Kudos to Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava

One common-sense solution to address this community’s affordability crisis is to ensure that all workers could take paid time off to care for their health and the needs of their families.

I commend Miami-Dade County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava for proposing a local law that would do just that. It Her simple proposal would require county service contractors of Miami-Dade County to provide their employees with paid parental, family and sick leave. This proposal would be transformative for the lives of the hundreds of county contractors who provide security, lawn maintenance and food-preparation services on behalf of county residents.

These workers often are placed in the untenable position of choosing to miss a paycheck or going to the doctor to get necessary medical care. For these low-wage workers, missing a paycheck would place them further behind in their quest to improve their families’ economic standing.

The federal government now requires its contractors to provide their employees with paid sick leave. Let’s do the same locally. How we treat our workers reflects who we are and what we value as a community. We value family and the health of our workers.

John T. Smith, pastor,

Community Tabernacle

Church of God in Christ,

Goulds