Raleigh NC – Take Action: Paid sick days hearing in Senate Commerce TOMORROW

Take Action: Paid sick days hearing in Senate Commerce TOMORROW

Take Action!

This swine flu outbreak is scary and there are now 23 confirmed cases of the virus in North Carolina.  Doctors and public health officials are warning us to stay at home if we’re sick.  But what’s even scarier is how many NC workers won’t be able to follow the doctor’s orders.

That’s because nearly half of North Carolinians lack paid sick days. They prepare and serve our food, look after our children, and care for the sick and elderly. When they have to work sick, their germs become our germs — and that’s not healthy for anyone.

Paid sick days are especially crucial for working families in this time of economic uncertainty.  Most workers just simply can’t afford to risk a day’s pay or even a job to stay home and get better or care for a sick family member.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 8) the Healthy Families and Healthy Workplaces Act (SB 534) will be heard in the Senate Commerce Committee.  The business industry lobby has been hard at work to slam this basic labor standard.  Senators in the Commerce Committee need to hear from supporters of paid sick days.  Contact your Senator and tell them to support paid sick days as a basic workplace standard for all North Carolinians.

NC JUSTICE CENTER
224 S. Dawson St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
www.ncjustice.org

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New York – Assistant principal is 1st NYC swine flu death

A school assistant principal who was sick for several days with swine flu on Sunday became the city’s first death linked to the virus and the nation’s sixth.

Mitchell Wiener, who worked at an intermediate school in Queens, died Sunday evening, Flushing Hospital Medical Center spokesman Andrew Rubin said. (Yahoo News)

Craven County NC – Swine flu closes school in Craven

An 18-wheeler with state trooper escorts rolled into Wilson County Monday afternoon with the county’s share of the strategic national stockpile to fight the H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu.
The county received protective equipment such as masks, gowns and gloves, as well as anti-viral medications Tamiflu and Relenza.

For security purposes, health officials won’t say who received the supplies or where they are being kept, but the supplies are in the county and secured. (Wilson Times)

North Carolina – Swine flu outbreak safety kit and flyer

Every household should pack an

Emergency Kit

All families should have some basic supplies on
hand in order to survive for 1-2 weeks if an
emergency occurs. An emergency could be a
flood, a pandemic flu, or any disaster. Your kit
should include:
• Copies of your important documents in a
waterproof container/freezer bag (insurance
cards, credit card and bank account
numbers, birth certificates, immunization
records, drivers licenses)
• Extra set of car and house keys
• Credit and ATM cards and cash including some quarters
• Bottled water –1 gallon per person per day
• One to two week supply of non-perishable food (canned food, granola bars, nuts,
peanut butter, crackers, dried fruit, dry cereal) a manual can opener, paper plates,
plastic utensils, paper towels
• Flashlight, battery-operated AM/FM radio and extra batteries, non-cordless phone
• Any prescription or over-the-counter medication your family needs—check this
when you check smoke detectors—when time changes twice a year—so you can
refill or replace before these expire.
• Kleenex, cold/flu medication, anti-diarrheal medication, ibuprofen or
acetaminophen (items that you would need at home for flu symptoms)
• First-aid kit, hand sanitizers, a whistle to signal for help
• Basic personal hygiene items such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, menstrual
supplies, toothbrushes/toothpaste
• Matches in waterproof bag
• Change of clothing/good walking shoes
• Blanket for each person
• Contact and meeting place information for your household, a small regional map
and emergency numbers
• Copies of health insurance and identification cards
• Child care supplies, infant formula, diapers or other special care items
• Other essential personal items—pet care, pet immunization records?
Provided by Nash County Health Department