Sign the petition asking Microsoft to start implementing their paid leave policy for Memorial Day

We just created with Coworker.org' support an on line petition titled "MICROSOFT: Give Memorial Day as paid leave holiday to your supplier's employees."

Take a moment to add your name supporting this demand:
Thousands of people have worked for years for Microsoft via contractors-vendors, without having any paid time off. We think Microsoft's new policy of requiring their suppliers to provide paid time off should be fully implemented as soon as possible.

---

Memorial Day seems a perfect and very symbolic date to start providing paid leave.

We don't see any technical or financial obstacle to do so and it would be a tangible sign that Microsoft takes its commitment seriously and will implement it promptly.

 This upcoming Memorial Day is an opportunity to ask Microsoft to start implementing its commitment to paid leave now instead of we don't know when.

We think it's worth giving it a try. After you've signed the petition, please take a moment to share it with others.

It's easy – all you need to do is forward this message.

Thank you!

Some background info:
March 26 announcement by Brad Smith: Paid Time Off Matters
April 16: CEO Satya Nadella invited at the White House as a 'champion of change'.
May 12: Facebook CEO announces immediate implementation of required paid leave for their supplier's employees
Updated information will be posted on
www.paidtimeoffmatters.com
most recent news

Improved Benefits for Facebook Contractors Employees

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's CEO posted this announcement (below) on FB's blog. You'll notice the similarity with Microsoft's announcement also via the company's blog and with a very similar wording. A few differences still: the $15 minimal wage and $4000 for workers who don't receive parental leave. It's not clear if the minimum 15 days of paid time off includes the 'legal holidays' or if they are added to this package. I wonder if the media compared those benefits to those offered by Facebook to their 'direct' employees. No mention of the eventual 'cost', nor who will pay for it, nor how many people are concerned. Implementation was effective May 1st for some contractors.

---

May 12, 2015

Improved Benefits for Facebook Contractors

By Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer
Today, I am pleased to announce that we are implementing a new set of standards on benefits for contractors and vendors who support Facebook in the US and do a substantial amount of work with us. These benefits include a $15 minimum wage, minimum 15 paid days off for holidays, sick time and vacation, and for those workers who don’t receive paid parental leave, a $4,000 new child benefit for new parents.
This will give both women and men the flexibility to take paid parental leave, an important step for stronger families and healthier children. 
We’ve been working on these changes for some months and had originally planned to announce this last Monday.
Effective May 1, we’ve already put these standards in place for some of our largest support teams at our Menlo Park headquarters. We will be working to implement this program with a broader set of vendors within the year.
This broader group will include workers who do substantial work for Facebook and who are employed by companies based in the US with more than 25 employees supporting Facebook. 
Taking these steps is the right thing to do for our business and our community. Women, because they comprise about two-thirds of minimum wage workers nationally, are particularly affected by wage adjustments. Research also shows that providing adequate benefits contributes to a happier and ultimately more productive workforce. 
We are committed to providing a safe, fair work environment to everyone who helps Facebook connect the world. This is an important step forward in this work for us.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Paid Family Leave (for Mother's Day)

Almost 2 million people have already watched it on YT.

How Bloomberg BusinessWeek Sees Temporary Workers Demands

Read the article here
Photograph by Ryan Duffin for BloombergBusinessweek

Satya Nadella endorses paid leave at the White House event "champions of change"

From the official Microsoft blog. The part about paid leave is at the end.

Brad Smith on GeekWire Radio

On saturday April 11, Brad Smith was interviewed by Todd Bishop and John Cook on GeekWire Radio. We have selected below the 4 minute segment devoted to Microsoft's new requirement that it's suppliers provide at least 15 days of paid leave to their employees.
 LISTEN
GeekWire’s weekly radio show airs on KIRO Radio (97.3 FM) in the Seattle region, and reaches a worldwide audience via podcast.
Brad Smith's photo by GeekWire.

Comparing Paychecks With CEOs

Comparing paychecks with CEOs is the title of an article by Gretchen Morgenson in this sunday edition of the New York Times. It so happens that we asked what was Rory Cowan's (Lionbridge CEO) annual compensation in one of our 'request for information'. The answer provided was $1.522.275 (for the cash compensation). Reading this article published on March 24 in the Boston Business Journal it looks like Rory took home a bit more: $2.89 million. That's $1.36 million more than what we were told.
How much did you make from Lionbridge in 2014? I received a total of $40.810, for a net of $32.618.
If we estimate the maximum aggregated annual income for all 37 Tier 1 employees at the present rate it's less than Rory's annual compensation: $1.248.960 vs $1.522.275 or $2.89 million.
Let us remember that Rory's representatives at the bargaining table have (until now) refused any pay raise (there has never been a pay raise since the start of the project in December 2011) and have also rejected any type of paid leave. We are therefore curious to see how they'll respond to Microsoft's new requirement to provide at least 15 days of paid leave.