New Yorkers rally for paid sick time

WW photo: Anne Pruden

A rally at New York’s City Hall on Aug. 22 demanded paid sick time for workers at small businesses in the city. Organizers paid tribute to a Brooklyn, N.Y., grocery worker who died from cancer after not being able to miss work without pay. Felix Trinidad was just 34 — the father of two young children — when he succumbed to cancer after not seeking treatment for chronic stomach pain. His spouse, Anastacia Gonzalez, told the crowd “He was so worried about taking time off of work that he didn’t go” see a physician. She said Trinidad was afraid of losing his job at a supermarket. A bill before the City Council would require businesses employing 20 or more workers to give them each nine paid sick days per year. Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposes the measure, but a recent poll showed 73 percent of New York voters approve of it. (Associated Press, Aug. 23)