PORTLAND, Maine — City council chambers were filled to the brim Monday night with people eager to make their voices heard on the earned sick pay ordinance.
"I’m nineteen years old. I shouldn’t have to skip meals because I have seven dollars in the bank. I'm too young to count up what I have left for groceries after I pay my overinflated rent. I also shouldn’t have to go to work sick, just because I can’t afford not to," said one young worker in Portland.
The measure would give most Portland workers one hour of earned sick pay for every 30 hours worked. Direct Support workers like Leighann Gillis say that it’s a game changer.
"I’ve gone to work sick with the flu. I’ve gone to work sick with listeria. I’ve gone to work injured, because there is no choice. There’s no option for me. It’s work, or don’t get paid," Gillis said.
Small business owners and their representatives laid out their issues with the ordinance.
"Under definition of family members, it would include any other person related by blood to the employee, which for me would be 50 people currently living across two different countries," said a representative for the Retail Association of Maine.
Some cited an inability to afford what the ordinance would require.
"Aside from the cost this will incur on our company, what this bill will do is destroy all benefit packages we currently have for our staff members," said Angela, a small business owner in Portland.
Some suggested that Portland should wait until the state comes out with a paid sick leave measure. However, many suggested that the council should move forward.
"It wouldn’t be the first time the state acts after the city, and the city should be proud of that," said one Portland resident.
The vote on the earned sick pay ordinance will happen on May 6.