ordinance, John Nichols in the Cap Times reported on “an in-depth survey conducted in recent weeks by a statewide public-interest group” that said 80 percent of Wisconsinites favored requiring at least one week a year of guaranteed paid sick leave and 81 percent of people in Dane County favored such a proposal (with only 13 percent against); numbers were not broken down to the city level.
In the final days leading up to the Council's vote on sick leave, emails to council members were running nearly 4-1 in favor of the ordinance.
On the night before the vote, at their largest meeting of the year, delegates to the South Central Federation of Labor unanimously reiterated their support for the ordinance.
On the night of the vote, residents of the Allied Drive neighborhood turned in petitions with 400 signatures favoring the proposal.
On the night/early morning of the vote, several more Madison residents provided spoken testimony in favor of paid sick leave than against.
On the night/early morning of the vote, those registering, but not speaking, in favor of the ordinance outnumbered those registering against by nearly 3-1.
Then, after a relatively brief debate in which less than half of the Council members bothered to argue their position, the Council voted 9-10 to defeat a somewhat watered down version of the proposed ordinance.
These numbers don't add up. This Council apparently does not represent the wishes of a majority of this community's residents. That needs to change.
For the record, the following voted FOR the ordinance: Brian Benford, Tim Gruber, Austin King, Isadore Knox, Brenda Konkel, Judy Olson, Larry Palm, Mike Verveer and Robbie Webber.
The following voted AGAINST the ordinance: Zach Brandon, Tim Bruer, Lauren Cnare, Judy Compton, Noel Radomski, Santiago Rosas, Jed Sanborn, Paul Skidmore, Cindy Thomas, and Paul Van Rooy. (Ald. Ken Golden was absent due to the death of his father).
Of those voting against, the following had, at least once in the past, received labor’s endorsement: Bruer, Cnare, Rosas, and Thomas.
The Healthy Families, Healthy City coalition, consisting of some 45 community organizations, religious organizations, labor unions, and political parties, has vowed not to allow all the momentum and support for this ordinance to dissipate. The coalition, which is meeting as this paper goes to press, has numerous options – including a ballot referendum, reconsideration on the Council floor, electing a friendlier Council next spring, taking the campaign statewide, etc.
One thing is certain. Those 45 organizations, hundreds of petition signers, hundreds of email senders, the 150-plus supporters who showed up at the Council meeting, the hundreds who sent postcards to their Alders, and supportive businesses like Dardanelles restaurant, Cargo Coffee and Ground Zero Coffee, will not allow this crucial issue to die.
Some local businesses like the Nitty Gritty, Pedro’s, and State Street Brats may think it’s just fine to mix sick employees with healthy customers, but it appears that a strong majority of Madison residents do not agree.