Sick days for Miami-Dade contractors? It’s not ‘Bernie Sanders world,’ Bovo says

Miami-Dade commissioners on Thursday stalled a proposal to force county contractors to give workers paid sick days and parental leave as the lawmakers questioned whether companies and the government could afford the benefits’ costs.

The commission’s health committee postponed a vote on the bill after a round of skeptical statements from a majority of the panel. The harshest words came from Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo, a candidate for county mayor, who broadly criticized the creep of government costs and burdens to small businesses.

“All of this ends up costing more money to the taxpayers,” said Bovo, a former Republican member of the Florida House. “I know we live today in a Bernie Sanders world, where everybody is going to get something for free. News flash: Somebody has to pay for this.”

The setback for the legislation by sponsor Daniella Levine Cava, another commissioner running for mayor, is the latest effort to use Miami-Dade’s nearly $9 billion budget to impose better working conditions for thousands of businesses with county contracts. Miami-Dade already requires county contractors to pay their workers a “living wage” of at least $15.83 an hour, and in 2018 the commission extended those rules to most businesses renting retail space at the county-owned Miami International Airport.

How many sick days would Miami-Dade contractors have to give workers?

Levine Cava’s proposal would mandate seven sick days per year for employees of county contractors who have more than 14 employees and bill Miami-Dade at least $100,000 a year. Those contractors would also have to provide new mothers and fathers up to six weeks of paid parental leave. The bill also requires family leave, which is paid time off to care for a sick relative. The rules would apply only to new or extended contracts.

Miami-Dade’s county workers already receive similar benefits, but contractors aren’t required to offer them.

At Thursday’s hearing, private security guards assigned to MIA and the county’s Metrorail system described being forced to either skip shifts without pay or work sick when illness struck them or their children.

“If we just miss one day of our four-day work week, we lose a quarter of our paycheck,” said Joshua Lee Bleicher, a Metrorail guard. “When you live paycheck to paycheck, it’s very scary when you have just one sneeze or a cough.” Roosvelt Derameau , an MIA guard, said he missed two days of pay last week because of a health issue. “We need your help, please,” he said. “Stand up with us.”

Like other contractors, Allied Universal, the California company that earns millions of dollars providing security services for Miami-Dade, does not provide workers paid sick time, according to Ana Tinsly, a spokeswoman for SEIU, the union representing the guards. Allied Universal did not address its Miami-Dade benefits in a statement from the corporate office Thursday, but said its guards “may receive paid sick time as required by state or local laws, a customer contract or a collective bargaining agreement.”

An issue that’s dividing candidates for Miami-Dade mayor in 2020

Levine Cava, a Democrat on the nonpartisan commission, said commissioners should be “ashamed” that workers providing county services aren’t granted paid sick time. “We’re talking about a basic human right,” she said, addressing members of the health committee from the lectern for public speakers. “They’re going to work sick. They’re leaving sick children home. They’re losing pay. They’re losing their jobs.”

The administration of Mayor Carlos Gimenez told commissioners the proposal would make contracts more expensive for Miami-Dade and shared a survey from county vendors warning the new burdens would cause some of them to stop bidding for more work. “All of this is very difficult to quantify,” said Jennifer Moon, a deputy mayor. “It will increase the cost of the county’s services that we pay for.”

Levine Cava is not a member of the health committee, and had no vote. When her ordinance appeared to be heading for defeat before the five-member panel, Commissioner Xavier Suarez, an independent and also a candidate for mayor, moved to defer a vote until the March meeting. The Gimenez administration plans to deliver a report before then with an estimate on the costs tied to the legislation.

“The results could be not good,” said Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, a Republican. “A lot of people could lose their jobs.”