SAN ANTONIO, Tex.—A coalition including the Texas AFL-CIO and Planned Parenthood is trying to get
initiatives to require businesses to give workers paid sick leave on the ballot in San Antonio and Dallas this November. “It’s become increasingly clear that many people are caught in a position where they can’t afford to take time off to take care of themselves or the members of their families,” AFL-CIO Texas President Rick Levy said. “Politics is so broken in Washington and in Austin that we’ve got to be more aggressive and more proactive in taking the fight to the voters.” The Working Texans for Paid Sick Time coalition would need about 75,000 petition signatures to get the measure on the ballot in San Antonio. Austin became the first Texas city to require paid sick leave in February, but some state legislators want to pre-empt that before it goes into effect Oct. 1. State Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) has said she wants “statewide legislation to stop Austin’s intrusion into the private sector and protect small businesses in Texas.” Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic challenger to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, has endorsed paid sick leave. Read more
