M artin L uther K ing J r . Page 8 2010 s p e c i a l e d itio n New Prices I Effective May 1,2008 INION January 13. 2010 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG $45.00 Carpet Cleaning 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: / small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 (Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area • Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs) $25.00 (With Other Services) Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Area & Oriental Rug Clettning • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection UPHOLSTERY CLEANING T I z Sofa $79.00 Loveseat $59.00 Sectional $109-$139 Chair or Recliner $35 - $49 Throw Pillows $5.00 (With Other Services) See Flyers for Additional Prices Call For Appointment (503) 281-3949 Coming Together for Sick Time Job benefit is urgently needed M artha B urk Good riddance to 2009: the recession, the Wall Street bail outs, the main street misery, and most of all the so -called h e a lth -c a re "d e bate." For better or w orse, we'd best turn our attention to the one factor driving up health-care costs in this country that hasn't even been men- tioned-the lack of paid sick leave. While Congress was laboring to insure the insurance companies from loss of profits, almost 60,000 cases of swine flu were confirmed in the United States. The World Health Organization has declared the glo bal situation a "public health emer gency of international concern," and says the epidemic is not over. Early on, the U.S. government increased distribution of antiviral drugs and ramped up production of the H 1N 1 vaccine, and the Centers for Disease Control recommended that sick people stay home from work or school to avoid infecting others. by Right. Everyone, including members of Congress, probably would say that's good advice. But there's one little problem. According to the In stitute for Women's Policy Re search in Washington, fewer than half of U.S. workers get paid sick days. What's worse, only a third of those who get the benefit are able to take their sick days tocare for ill children. Workers who come into di rect contact with the public, infect other kids. At the height of the flu outbreak, Mexico closed its schools-the first step that any public health service recommends at the onset of an epi demic. According to Dr. Jody Heymann, at the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy, Mexico could do this because the country combines paid sick leave with child-care through its social insurance sys tem. At least 139 other countries provide some paid sick leave to Four out o f five Americans think paid sick days should he a basic labor standard. such as restaurant servers, childcare workers, and hotel employees, are among the least likely to have paid sick days. Many are low-wage work ers who not only lose wages if they stay home-they risk losing their jobs. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that workers who lack paid sick time are more likely to go to work with a communicable illness, and parents who cannot stay home with a sick child are more likely to send them to school or day care to workers as a matter of national law. Though some large companies do it anyway, no U.S. laws-national or state-require that workers have paid sick days, meaning workers are at the mercy of corporate bureau crats. So much for "the best health care system in the world." Though the swine flu threat is lessening, winter isn't over, and we still have many cases of seasonal flu ahead of us. The monetary cost to employers and families runs to the millions of dollars. It's good that the Obama admin istration held press conferences and declared a public health emergency at the height of the crisis, but a far more serious-and continuing-emer gency is the lack of sick leave. That propagates the virus as surely as food service workers sneezing into your food because they're too poor or too scared for their jobs to stay home. The Healthy Families Act, which requires that paid sick time be pro vided by employers with 15 or more employees, is likely to be back on the table in Congress sometime in the next couple of months. And unlike the division over health insurance, the country is together on this one. Four out of five Am ericans think paid sick days should be a basic labor stan dard. Pundits say this is a time politi cally to leave the dogfights of 2009 behind and go for some big ideas. Clearly, this is one idea whose time is long past due. Martha Burk is a political psy chologist, women's issues expert, and director o f the Corporate Ac countability Project fo r the Na tional Council o f Women's Organi zations.