Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the movement toward paid sick leave was growing in Texas. Now, more than ever, people are looking for help as unemployment numbers surge. But making paid sick leave a reality is a challenge, even in cities where ordinances were supposed to have gone into effect.
Brianna Brown is deputy director for Texas Organizing Project, a progressive workers’ rights group that advocates for local sick leave ordinances in Texas. She says Austin passed a paid sick leave ordinance in 2018, and other cities followed, including San Antonio and Dallas. Austin and San Antonio sick leave ordinances have yet to take effect because of lawsuits, and more recently, a federal judge blocked Dallas’ ordinance that was supposed to have been enforced starting April 1.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– Who opposes paid sick leave ordinances and why
– Why the federal judge blocked Dallas’ sick leave ordinance
– What the Texas Organizing Project is doing in response to the judge’s decision
Written by Caroline Covington.
