A group of supporters of paid sick leave sat quietly through the City Council meeting Monday until the very last item came up.
"Here we go," Councilwoman Gloria Taylor said as the council considered whether to move a sick leave ordinance to the Feb. 8 agenda for a vote.
Taylor asked about a "counter proposal" from the SID," referring to the Special Improvement District association that opposed the legislation last year. She asked whether Corporation Counsel David Minchello had received it only that night.
Someone called for a vote, but Taylor went on to talk about a compromise and said a meeting was never held with the merchants' group.
New Councilman Barry Goode said the topic had been on the agenda since he began running for office, about a year ago.
"If we have four votes, we can do it today," Councilwoman Rebecca Williams said.
Council President Cory Storch asked whether the initial legislation had been modified and called for an explanation of the changes. Williams asked Craig Garcia of NJ Working Families to come forward
Garcia said he was not aware of a counter proposal and that compromises agreed on at the last meeting were in the ordinance. They including changes to a collective bargaining clause and a longer interval before attaining sick leave hours.
Garcia said if he had to guess what (the merchants) wanted to cut out, he would say it was (benefits for) part-time workers, but he called such a cut "totally unacceptable."
The discussion was somewhat opaque to those who did not have the text of the ordinance and did not recall the merchants' objections last year. After unanimously approving the ordinance on first reading in March, the council postponed consideration for final passage due to strong objections from local merchants. Union officials and statewide activists for paid sick leave also spoke at the March meeting.
Merchants opposed penalties and fines in the ordinance and also objected to the stress on family-run businesses.The original $2,000 per day fines were reduced to $750 in the new ordinance.
In April, speakers raised new objections and the measure failed in a 3-3 tie vote, with Williams, Storch and Tracey Brown voting "yes" and Taylor, Diane Toliver and then-President Bridget Rivers voting "no." Vera Greaves was absent. On Monday, all seven members including Greaves' successor Barry Goode agreed to move the ordinance to the Feb. 8 agenda. If it passes then, the council would still have to give final approval in March.
--Bernice
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When does "NO" mean "NO." No one has talked to the non profits in town that this will impact too. This will impact small businesses, and community groups that employ part time workers unless the new ordinance exempts non profits.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an admirable idea but I really do not agree with this being pushed at a local level - this should be a state or federally driven requirement so that the playing field is leveled for everyone - doing an ad-hoc approach will make Plainfield stand out from other cities/towns in a way that is makes us less competitive. We have other issues to resolve, we shouldn't be creating more for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10:23am Why didn't you come out to the Council meeting on Monday and address your concerns. Stop using the blogs to vent, come and vent in a public setting.
ReplyDeleteGood comment for all citizens and residents to follow.
DeleteChurches and non-profits beware! This paid sick leave ordinance impacts all city churches and non-profits. This ordinance will put city organizations who employ part-time or full time workers at a disadvantage for grant funding. Funders will not fund non-worked hours.
ReplyDelete