Posted on 02/22/2005 2:13:43 PM PST by fight_truth_decay
On Monday's Today, Katie Couric conducted a softball interview promoting a Ted Kennedy-sponsored bill to require every employer in America with 15 or more employees to offer a mandatory seven sick days each year. She asked: "So obviously the legislation may be helpful, but the whole mentality of the workplace needs to change as well, right?" Her liberal guest, Linda Meric of the lobbying group 9 to 5, agreed: "The United States is way far behind in terms of the amount of time off that employees get to care for family members, to care for their own health and for other reasons." Couric had no question on the potential cost to employers or any other political or economic objections to the proposal. This wasn't the first time Today promoted European-style regulatory controls on the workplace.
[The MRC's Tim Graham submitted this item for CyberAlert.]
Closing out a series on germs and illness called "Dirty America," Couric began with a taped segment in the 7:30 half hour underlining the problems with what's called "presenteeism" -- when people come into work sick and potentially infectious: "If you are one of the millions of people dragging yourself to work with the sniffles or even worse you might think you'll get a pat on the back for going well above and beyond the call of duty but guess what you're probably doing more harm than good. Coming to work even if you're feeling under the weather may sound heroic but new studies show employees and employers might be better off if you stayed home with your coughs, sniffles and sneezes."
Next, Couric began an interview with Linda Meric, the Executive Director of 9 to 5, which she described merely as "an advocacy group for working women." She began by asking: "A lot of people go to work sick because they don't want to be considered slackers in this workaholic society we live in. But even worse, a lot go to work sick because they have no choice. Isn't that true?" Meric agreed.
Couric, in the interview corrected against the closed- captioning by the MRC's Geoff Dickens, underlined the point: "Well we saw that one worker used half of her sick days and she was fired but 59 million American workers, something like 47 percent of the workforce have no paid sick days at all? What happens to those people once they get sick?"
When Meric explained many people go to work sick, but some stay at home at the risk of losing their jobs, Couric piped up: "Well that's so upsetting. Is that legal? I mean if, if somebody is really sick or has a family emergency, I was reading some of these stories from the 9 to 5 organization about what happens when you take time off and, and one says you lose your job when your child is injured. Let me just read this quickly: 'When my son got hit by car he didn't tell me right away because he was worried I would lose my job. An older child called me at my work and said, 'Mom. Eric is crying. He got hit by car you have to come home.' I told my boss who said I'd be fired if I left. I knew my child had to go to the emergency room so I left anyway and I was fired. The x-rays showed Eric had a broken arm.' This is from Robbie Bickerstaff in Wisconsin. These stories are often recounted, aren't they? I mean, this is not an isolated case is it?"
Meric: "No this isn't unusual at all because such a large percentage of the workforce has no access to paid sick days...And you ask if this was legal well it is legal because there's no law currently in the United States that provides paid sick days for employees."
Couric could have noted that the 9 to 5 material she's reading from, a December 6 document titled, "10 Things That Could Happen to You If You Didn't Have Paid Sick Days," described Bickerstaff described as a member of the liberal lobbying group: "In the new booklet, 9to5 members Robbie Bickerstaff and Kimberley Miller share their stories." See that at: http://www.9to5.org/display_story.php?id=18
If that document causes you to wonder how this old news from December 6 became new news in late February, here's a guess: Ellen Goodman's column decrying an "epidemic of presenteeism" in the February 6 Boston Globe, using many of the same numbers that Couric used. Read it at: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2 005/02/06/an_epidemic_of_presenteeism/
Couric continued: "And as you mention children, I mean to take care of your children is sometimes difficult because studies showed kids get an average or sick an average three days a year and some schools even have rules that won't allow them to return to schools and that makes it even harder for working families."
Meric then started selling her group and its agenda: "It does and at 9 to 5 we really believe that people shouldn't have to choose between being good employees and good family members. And we are supporting a federal bill that would address this issue by providing a minimum of seven paid sick days, annually for employees."
Couric added helpfully: "I know that Ted Kennedy introduced it. It's called the Healthy Family Act. Tell me how much support it has and, and, and how much resistance are you getting from employers?"
Meric: "Well, the bill was introduced last year and Senator Kennedy is getting ready to introduce it again in this session. And we're actually hopeful that this will get a lot of support because this is really an issue of valuing families. And there are benefits for business as well..."
Couric said she just had to push more anecdotes to support the Kennedy bill: "I can't let you go without mentioning what we mentioned earlier on the show that is 86 percent of all food service workers or people who work in the food industry do not have paid sick leave. So obviously they're coming to work, they're infecting who knows how many people? And you have a story about a woman coming to work very sick, right?"
After Meric told the tale of another woman forced to work and vomit or else get fired, Couric added: "So obviously the legislation may be helpful but the whole mentality of the workplace needs to change as well, right?"
Meric: "Correct. The United States is way far behind in terms of the amount of time off that employees get to care for family members, to care for their own health and for other reasons."
Only at the end did Couric offer a tiny note of the other side of the debate: "Well somehow it has to be balanced, I guess, with the bottom line which is the big challenge, I guess. Linda Meric thanks so much for coming in this morning, we appreciate it."
This type of promoting of more European-style employer mandates is part of a pattern for Today. The August 2, 2001 CyberAlert recounted: Socialist France is a utopia for NBC's Today. After Keith Miller provided a glowing review of the forced 35-hour work week in France, Katie Couric gushed: "So great that young mother being able to come home at three everyday and spend that time with her child. Isn't that nice? The French, they've got it right."
To read more about Couric touting the advantages employees enjoy under French socialism, go to: http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2001/cyb20010802.asp#4
This statement should make all parents feel safe knowing their child's bus driver may have an illness which may cause a seizure.
Couric failed to report: "Italy, France, Germany and Spain all have unemployment rates 50 percent to 100 percent higher than the U.S., and many of the jobs in those countries and other EU members are actually public-sector jobs that produce nothing."
"Europeans may have an easier time at work, but shorter work hours, longer vacations and great benefits don't matter if you don't have a job", reports economists at Sweden's Timbro Institute.
..."data and analysis now available that eliminates the argument that America should follow in the footsteps of Europe with an expansive governmental role in the family and medical leave area," says Deanna R. Gelak, Executive Director, FMLA Corrections Coalition.
So much for both sides of the issue, "fair and balanced" Couric. "The French.. they've got it right?" No again, Katie..you (along with the French) have got it wrong.
We should propose a law to counter the Swimmer's. Namely, it should be illegal to declare a raging whiskey hangover as a sick day.
The main reason we are competetive in this world is our productivity. Lower the productivity and you lower the standard of living. Guess she wnats us to be like France who has been sinking into the worlds economic toilet for the last 2 decades
who is this Katie Couric? Is she the same "perky Katie" who used to host TeeVee shows on old Big Media back in the 20th century?
Wonder what she would think if she were hit with the French 70% marginal rate on income above $80K??
Well, Kerry doesnt have any problems with "presenteeism"
How many sick days did Mary Joe get ?
Katie Couric and Ted Kennedy,spokepersons for the working folks.Right!
As far as sick restaurant workers go,that's easy,eat at home.
In fact, I may decide to just take it to zero with or without stuff like this from FatBloatedBimbokillingDrunk Teddy - it's hard enough trying to run a business under today's existing oppressive nonsense from the government parasites.
FYI..have you ever considered submitting your stuff to the MRC? You write well...
If I were a betting man, my money would say this boss voted for Kerry.
I'm with ya friend. It's next to impossible to run a small business today, let alone start one, with all the BS marxist crap you have to abide by because of unconstitutional "laws".
FatBloatedBimbokillingDrunk Teddy
"bimbokilling"....I detest the FatBloatedDrunk as much as any sane person, but the bimbo part caught my attention...I feel bad for her manslaughter, but the "bimbo" part somehow rings true. No one until you pointed it out to me brings this up. She seems to have been "bimboing" with the wrong FatBloatedDrunk at the wrong time. Too bad for her. Her FatBloatedDrunk bimboing partner is one of the most powerful sinators in history. How macabre.
FMCDH(BITS)
And how much do you want to bet this mommmeeeeeeeeee has had many. many incidents of running home every time her little "darling" so much as sneezes?
I'm not saying she shouldn't have been allowed to go home for her injured boy but it isn't unusual for women to think the world has to stop because their made a boo-boo.
Even that is OK, but then don't come crying to me about people who can actually be DEPENDED on to be there move ahead and you don't.
Is that when she had that humongous fever blister that they kept trying to cover up? Eeeewww - ugly. Wonder if Matt let her kiss him?
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 98—963
JEREMIAH W. (JAY) NIXON, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI, et al., PETITIONERS v. SHRINK MISSOURI GOVERNMENT PAC et al.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
[January 24, 2000]
Justice Stevens, concurring.
"I make one simple point. Money is property;"
Amendment V
"nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Any such law is obviously and unambigously unconstitutional.
You and I are both business owners, let's exert our right.
Oh, please. There isnt an employer in the world who would fire an employee over this. Plus the story sounds like bull shiite, as well..
Then, you could at least be PAID for suffering through watching the perky one on a daily basis!
I can't even bear to watch the Macy's Day Parade any more. You're a better person than I.
Not only do Fr/Gr have higher unemployment rates then the US, they haven't created a job in decades, their corporations expand on other continents (incl North America), their budget deficits make ours look like a MasterCard bill and when they take on the burden of their own defense, they'll be bankrupt.
That whole story is suspect. And in my own experience as a manager, people called off for lots of suspicious reasons. I don't have a problem with someone staying home if they're really ill, but I don't see why they should get paid for it. However, many companies allow sick time hours based on how long and how much someone has worked. I know lots of employees who accumulated sick time and then took it all at once. A nice vacation.
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