The United States is now the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t require employers to offer workers paid sick leave for short-term illnesses. While some employers offer their workers sick leave voluntarily, more than 4 in 10 private-sector workers -- and a full eighty-percent of low-income workers -- have zero paid sick days to care for their own health.

A survey conducted by the National Partnership for Women and Families reported that workers without paid sick leave are 1.5 times more likely to go to work with a contagious illness. Shockingly, restaurant workers lack paid sick leave in 90% of cases, forcing those who handle our food to choose between losing a paycheck or passing their colds and flus on to others.

At the Story of Stuff Project we’re interested in promoting sensible economic models that create healthier societies. The lack of paid sick leave in the United States speaks to a larger problem of misplaced priorities among our government representatives. While companies try and squeeze maximum productivity out of workers so they can increase their profits, working people and families wind up straining to make ends meet.

Flu season is fast approaching. Join us this holiday season in calling for all United States workers to be provided with paid sick leave. Improving United States workers’ rights will help prevent the spread of contagious diseases, and also allow working people to take better care of themselves and their families.