Paid Time Off MattersA (slow) progress report

The paid time off divide between Microsofties and v- suppliers employees keeps growing

While working toward a third updated version of The Other Microsoft, I just found this article (among many) I had missed 4 months ago about how on June 27, 2017 Microsoft expanded the paid time off for its employees when someone is sick in their families. It's a constant pattern: Microsoft is glorified for giving more to its own employees, an attitude that would be fine if it did not completely ignore the fate of all the other people working for Microsoft via contractors who are left to fight for themselves without benefiting in any way from the fact they are de facto working full time for Microsoft. Kathleen Hogan could not claim she does not know those contractors employees exist and also would like more such benefits: she is the one we reached out to when we claimed Microsoft was a joint employer. At this point we can only see Microsoft's limits to empathy: Microsoft's empathy only goes to their own direct employees. The rest is of no concern to them. Here is Kathleen Hogan's June 27 statement on Linkedin: Families matter, that's why we are announcing Family Caregiver Leave: Family caregiver leave will allows an employee to take up to four weeks of fully paid leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.

How much would paid family leave cost? How much does it cost in California?

Very often the articles about paid family leave do not look at what the cost would be and how it would be financed. Here is an article published in Fortune magazine in 2015 that looks at the costs induced in New Jersey and California that rely of a small deduction on each employee's payroll. In California the cost is estimated at about $30 per year per employee. Less than $3 per month. As we wrote in the previous post the cost of having paid public holidays is significantly higher, between $1 to $2+ per hour but many companies could/can easily afford such a cost considering the billions they make in profits. So, who is going to raise this issue? In general and also pointing specifically at some corporations like we did for Microsoft and it's suppliers. Not that we don't think states and the federal government should not adopt legislation: they should but in the meantime engaging wealthy corporations that ignore the needs of their lowest paid workers could help.

Microsoft and Human Rights: what about starting to promote human rights at home for Microsoft's suppliers employees in the US?

Technology for human rights: UN Human Rights Office announces landmark partnership with Microsoft is the title of the press release distributed today by Microsoft and the UN office (see below). It is widely reproduced in the media that glorify Microsoft's generosity with their yearly $1 million grant to the UN Human Rights office for the next five years. See this post on Geekwire for the joined video presentation. The UN is presently running a campaign Stand up for someone's rights today that starts with this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt:
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."
Eleanor Roosevelt
Driving force behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I completely agree with Eleanor and my first reaction, beyond an automatic thank you note was to think about Microsoft's responsibilities 'in small places close to home' like toward the thousands of people they employ via vendors in the US, especially in Redmond and Bellevue. I was one of them for several years when we had zero paid time leave despite the fact paid leave is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (articles 24 and 25.2) and the other conventions Microsoft claims it intends to implement like the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights of 1966/1976. Articles 7d and 10.2 state: 

(the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to)

(7.d ) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays

10.2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after childbirth. During such period working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security benefits.

Are those rights asserted 50 years ago implemented today by Microsoft for it's suppliers employees in the US? Two years ago, on March 26, 2015, Brad smith announced a requirement that should provide 'at least 15 days of paid time off' for those employees. That was certainly a step into the right direction but it fell short of what the UN covenants demand: there is no mention of paid public holidays nor any mention of paid parental leave, specific paid leaves that should be provided on top of the basic 'at least 15 days of paid time off'. As Microsoft reasserts publicly its commitment to human rights and how big data technology can help, I want to use this opportunity to challenge Microsoft to follow Eleanor Roosevelt's recommendation: survey all your supplier's employees to check the type of paid leaves they provide, especially paid holidays and paid parental leave. Also ask the employees how they feel and what their wishes would be. Last but not least, estimate how much fully providing for those paid leaves would cost and how it could be quickly implemented. Who am I to dare making such a request? A former so called 'temporary worker' ready, as the UN invites us, to stand up for someone's rights today. By the way, providing all the 'temps' with 10 paid public holidays would represent a yearly investment of at least $50 million. A bit more than the $1 million Microsoft is going to give to the UN Office for Human Rights. That would be a real commitment, right here, in the US but that would still do nothing specific for all the families with a new child.

A second team focusing on promoting paid leave: Pay+Leave - They protest the new policy offered by Starbucks that does not include dads

We just discovered the existence of Pay+Leave. See their strategy and their campaign targeting Starbucks. Starbucks announced improved paid parental leave but apparently left out many employees. A story reminiscent of what happened at Netflix a while ago. Anybody with Starbucks stock? Sign the petition started on change.org to ask Starbucks to include dads.

Chuck Collins about "Rule changes that raise the floor". Where does Microsoft stand?

In his book 99 to 1 Chuck Collins writes (page 98): "Policies that raise the floor reduce poverty and establish a fundamental minimum standard of decency that no one will fall below...One third of people in the United States have no paid sick days and one half have no paid vacation days. Everyone deserve the right to take (paid) time off when sick and have a few weeks of (paid) vacation each year. In the rest of the developed world, these are considered basic human rights."

As we have seen those paid leaves are incorporated in various UN human rights documents that Microsoft claimed it is committed to implement.

 

Must Read: The Shareholder Action Guide, by Andrew Behar

Available on Amazon. Andrew Behar is CEO of As You Sow. 

"Founded in 1992, As You Sow promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. Our efforts create large-scale systemic change by establishing sustainable and equitable corporate practices.

As You Sow was founded on the belief that many environmental and human rights issues can be resolved by increased corporate responsibility. As investor representatives, we communicate directly with corporate executives to collaboratively develop and implement business models that reduce risk, benefit brand reputation, and protect long term shareholder value while simultaneously bringing about positive change for the environment and human rights."

Microsoft's Corporate Social Responsibility Report for 2016: What's to be done?

On October 18, 2016, Microsoft published it's 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. We did not see any public article or comment about it. We think it is an important document as it reiterates Microsoft stated commitment to respect human rights as they are detailed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the covenants listed below. As you can see this commitment  also clearly includes Microsoft's suppliers employees. Unfortunately, as we had noticed one year ago, Microsoft remains in breach of several clauses of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted 50 years ago.

What's to be done to incite Microsoft to implement it's commitment so that it's suppliers employees get paid public holidays on top of the present minimal standard of 15 days of 'paid time off' and specific paid parental leave? We think shareholder activism is presently the best way to raise the issue with Microsoft's leadership.

The road to shareholder activism

While we are contemplating again how to activate a shareholder activism campaign toward Microsoft it's worth looking at a few documents that should inspire us. Below is the text sent by Josh Zinner, CEO of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, right after Donald Trump's victory. 

On NPR: On Your Mark Give Birth Go Back To Work

In the NPR program All Things Considered, this all too frequent story about the lack of paid parental leave in the US . Who is going to speak up for Microsoft's supplier's employees so that they get the same paid parental benefits as Microsoft's direct employees? What about progressive shareholders? Are there any? They could influence policy changes in many companies (including Microsoft and tis suppliers) while impatiently waiting for the legislative changes that would emulate laws that exist in all other countries.

Asking for a 9 months waiting period before starting accruing Paid Time Off violates the terms of the International Convention concerning Annual Holidays with Pay

The Convention concerning Annual Holidays with Pay (C132 adopted in 1970) states in its Article 5:

1. A minimum period of service may be required for entitlement to any annual holiday with pay.
2. The length of any such qualifying period shall be detertmined by the competent authority or through the appropriate machinery in the country concerned but shall not exceed six months.

A look at paid parental leave

The site Early Childhood Education Degrees asked us to share this info-graphics about paid parental leave with our readers. It enumerates the many reasons why paid parental leave is so important. That's why we are determined to have shareholders mobilized to require companies (like Microsoft and all its suppliers) provide paid parental leave to all their employees. Contact us  at temporaryworkersofamerica at gmail.com if you are a Microsoft shareholder and you want to support our initiative.