It has been a newsworthy summer so far for the Gilroy Chamber of
Commerce. Two weeks ago, the Chamber voted against endorsing Simon
Salinas, as recommended by a majority of the Government Review
Committee.
It has been a newsworthy summer so far for the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce. Two weeks ago, the Chamber voted against endorsing Simon Salinas, as recommended by a majority of the Government Review Committee.
I was surprised that the Chamber didn’t vote to support the Republican candidate, which leads me to guess that Bob Perkins is no Jane Howard.
Chamber Executive Board president Tim Day believes that Simon Salinas was anti-business in support of a state Senate bill that requires large employers to provide health insurance for their employees. Director of the Chamber Susan Valenta thinks Salinas should not have voted to back a Senate bill that will allow workers to sue their employers for labor code violation penalties. This story is troubling to me, and not because the Chamber doesn’t endorse the candidate I support.
Therefore it is not surprising that the Director of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce is voicing concern about the new family leave act.
Susan Valenta is a strong advocate for the business community in Gilroy. But again, I am a little confused about any opposition to the law that might come from our local business leaders. I’ve come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t make a very good business owner.
If I were a small business owner and one of my few employees needed to take six weeks of paid leave in order to care for a dying spouse or a seriously ill child, I wouldn’t hesitate to accommodate them during this critical time. I have empathy for people who will need to use the benefits of this law, because I have a spouse and children and family.
Is it conceivable that some people will abuse the new law? Of course, we can almost bank on it.
There have always been people who abuse laws, but the vast majority of people who will take this paid leave are people who find themselves in a heartbreaking or life-changing situation.
If you have a chronically ill parent who you must care for while they are dying, you can now take the time to be able to provide for them. Talk of abuse is premature, and frankly, I don’t believe it will be as widespread as some would like to predict.
It fascinates me that I’ve read that a woman can take up to six weeks paid leave to care for a newborn “even if she has only worked one day.” Having given birth, I can assure employers that a woman about to give birth is fairly obviously pregnant. Who hires a woman to start working the day before she gives birth? That’s right, no one does, but it sure has the making of a good urban legend to say “she started work on Tuesday and on Wednesday she started her six weeks of paid time off.”
I am pro-business, but I guess I look at business differently than most local Chamber members.
Businesses are human entities. Some of the most admired businesses in this country are those which balance the rights of the employer and the employee. These companies are ones who set the trends which eventually trickle down to the rest of us, such as mental health benefits, family leave, adoption benefits, etc. …
Many Gilroy residents just participated in a highly successful “Relay for Life.”
Our local businesses are big supporters of the Relay. Among the many participants were cancer survivors and family members of those lost to cancer. I find it hard to believe that these same local employers would oppose the very law which will allow a spouse to take time off to care for a dying or surviving spouse. I find it hard to believe that anyone in the Chamber would wish that these cancer patients be denied coverage by the large employer who employs the patient’s spouse or parent. I find it hard to believe that most people in Gilroy would oppose the right of their neighbor or their child to sue a former employer over labor code violations.
At the end of the day, I believe that these local employers may ultimately choose to do the right thing by their employees, while they don’t want the right thing to be mandated by the state. And here is where we part ways. I believe the government must require businesses to comply with laws meant to protect employees.
The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce finds these laws threatening. I believe that the actions of the Chamber show them to be compassionate people, while the public voice of the Chamber seems to be out of step with the heart of Gilroy.
