Urgent New Jersey Action Item (not a candidate diary)

New Jersey is poised to become just the second state to enable all workers to get paid time off to care for a sick child or parent, or have a baby.  But the sad fact is that we are being outworked by the business lobby, which -- as always -- bitterly opposes any progressive legislation.  They have not just the Trenton lobbyists but numerous phone calls and e-mails coming in to the state legislators.   As you can see in the video below, Steve Sweeney's received a hundred e-mails OPPOSING the bill.  If you live in New Jersey, we need you to phone, e-mail or fax your state senator to support Steve Sweeney's bill.  Already the bill has been been cut back from 10 weeks at half-pay to just six weeks.  The bill is in committee and its fate will be decided on Monday.  We have lost at least one Democratic vote but Sweeney thinks we can get Republican ones.  

This is an urgent appeal to contact the committee and your state senator to save the bill.

The bill is S786, Family Leave Insurance (Full HTML Text).  Find your New Jersey legislator.  Contact information for the committee is here.

Blue Jersey's Interview with State Senator Sweeney:

There is  also an easy-to-use message form set up by the Bergen County Central Trades and Labor Council, AFL-CIO, to contact the entire committee.  

Visit Blue Jersey to learn more.

ps.  It might not be a bad idea to contact your members of the State Assembly too.

pps.  If you wonder how this would work, the paid family leave is funded by a small increase in the Unemployment Insurance tax.

ppps.  The video was made by Jay Lassiter of Blue Jersey, who is funded in part by BlogPAC to cover the New Jersey statehouse.