Paid Sick Leave Is Becoming a Reality. Why Did It Take a Pandemic to Get There?

The first time that Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced a federal paid-sick-leave bill was in 2004. The most recent time she did was 12 days ago.

For 16 years Murray has lobbied her fellow lawmakers to consider a modest proposal—that workers in America deserve some period of paid sick leave, not just because it’s humane and reasonable but because we’re all safer if people have it.

“It is unacceptable that for 43 million of our nation’s workers, catching the flu or needing to care for a sick family member means losing a day of pay, or even losing a job,” Murray said three years ago and after more than a decade of fighting for one of her signature issues.

Of course we know how this ends—we don’t have a federal paid-leave program, and we’re in the middle of a global pandemic.

Almost two decades later, Murray’s message is beginning to sink in, but the consequences have been dire. With cases of the pandemic growing at exponential rates in the United States, Murray once again teamed up with Representative Rose DeLauro (D-Conn.) to push for federal paid sick leave. Given that she represents Washington, where the first domestic outbreak took hold, she was one of the first in the chamber to appreciate the seriousness of the virus; weeks ago she started hearing from friends and relatives who knew someone affected or were themselves.

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which aims to shore up some protections and offer relief to workers who are having to choose between earning their wages and being able to care for themselves and their loved ones. Earlier this week, Republicans tacked on new amendments to the bill before it headed to the Senate, which limited the number of workers who can claim federal paid sick leave, even in the midst of this crisis.

Still, as it heads to President Trump’s desk, the bill takes an unprecedented step toward real sick leave—two weeks to millions of American workers who are in quarantine, have a close relative with COVID-19, or are coordinating care for children whose schools have closed, at 100% of their normal wages.

It’s a huge, overdue success, and Murray is appropriately rueful about what it took to get here. “We have to deal with this, and we have had to deal with this,” she tells Glamour. Here, Murray talks about the landmark legislation and what happens to workers after this is all over.

Since at least 2004, you’ve pushed for federal paid sick leave. Tell me about realizing that we needed that.

Well, I had talked to so many people who were sick and could not go to work because they couldn’t afford it. As a mom and former preschool teacher, I know that when kids are coming to class sick or people are coming to work sick, disease spreads. More people get it—whatever it is. And the impact grows.

We’re seeing that now times a thousand with coronavirus, which spreads rapidly and is a huge concern. What I knew back then as a mom and a preschool teacher is proving true now. It’s crucial that our country has policies in place so that when someone is sick they can stay home.

I can’t imagine you’re feeling much satisfaction over being right, more than a decade after you introduced this legislation. What is it like to see your colleagues finally start to show some urgency around this?

Well, I’m sorry it’s come to a pandemic for them to see the reality. It is my hope that this has finally sunk in and that we move forward in a smart way. I remember talking to a Safeway employee six or seven years ago who was working in the deli department and was obviously, visibly sick. I said, “Are you okay?”

And she said, “I can’t stay home. I don’t have any sick leave.”

I remember thinking, Oh my God, she’s sitting here in a deli. Everybody should think of that—workers at delis, grocery stores, hotels. Wouldn’t you rather they were home getting paid sick leave than here risking spreading it to everyone else?

One of the things that’s striking to me, as a citizen, is how disadvantaged we are here in the United States—in terms of dealing with this crisis—because we don’t have some of the things, like paid sick leave, that other developed countries have. We’re suffering now because of legislation we didn’t get passed decades ago.

Without a doubt. Without a doubt. All of these things that we have been told cost too much or are too radical are now coming home to roost with this pandemic.

Do you think that’s registering, especially with your Republican colleagues who have been resistant to these kinds of federal programs?

I think it is sinking in. People used to think, Oh, that’s someone else’s problem. But in a pandemic like this, they realize that someone else affects them. If that person is sick, they’re making other people sick. If a business can’t function, that has an impact. These kinds of social programs and policies are good for businesses, so that we don’t end up in the situation we’re in now.

Have any of those Republicans or even Democrats who resisted this said, “You were right”?

Well, no one here is very good at saying, “Oh my gosh, you were right.” Which is fine; I can take it! But they are all of a sudden sensing the need for this. It becomes personal for every single person in this country. It’s well and good for the mandate to be out there—“stay home if you’re sick.” But too many workers know it doesn’t apply to them because they can’t afford it.

You were a preschool teacher. Other women who serve in Congress, and in particular women elected in 2018, don’t come from traditional political backgrounds. Several I can think of are former nurses or are activists or veterans. At a time like this, how valuable is it to have those voices in Washington?

I was just talking with someone about the fact that women work in professions with their mother hat on. We’re thinking about other people. This conversation happened to be in the context of our own workplace in the Senate; I find a lot of the senators are thinking about themselves, but she and I were thinking about the staffers and workers in the Senate who have to be there because we are here. These are people who themselves have families. I said to her, “You sound like a mom.” And she said, “That’s just how we operate.”

But I think, overall, women do see things in terms of communities and have experiences that inform that. Women tend to be the people in their families who take kids or parents to the doctor. It’s intuitive to us to think about these things on a personal level.

After we get through this, do you think America will be ready to have a fundamentally different conversation about programs like paid leave and universal health care?

I think so. We obviously live in a country that is very dependent on private companies and profits. We all benefit from that. But the question we have to ask ourselves now is: How do we develop an infrastructure that makes sure all Americans are safe?

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Mattie Kahn is the culture director at Glamour.

Originally Appeared on Glamour