LANSING, Mich. - For millions of Michiganders, taking a day off work because of their own or a family member's illness simply is not an option, but a broad coalition says changing that would make for a safer, healthier, more prosperous state.

Legislation introduced in the state House would make paid sick days mandatory in Michigan. Rep. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, who co-sponsored House Bill 4167, said she believes not only is this a public health and safety concern for all workers, but it's the right thing to do as a state.

"We want people to stay at home, to be able to take care of themselves before going back to work," she said, "and also to be able to take care of their loved one if they're sick."

The bill would provide full-time workers eight-and-a-half paid sick days per year, and is backed by a broad group of organizations and community leaders including the Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan and the Michigan National Organization for Women.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate, but Republican leaders claim paid sick leave would be a hindrance to job creation. Chang, however, argued that the measure is not a burden to businesses, but rather part of the foundation for a strong economy.

"You want to have productive workers." she said, "When someone's going to work sick, they're not working at their full capacity, especially if they're getting other people sick or if they're getting sicker."

Chang said not having paid sick time is a particular burden for Michigan women, who are more likely to be in low-wage jobs with minimal benefits.

"Looking at the restaurant industry and other service industries, women make up the majority of those types of workers," she said, "and so it's an issue that affects many people, but it definitely disproportionately impacts women."

According to a recent survey, 86 percent of Michigan voters say they think employees should get paid sick leave.

Text of HB 4167 is online at legislature.mi.gov.


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A new report outlined the importance of student debt relief to workers in New York and across the country.

An American Federation of Teachers analysis found rising education costs have forced people to borrow more than $1.7 trillion to attend college.

Amid that climate, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Joint Resolution of Disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to overturn President Joe Biden's student debt relief program. The bill now heads to the Senate.

Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, described how using the Congressional Review Act would disrupt student debt cancellation for public service workers.

"The student debt CRA scheme would reinstate the student loan debt of more than 260,000 public service workers nationwide," Pierce explained. "(It would) drop a nearly $20 billion debt burden onto the backs of these hardworking teachers, nurses, first responders and service members still emerging from the pandemic."

He pointed out the plan would roll back public workers' progress toward having more than $170 billion in student loan debt canceled. Prior to the invocation of the Congressional Review Act, court challenges had blocked Biden's plan before it began. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case earlier this year.

Michael Boucai, professor of law at the State University of New York-Buffalo, had $102,000 in student loan debt forgiven as part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and said although the process was somewhat arduous, it was worthwhile.

"I was able to start looking seriously into buying a house, and I was able to significantly increase the financial help that I give to my sibling," Boucai noted. "I was also able to just carry a whole lot more of the burden of running a household, with my partner."

Some education professionals identify the growth of the U.S. student loan program as erasing the benefits of going to college, with millions of loans going into default each year.

The Education Data Initiative finds almost 11% of student borrowers default on their education loans in the first year of repayment with another 25% defaulting in the first five years of repayment.

Although Missouri's 2023 legislative session was contentious and resulted in a historically low number of bills being passed, advocates for children applauded some significant wins for struggling Missouri families.

Jessica Seitz, executive director of Missouri KidsFirst, an advocacy nonprofit focused on preventing child abuse and neglect, said among the most important is the extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage from its current 60 days to one year. Seitz called access to health care a "proven prevention strategy against child maltreatment."

"Those wellness visits cannot be -- they can't be replaced," Seitz emphasized. "Extending and guaranteeing that postpartum coverage is all the way through the year just really helps guarantee at least that sort of support for a new family."

Missouri ranks 44th in the nation for maternal mortality rates, which Gov. Mike Parson called "embarrassing and absolutely unacceptable" in his 2023 State of the State address.

Seitz pointed out another huge win for struggling families is the change to a gradual "step-down" from access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Under the new system, a family will gradually lose benefits proportionate to their increase in income until they reach 200% of federal poverty guidelines.

She contended the "step-down" approach will help address the "disincentive" to earn more money, which can be a factor under the current system, because people can lose substantial benefits with only a small increase in their wages.

"Similar to the health care coverage, preventing food insecurity and promoting economic well-being are also two proven strategies at preventing child maltreatment," Seitz explained.

Seitz added the Legislature also addressed the high cost of child care.

"There was millions of dollars put into child care in the budget itself," Seitz noted. "They, for the first time, increased subsidy rates and there was an increase for providers. So, there were a lot of really great child care wins."

Seitz called it encouraging Missouri lawmakers -- who otherwise struggled to find much they could agree on -- could come together on "kids and family issues."

Rural advocates from around the U.S. recently gathered to lay out policy priorities at the state and federal levels in hopes of making smaller communities better. The summit included representatives from Wisconsin.

Dozens of advocates took part in the 2023 Rural Policy Action Summit. One of them was Heather DuBois Bourenane, executive director of the Wisconsin Public Education Network.

She pointed out that while most of the state's public school students reside in urban areas, the majority of school districts are rural. She said schools across Wisconsin are under-resourced, and the need is definitely felt in smaller districts.

"In some ways," said Bourenane, "it specifically impacts rural schools, which tend to have sparse populations, very high transportation costs and challenges with staffing, finding child care for educators."

She said districts remain handcuffed by a 30-year-old state law that imposes revenue limits. A special legislative committee has been looking at solutions.

Meanwhile, Bourenane said summit attendees found common ground on many issues - including keeping the federal Inflation Reduction Act in place.

Congressional Republicans want to scale it back over opposition to certain climate provisions.

But organizers say public polling indicates rural and small-town voters support the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Wisconsin Farmers Union's Director of Special Projects, Lauren Langworthy - who was also at the summit - said there was discussion about giving these communities more of a voice in carving out solutions as policies such as the new Farm Bill take shape.

"Those things for Wisconsin farmers union members include climate change," said Langworthy. "We also talked a lot about consolidation issues, especially in agriculture, and how that lack of competition is really causing harm to rural communities."

According to the 2022 Midterm Election Voter Poll, 82% of independents from rural areas said they would support a candidate who would be vocal about placing moratoriums on factory farms and corporate monopolies in food and agriculture.




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