Arlington Heights Residents to Rally to Defend

Paid Sick Days and Minimum Wage

Demand Village Board maintain Arlington Heights as a healthy, thriving community

Media Contact:

Shelly Ruzicka, Arise Chicago

773-251-5003 | shelly[at]arisechicago[dot]org | @AriseChicago

Arlington Heights, Illinois, a thriving northwest suburb, is threatening to take away basic employment rights from workers within its municipal limits. Workers in the very restaurants and stores that make Arlington Heights a suburban dining and shopping destination may be denied the basic right to stay home when ill–thereby forcing workers to chose between going to work and serving customers while sick, or staying home to recover but losing a day’s pay. And that pay may be lower than Cook County law stipulates, starting July 1, 2017

Arlington Heights mayor Tom Hayes was recently quoted in the Chicago Sun Times as moving to take away county paid sick days and minimum wage rights because “businesses are asking us to opt out.”

However, a vast majority of Arlington Heights residents favor paid sick days and a higher minimum wage, voting in clear support in of both policies in recent referenda:

• 75% of Arlington Heights voters supported paid sick days at the state level in the November 8, 2016 general election non-binding ballot referendum
• 65% of Arlington Heights voters supported a higher state minimum wage in the November 2014 gubernatorial election non-binding ballot referendum

What: Arlington Heights voters, families, workers, and religious leaders who make up the Arlington Heights Working Families Committee will rally and hold a press conference outside Village Hall, then enter the Board meeting to testify in support of county paid sick days and minimum wage.  

Where: Arlington Heights Village Hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road

When: Monday March 20th 7:40 pm press conference; 8pm Village Board meeting

Who: Arlington Heights Working Families Committee: local voters, families, workers, and religious leaders; members of local Indivisible chapters; Arise Chicago (which helped pass county paid sick days); The People’s Lobby (which passed county minimum wage)

Visuals: Committee members rallying with colorful signs and giant thermometers at 75%

Background:

Cook County passed a Paid Sick Days Ordinance on October 5, 2016 becoming the largest county in the U.S. with such legislation; and a Minimum Wage Ordinance on October 26, 2016, joining the growing national movement for local employment legislation. Both ordinances will go into effect on July 1, 2017.

While Arlington Heights is threatening to act against the will of its voters, other municipalities have listened to residents and protected the provisions. Suburban La Grange voters who also overwhelmingly support paid sick days and the minimum wage, won a significant victory this week, saving both policies in their southwest village after voicing their support to the Village Board.

Modeling La Grange, Arlington Heights residents have formed a local Working Families Committee to keep paid sick days and the county minimum wage. The committee will rally at Village Hall before attending the board meeting to testify in support of both policies.

Arlington Heights residents and voters will be available for interview.

Contact Shelly Ruzicka to arrange interviews.

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Voters celebrate influencing Village Board to keep Paid Sick Days and Minimum Wage

Media Contact:
Shelly Ruzicka, Arise Chicago
773-251-5003 I [email protected] I @AriseChicago

The La Grange Working Families Committee will rally and announce the victory to keep paid sick days and the county minimum wage in the Village of La Grange.

Nearly two-thirds of La Grange voters supported paid sick days and an increased minimum wage in 2016 and 2014 non-binding ballot referendums, respectively. Cook County passed two ordinances with these protections in 2016. When La Grange considered taking away both protections in its municipality, community members formed the La Grange Working Families Committee to fight to keep them.

After meetings with local officials and a planned protest at Monday, March 13th’s Village Board meeting, the committee heard from the Village President that La Grange and would now be keeping paid sick days and the minimum wage.

The La Grange Working Families Committee will rally, march, and thank the Village Board for keeping La Grange a thriving, healthy community.

What: La Grange voters, families, workers, and religious leaders who make up the La Grange Working Families Committee will march to Village Hall to speak at the board meeting and thank the La Grange Village Board for keeping paid sick days and the county minimum wage
Where: March starting at First Congregational Church, 100 6th Ave., La Grange
Press conference at La Grange Village Hall: 53 S. La Grange Rd., La Grange
When: 7:00 pm march; 7:10 pm press conference
Who: La Grange Working Families Committee: local voters, families, workers, and religious leaders; Arise Chicago
Visuals: Committee members marching and rallying with colorful signs and giant thermometers at 73%

Background:
Cook County passed a Paid Sick Days Ordinance on October 5, 2016, becoming the largest county in the U.S. with such legislation; and a Minimum Wage Ordinance on October 26, 2016, joining the growing national movement for local employment legislation. Both ordinances will go into effect on July 1, 2017.

La Grange voters overwhelmingly support paid sick days, with 73% voting in favor of such legislation in a November 8, 2016, non-binding ballot referendum. Similarly, in November 2014, 72% of La Grange voters favored increasing the minimum wage in a non-binding referendum.

On February 13, 2017, the La Grange Village Board presented an ordinance to take away these rights, prompting the creation by local residents of the La Grange Working Families Committee. The Committee, made up of local workers, residents, voters, and religious leaders called on the Village Board to protect La Grange workers, community members, and public health. On Saturday, March 11th, the committee was informed by Village President Tom Livingston by email that the Village would keep paid sick days and the minimum wage.

The Committee will rally to thank their local officials, celebrate community action making positive change in La Grange, and demonstrating an example of to other Cook County suburbs.

La Grange residents and voters will be available for interview.
Contact Shelly Ruzicka to arrange additional interviews.

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Workers Leap from Chicago to County Sick Time Legislation

Proposed ordinance would make Cook the largest county in the U.S. with paid sick days

Media Contact: Shelly Ruzicka, Arise Chicago

773-251-5003  /  shelly[at]arisechicago[dot]org  /  @AriseChicago

What: The Cook County Earned Sick Time coalition and county commissioners will announce proposed legislation to make Cook County the largest municipality in the U.S. with paid sick days legislation. Commissioners expect to vote the ordinance into law at Wednesday’s Board meeting.

Who: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, County Commissioners Bridget Gainer (10th), Jesus Garcia (7th), low-wage workers who will benefit from the ordinance, religious leaders, Cook County Earned Sick Time Coalition including community, labor, and advocacy organizations.

When: Wednesday, October 5th at 9:15am

Where: 118 N. Clark Street, Cook County Building 5th floor  

Background: Coming off of the successful passage of a Chicago ordinance, the Cook County Earned Sick Time Coalition will expand the basic protection of paid sick time to workers across Cook County.

The Chicago ordinance passed after a three and half year campaign led by low-wage workers and supporting organizations.

The County ordinance is modeled after the Chicago legislation, which was formulated from recommendations by a task force made up of worker and business representatives. Heeding the call from businesses for common sense legislation, and from workers for the massive need to protect one’s own and the public’s health, County commissioners took speedy action. Passage of the ordinance will make Cook the largest county in the country to have such legislation, building on the growing national movement of state and municipal sick time laws.

The ordinance will cover 441,000workers outside of Chicago in Cook County. Importantly, many newly covered workers are in the service sector–industries frequently at risk for spreading contagious illnesses due to contact with larges numbers of people.

Once passed, the ordinance will provide with up to five paid sick days per year. LIke the city ordinance, workers would be able to earn 1 hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked.

Mirroring the Chicago ordinance, the county legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2017.

*Workers will be available for interview in English or Spanish

The Cook County Earned Sick Time Coalition is:

Arise Chicago, Chicago Federation of Labor, Restaurant Opportunities Center – Chicago, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881, Women Employed

Endorsers: AFSCME Council 31, Action Now, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, American Friends Service Committee, Between Friends, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, Chicago Federation of Musicians, Chicago National Organization for Women, Chicago Religious Leadership Network, Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Chicago Foundation for Women, Community Renewal Society, Coalition Against Workplace Sexual Violence, Council on American-Islamic Relations, EverThrive Illinois, Illinois Chapter-American Academy of Pediatrics, Illinois Education Association Region 67, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Jobs with Justice-Chicago, Lambda Legal, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, NABET/CWA Local 41, National Council of Jewish Women –  IL State Policy Advocacy Network,, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Employment Lawyers Association – IL, National Nurses United, ONE Northside, ParentsWork, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Raise the Floor, Rape Victim Advocates, Reclaim Chicago, SAG-AFTRA, SEIU Doctors Council, SEIU Local 1, SEIU Local 73, SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, SEIU State Council, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, Stagehands Local 2, Teamsters 743, Teamsters 777, United Steelworkers District 7, UNITE HERE Local 1, UNITE HERE Local 450, United Electrical Workers Western Region, Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago/Fight for Fifteen, Workers United, Zakat Foundation of America

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MEDIA ADVISORY for Tuesday, August 16 10am

Illinois Domestic Workers Claim Victory in 5-Year Campaign

Friday’s bill signing makes Illinois 7th state to provide domestic workers with legal protections

Media Contact: Shelly Ruzicka                                                                                                

 773-251-5003 | shelly[at]arisechicago[dot]org | @AriseChicago

What: Press conference and celebration announcing historic passage into law of the Illinois Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights

When: Tuesday, August 16 at 10am

Where: Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law: 50 E. Washington, Suite 500, Chicago

Who: Illinois Domestic Workers’ Coalition, domestic workers from the Black, Latino, Filipino, and Polish communities; faith and labor leaders; and legislators.

Speakers:

• House sponsor Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez
• Domestic workers: Grace Padao, AFIRE Chicago; Magdalena Zylinska, Arise Chicago; Maria Esther Bolaños, Latino Union
• Wendy Pollack, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
• Religious Leaders

Decades after the passage of the 1938 federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which excluded domestic workers and was mimicked by many states, including Illinois, Gov. Rauner signed House Bill 1288 into law last Friday, granting Illinois domestic workers the same protections that other workers have had for generations.

After a five year campaign by the Illinois Domestic Workers Coalition, Illinois home cleaners, nannies, and home care workers will now have basic workplace protections under state law.

The new law, sponsored by Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-8th District) in the Senate, and Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez (D-24th District) in the House, gives nannies, housecleaners, home care workers, and other domestic workers the same employment protections that workers in other industries have by amending four state laws that currently exclude domestic workers. This includes the Minimum Wage Law, the Illinois Human Rights Act, the One Day of Rest in Seven Act, and the Wages of Women and Minors Act.

The new law will ensure that all domestic workers receive the state minimum wage, protection against sexual harassment, as well as a day of rest for workers employed by one employer for at least 20 hours a week.

The bill’s signing makes Illinois the 7th state in the U.S. with domestic worker protections. The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2017.

The Illinois Domestic Workers’ Coalition is powered by local organizations, including AFIRE Chicago, Arise Chicago, Latino Union, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Women Employed, Heartland Alliance, and SEIU-HCII, as well as domestic workers, advocacy and community groups, and allies. The Coalition is supported by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States. For more information, please visit: www.respectallwork.org

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MEDIA ADVISORY for Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Call on Gov. Rauner to sign bill into law

Media Contact: Shelly Ruzicka, Arise Chicago

773-251-5003 | shelly[at]arisechicago[dot]org  

@AriseChicago  |  @Shelly_Ruzicka

What: Press Conference and Postcard Action to celebrate Illinois Bill of Rights (HB 1288) reaching Governor Bruce Rauner’s desk and encouraging him to sign the bill into a law.

When: Wednesday, July 13, 2016, 10:00-10:45am

Where: In front of the James R. Thompson Center: 100 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601

Who: Arise Chicago and the Illinois Domestic Workers Coalition, domestic workers from Latino, Filipino, and Polish communities; families who employ domestic workers; faith and labor leaders; and legislators.

     Speakers include:

      Ai-jen Poo, Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance

      Magdalena Zylinska domestic worker leader from Arise Chicago

      Lucia Wrooman, domestic worker leader from Latino Union

      Grace Padao, domestic worker leader from AFIRE

      Reverend Joy Rogers, St. James Episcopal Cathedral

      Invited: Senator Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago), bill co-sponsor

      Invited: Representative Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero), bill co-sponsor

Visuals: Signing of giant postcard to Governor Bruce Rauner; balloons and posters; large banner to honor domestic workers.

(Chicago, IL) — On July 13, domestic workers across the state will celebrate a long-awaited historic victory for workers’ rights, as the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (HB1288) reaches Governor Rauner’s desk after passing both the Illinois House and Senate. The Governor now has less than 60 days to sign the bill into a law, guaranteeing more than 35,000 domestic workers across the state with basic employment protections.

The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) and Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero), establishes a definition for domestic worker, and creates a floor of protections for nannies, housecleaners, home care workers, cooks, and chauffeurs by amending four state laws that currently exclude them. Together, the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights will ensure that domestic workers receive minimum wage, protection against sexual harassment, and the right to one day of rest if they work for more than 20 hours for an employer.

If signed into law, Illinois would become the 6th state in the U.S.  to pass a comprehensive Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and the 7th state to extend rights to domestic workers, joining Massachusetts, California, New York, Oregon, Connecticut, and Hawaii.

The Illinois Domestic Workers’ Coalition is powered by local organizations, including AFIRE, Arise Chicago, Latino Union, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Women Employed, Heartland Alliance, and SEIU-HCII, as well as domestic workers, advocacy and community groups, workers centers, and allies. The Coalition is supported by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States. For more information, please visit: www.respectallwork.org

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Workers, Advocates Announce Introduction of Paid Sick Days Ordinance

Coalition and legislators call for swift action by City Council

Media Advisory for Wednesday April 13th, 2016

Contact:

Adam Kader, Worker Center Director, Arise Chicago

773-937-1826 | [email protected]

What: The Earned Sick Time Chicago Coalition and aldermen announce introduction of a paid sick days ordinance covering all workers in the city.

Who: Working Families Task Force Co-Chairs Ald. Ameya Pawar and Anne Ladky, Women Employed; chief ordinance sponsor, Ald. Toni Foulkes; Earned Sick Time Chicago Coalition organization members; low-wage and union workers; small business owners

When: Wednesday, April 13th at 9am

Where: City Hall 2^nd floor

Why: The City’s Working Families Task Force recently released its report with recommendations for paid sick days legislation. The Coalition calls on Chicago legislators to move toward swift passage after an ordinance is introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

Background

The Earned Sick Time Chicago coalition formed in 2013 in order to win the basic benefit of paid sick time for all workers. In the city’s 2015 election, 82% of Chicagoans supported the idea of mandatory paid sick days.

The Coalition readily welcomed the release of the long-anticipated report by the City of Chicago’s Working Families Task Force report, and its recommendation for guaranteed paid sick day legislation for Chicago’s workforce.

A paid sick days ordinance would directly impact nearly half of all private sector workers in Chicago who currently lack access to such a benefit. An ordinance would mean that workers no longer need to literally choose between their health and their job. A paid sick days ordinance would also mean that, in many workplaces, such as any related to food production or service, the public’s health would be protected.

A Chicago ordinance would allow the city to catch up with the 5 states and 22 cities with such a policy, including New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh.

Below is from the Working Families Task Force Executive Summary:

Paid Sick Leave

The Task Force recommended a framework that would provide workers with paid sick leave while having a nominal impact on employer costs. This proposal would:

• Allow workers to accrue and use up to 5 earned sick days over the course of 1 year.
• Workers would earn sick time at a rate of 1 hour earned for every 40 hours worked. This approach ensures that employees earn and accrue sick time at a proportional rate based on hours worked.
• Accrued sick leave could be used by new employees after an initial 6-month probationary period.
• Allow employees to roll over up to 2.5 unused sick days to the following year.
• Exempt employers that offer combined leave benefits such as Paid Time Off (PTO) from these requirements as long as employees could accrue and use up to 5 days of PTO within a calendar year.
• This framework would not require the pay out of unused sick days by the employer and it would also exempt sick leave benefits that are negotiated as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

The Earned Sick Time Chicago Coalition includes:

Arise Chicago, Restaurant Opportunities Center – Chicago, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881, Women Employed

Action Now, Between Friends, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Chicago Foundation for Women, Chicago National Organization for Women, EverThrive Illinois, Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, Jobs with Justice, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, National Council of Jewish Women –  IL State Policy Advocacy Network, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Employment Lawyers Association – IL, ONE Northside, ParentsWork, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Rape Victim Advocates, OUR Walmart, Women Employed, YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, AFSCME Council 31, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, Chicago Teachers Union, Illinois Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 21, Illinois Education Association Region 67, Illinois Federation of Teachers, National Nurses United, Pride at Work Chicago, SEIU Doctors Council, SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, SEIU Local 73, Teamsters 743, Teamsters 777, United Auto Workers Region 4, United Auto Workers Local 2320, United Steelworkers District 7,UFCW Local 1546, Unite-Here Local 1, Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago/Fight for $15, Workers United

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MEDIA ADVISORY for Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Media Contacts:

Jorge Mújica (Spanish, English)

[email protected] | 773-844-9910

Marzena Zukowska (English, Polish, Spanish)

[email protected] | 708-990-0389 | @MarzenaZukowska

Dozens of Domestic Workers Travel to Springfield as IL Senate Votes on State’s First Bill of Rights

Press Conference on Wednesday after Senate Votes on HB1288

Pre-interviews with speakers available.

What: Press conference immediately after the Senate votes on Illinois’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (HB1288).

When: Wednesday, April 13th, 2016 at 1pm or immediately after the Senate vote.

Where: Blue Room, Room #010, Capitol Building, Springfield, IL.

Who: Organizations part of Illinois Domestic Workers Coalition, including Latino Union, Arise

Chicago, and AFIRE. Domestic workers, including nannies, housekeepers, and home care workers, from Latino, Filipino, and Polish communities; families who employ domestic workers; faith and labor leaders.Speakers include:

Representative Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero)

Senator Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago)

Magdalena Zylinska, Arise Chicago, worker leader

Maria Esther Bolaños, Latino Union, worker leader

Gloria Key, AFIRE, worker leader

Reverend CJ Hawking, Executive Director, Arise Chicago

James Povijua, Illinois Campaign Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance

Visuals: Women with larger banners and posters; dressed in red/yellow Illinois Coalition t-shirts.

(Springfield, IL) — On Wednesday, April 13, the Senate will vote to extend basic employment protections to domestic workers through the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (HB1288), the first legislation of its in kind in the state and one that has already passed in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) and Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero), will guarantee housekeepers, nannies, and home care workers across the state with minimum wage, freedom from sexual harassment, and for those who work over 20 hours per a week for an employer, an assurance of a day off.

While federal law has since been amended, workers in most states are still not covered by basic workplace protections, a result of 80-year historic exclusions dating back to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“To support my family, I have gone to work on days that I was sick, worried that otherwise, I would not be able to pay for my mortgage,” said Magdalena Zylinska, a housekeeper from Illinois and Board Member of Arise Chicago. “The Bill of Rights would help women like me receive the same protections as other workers, and would give employers proper guidelines.”

“My own negative experiences on the job and those of other domestic workers have motivated me to keep organizing,” said Gloria Key, a careworker from Illinois and member of AFIRE. “ I have been to Springfield many times to advocate for the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, and I hope that this time, we can leave the state capitol with a victory.”

“When I started cleaning houses, I received only $40 for 8 hours of work per day — way below the state minimum wage,” said Maria-Esther Bolaños, housekeeper from Illinois and member of Latino Union. “The Bill of Rights will open all of society, employers and domestic workers, to more just information about rights and pay. And my hope is that it will serve as a model for other states.”

The passage of HB1288 would make Illinois the 7th state in the United States to extend rights to domestic workers, joining Massachusetts, California, New York, Oregon, Connecticut, and Hawaii.

The Illinois Domestic Workers Coalition is powered by three local organizations, Latino Union, AFIRE, and Arise Chicago, as well as domestic workers, advocacy/community groups, workers centers, and others allies seeking to pass a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights in Illinois. The Coalition is supported by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States. For more information, please visit: www.respectallwork.org

Clergy Call for Resolution to State Employee Contract Negotiations

On anniversary of Dr. King’s Death, faith leaders call for mediation and arbitration

to uphold MLK’s legacy

Media Advisory for Monday, April 4th 2016

Contact: Shelly Ruzicka, Arise Chicago

773-251-5003 | [email protected]

WHO: Religious leaders with Arise Chicago and state employees

WHAT: Religious leaders call on governor and state legislators for mediation and arbitration in state worker contract negotiations

WHERE: Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington, 1st floor sanctuary

WHEN: Monday, April 4th at 10:00 AM

On the 48th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in Memphis while supporting sanitation workers, religious leaders from around Chicagoland will join with state employees to release an open letter addressed to Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly. Signed by over 150 faith leaders from around the state, clergy call for swift resolution to contract negotiations. Like Illinois state employees, the Memphis sanitation workers supported by King were members of AFSCME.

Faith leaders are concerned about the potentially life-threatening consequences to families that rely on state services and to state workers who provide those services if the current approach of conflict and confrontation continues. To avoid disruption of vital state services and the imposition of harsh terms on state employees, clergy urge Governor Rauner and state legislators to move forward through mediation and arbitration to resolve contract issues.

Clergy and state workers will give statements and be available for interview.

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Hotel Workers Protest Wage Theft, Resist Eviction Notice