Last September Seattle City Council approved a bill requiring businesses with more than five employees to provide paid sick leave. Many of them were already doing so, but the situation has not been good for food workers with low wages. A server would lose pay if he chose to stay home sick or provide care for a family member. Now, how about a side of flu with your pizza? How about the rights of a consumer to come to a restaurant or bar with a certainty that the bartender won't sneeze or cough? According to statistic provided by the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce, 78% of accommodation and food service workers, as well as one in four grocery workers did not have paid sick leave before the law took effect September 1, 2012. Seattle Council member Tim Burgess emphasized that the absence of paid sick days impacts the most vulnerable. Burgess said: "Workers without paid sick leave days are often the individuals living paycheck to paycheck, they simply cannot afford to take a day off when they are sick".
Now the right to be sick at home is protected by the city's ordinance, benefiting everyone. So, it's safe to go to your favorite seafood restaurant and have a side of salad with locally caught salmon. Being a single mother, I am personally relieved that when my children are sick, I will be able to take a day off without losing pay or even my job, no matter where I work. Preventing the spread of disease is the most effective way of curbing it.
The best cure for the flu is cranberry juice that can be easily made out of fresh or frozen berries. Put one pack of berries in a large pot of boiling water, add sugar to taste and boil on low for 5-6 minutes, until the berries pop. Then squeeze the remaining juice out of popped cranberries. Cool down and drink in large quantities. It tastes great and has vitamin C. Children love it. Be well!
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