According to a news release on Tuesday, the business owners are members of the Better Way Alliance, an organization that describes itself as a growing movement of businesses that support decent wages, paid sick days and fair scheduling laws.
"Legislating paid sick leave for all workers helps level the playing field for small and mid-sized businesses who are already struggling to compete with bigger, better connected corporations that don't provide decent jobs," the alliance said in the release.
I listened to one of those owners who has been doing so for his employees because it is both the moral and economic right choice. He and his brother have been supporting their employees in this way for years. They were raised to be ethical and care for others, but they also feel it makes good business sense. Sustaining a stable group of employees who are not anxious about job security is good for the bottom line.
I've heard that it costs about $4,000 a day to care for a patient in an intensive care bed in an Ontario hospital. Even at $15 an hour -- above minimum wage -- an employee would make that amount in six weeks, or more. The math tells us that ensuring workers stay home when they're ill rather than end up in an ICU makes sense.
Surely we can see that we are "cutting off our nose to spite our face" when we deny those who must go to a place of work every day the opportunity for paid sick days. And that it is an ideological choice to be suspicious of the honesty of those who are performing the labour most of us don't want to do.
As a Christian I feel that ensuring the safety and security of all is consistent with the gospel of Jesus, the Christ. In the end it's probably good business and good politics as well.
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