By Matt Cassidy, PoliticsPA

– On the same day that Philadelphia was announced as the host of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the City of Brotherly Love tackled an issue which is poised to become a central point of discourse in the looming presidential election.

Surrounded by a crowd of excited workers, the City Council passed legislation for mandatory paid sick leave which Mayor Michael Nutter signed into law later in the day.

“The people who do not have paid sick leave are the people who need it the most,” said Councilman William K. Greenlee, the bill’s sponsor.

“They’re low-income workers, single mothers; they’re college students or people just starting in the workforce.”

The bill, which will benefit around 200,000 Philadelphia workers, requires businesses with 10 or more employees to guarantee at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. The law goes into effect 90 days after the signing.

This bill has been seven years in the making since Greenlee first pushed for it back in 2008.

Currently, 16 cities — including New York, Portland and Seattle — and three states — California, Connecticut and Massachusetts — have enacted similar laws while President Obama has called on Congress to pass a federal measure.

Nutter had previously vetoed similar attempts in 2011 and 2013, explaining that he was never opposed to sick leave but could not support it during the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis.

“The hardworking men and women of our city really can’t wait another day, another week, another month to have paid sick leave,” Nutter said.

Opposition, in particular the hospitality industry, lobbied against the bill saying that it will discourage businesses from moving to the city and deter current companies from expanding.

Source – http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2015/02/philadelphia-paid-sick-leave-move-inspires.html?page=all

By The PA. AFL-CIO

– Governor Tom Wolf made good on one of his campaign promises to working Pennsylvanians this week by announcing his plan to replace Corbett’s Healthy Pa with traditional Medicaid expansion.

The announcement was praised by groups representing uninsured working families and by the Pennsylvania Health Access Network a coalition of organizations which include many unions representing workers in the health industry. They described Corbett’s Healthy PA which began on January 1 2015 as a quagmire fraught with unnecessary costs and hurdles that was preventing working families from enrolling in the programs

“Governor Wolf’s move would be boon for all taxpayers because it would lead to fewer emergency room visits by uninsured working Pennsylvanians. By acting to move Pennsylvanians into one benefit package, eliminating the invasive health screening questionnaire, and simplifying the process, Gov. Wolf is acting in the best interest of patients and taxpayers,” said the Director of PHAN, Antoinette Kraus.

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/

By Mary Wilson

– Pennsylvania House Republicans are taking another run at liquor privatization, and they’re picking up where they left off two years ago.

The House GOP plans to vote on a plan to phase out state wine and spirit stores and expand the sale of alcohol in big-box stores, supermarkets, and beer distributors. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the same proposal passed the House in 2013, only to die in the Senate.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed said passing it again will set up a negotiation with senators and the Wolf administration, though he doesn’t expect support for the bill from those quarters.

“I expect that we begin the negotiation process where we left off last session, and then it’ll be up to the Senate and the governor to put something on the table that they can support,” said Reed. “We thought this was a good opportunity to put a potential revenue source.”

House Republicans say the measure could yield $1 billion in up-front revenue for the state.

Democrats, including Gov. Tom Wolf, remain opposed. Wolf has said he supports changes that make the existing state liquor system more profitable.

Source: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/78390-stirred-and-not-shaken-pa-gop-to-reintroduce-liquor-privatization-plan?linktype=hp_impact

(Brief PhillyLabor Editorial – Pa. GOP Leaders absolutely will not rest until they put 5000 + Pa. workers out of a job. DISGRACEFUL!)

By Holly Otterbein

– The law will go into effect in three months. Did its anticipated passage help Philly land the DNC?

– Mayor Michael Nutter signed mandatory paid sick leave into law Thursday, just hours after City Council passed the legislation.

“I think we finally struck the right balance between the needs of employees and employers,” said Nutter. “That’s been my goal from day one.”

At a bill-signing ceremony, Nutter noted that Philadelphia was selected today to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
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“We’re going to do something really great for citizens of Philadelphia,” said Nutter, “and also help to carry this message across the United States of America.”

City Councilman Bill Greenlee, the sponsor of the bill, said that rumor has it that the anticipated passage of paid sick leave helped Philly land the convention. “It helped,” Nutter said.

The law will go into effect in 90 days.
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[Original, 11:51 p.m.] City Councilman Bill Greenlee won his seven-year fight Thursday to pass legislation requiring Philadelphia businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees.

The City Council passed the bill 14-2.

The legislation mandates that companies with at least 10 employees offer the benefit. Employees would earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, for a maximum total of five days annually.

This is the third time since 2008 that Greenlee has introduced paid sick leave legislation. Mayor Michael Nutter twice vetoed such bills, but he has announced that he’ll sign it today at 2:30 p.m. at City Hall. Everett Gillison, Nutter’s chief-of-staff, says Nutter did not believe the time was right for paid sick leave in past years because the city was still grappling with the recession.

Greenlee’s remarks on the Council floor were brief. He said, “Earned paid sick leave is the right thing to do … let’s finally do it.”

Source: http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/02/12/7-year-fight-council-passes-michael-nutter-signs-philadelphia-paid-sick-leave/

By Francis Hilario

– The Democratic Party has chosen Philadelphia to host its 2016 national convention.

“In addition to their commitment to a seamless and safe convention, Philadelphia’s deep rooted place in American history provides a perfect setting for this special gathering. I cannot wait to join Democrats across the country to celebrate our shared values, lay out a Democratic vision for the future, and support our nominee,” said DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Thursday.

Philadelphia was one of three finalists for the convention, along with Brooklyn and Columbus, Ohio.

The convention, held the week of July 25, will serve as a passing of the torch from President Barack Obama to the winner of the Democratic primary. At this point, Hillary Rodham Clinton is leading many of the polls, but 2016 is still a long way away.

The Democratic convention will be a huge boon for the city, with thousands of people, media and economic impact expected to come to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. The DNC anticipates 50,000 attendees, filling up to 80,000 hotel room-nights, based on projections from its 2008 convention in Denver.

The last time Philadelphia held a national convention was in 2000, when the Republican party held its convention from July 31-Aug. 3.

The RNC brought in more than 45,000 people to the First Union Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) and 15,000 members of the media. The convention had an economic impact of $170 million, with a combined direct and indirect impact of $345 million.

RNC attendees also booked 111,000 hotel room-nights, creating hotel revenues of about $25 million. The convention created 4,777 full-time equivalent jobs in the region during the summer, generating $167 million in personal income.

Next year’s RNC will take place July 18-21 in Cleveland.

Choosing a host city was based on a number of factors, including the city’s transportation, hotels and the facility holding the convention, experts said in interviews last month. Other factors for any convention included the city’s political leadership and financial resources.

“The kind of factors that are probably the most important in terms of valuation of cities are the obvious ones: Hotels, the facility to hold the event in [and] logistics,” Alan Kessler, former finance vice chair of the DNC said in an earlier interview with the Philadelphia Business Journal. “The single most important is financial guarantee.”

Our panel of experts — including Gov. Ed Rendell— handicapped each city’s chance for the big score recently back when five cities were still in contention. Check it out here.

Gov. Tom Wolf made the following statement:

“Today’s announcement is tremendous news for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The birthplace of our democracy will host the Democratic National Convention in 2016, which will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity in the state. We look forward to working with local leaders to ensure that Philadelphia will shine in the national spotlight.”

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2015/02/12/philadelphia-will-host-the-2016-democratic.html