Paid Sick Days Superwoman Saves Pizza Workers

It was Sunday afternoon. Denise was in the mood for pizza. She looked on the Internet and found a pizza parlor in San Jose that specialized in vegetarian pizzas. She ordered a pizza topped with mushrooms, bell peppers and onions along with a cup of freshly squeezed lemonade and a small salad.

Thirty minutes later, Denise's meal was delivered to her door. Denise paid for her meal and gave the worker a generous tip. When Denise opened the pizza's box, she found a note.

We are very lucky that we have paid sick days. Our owner knows that it's important that we don't come to work sick. However, we are deeply concerned about another pizza parlor. Workers come to work sick all the time because they don't have paid sick days. It's bad for customers and it's bad for business.

We've heard that there is a new superhero in town and her name is Paid Sick Days Superwoman. We want her to attend the workers' meeting at 7 p.m. in Sunnyvale. If you know Paid Sick Days Superwoman, please tell her about the meeting.

Denise looked at her watch. It was 5:30 p.m. There was ample time to eat her dinner and go to the meeting. Denise savored her meal. It was delicious.

Denise went into her bedroom's closet and pulled out her paid sick days costume. She put on her purple t-shirt that had Paid Sick Days Superwoman embalmed on it and a pair of purple leggings. Denise then put on wire-brimmed glasses and an auburn wig that she had recently bought. Now, she was ready for action.

It was 6:30 p.m. Denise left her apartment in downtown San Jose and drove to the workers' meeting in Sunnyvale. She parked her car and walked to the pizza parlor.

When she arrived, she was greeted by loud cheers.

"Oh my goodness, it's Paid Sick Days Superwoman," said one of the workers.

"We are so glad that you came," said another worker.

"I'm glad to be here," said Denise. "How can I help you?"

A worker walked up to Denise with a handwritten note. "I'm with a group of workers who work for the pizza parlor in Sunnyvale. We understand that our brothers and sisters in San Jose have paid sick days. However, they work for a different owner. Our owner won't give us paid sick days. We've tried writing a petition but we can't figure out the right words. We heard that you're an excellent writer. We're hoping that you could write the petition for us."

"Just tell me what you want," said Denise. "And I'll write it."

Denise heard comments from different workers. She took down the comments on a yellow notepad. After the workers were done speaking, Denise began writing the text for the petition. Within twenty minutes, she was done.

Denise read the petition to the workers. They all cheered. Denise asked the workers to sign the petition and they all did.

One worker walked up to Denise and said, "Paid Sick Days Superwoman, thank you for your help. The owner is in her office. We've asked her to come out and meet with us. She'll be here in a couple of minutes."

"That's great," said Denise.

When the owner came out into the room, one of the workers handed her the petition. The owner quickly read it. She then looked at Paid Sick Days Superwoman.

"I'm a former law school professor. Your petition is extremely well written. Your arguments are succinct. This is probably the best petition that I've ever read," said the owner.

Denise smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."

"You're welcome. After reading your petition, I've decided that I will enact a policy that provides all my workers with paid sick days. This policy is effective today."

The workers cheered. In unison, they said, "Paid Sick Days Superwoman is our hero."

"Thank you," said Denise.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" asked one of the workers.

"Yes, please sign the petition for paid sick days for California workers. And tell your friends and family about the petition.

"We will do that," the workers replied in unison.