• A heated debate about Milwaukee's proposed sick leave ordinance took place at Mike Gousha's "On the Issues" Tuesday
• A Milwaukee County circuit judge granted a temporary injunction against the ordinance, which was set to go into effect Tuesday
• 9to5 said the ordinance helps public and economic health, families and education
• MMAC said the ordinance conflicts with existing state laws

More than 100 people packed into standing-room-only Sensenbrenner Hall Tuesday for a heated debate about Milwaukee's pending paid sick leave ordinance.

The proposed ordinance would require private-sector employers to provide paid sick leave to all full-time, part-time and temporary employees. Workers would earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, earning up to nine days for large companies and five days for smaller businesses.

Representing the for and against sides of the ordinance at Mike Gousha's "On the Issues" were Ellen Bravo, former executive director of 9to5 — the National Association of Working Women — and Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

The ordinance, approved by Milwaukee voters in November, was supposed to go into effect Tuesday. But a Milwaukee County circuit judge granted a temporary injunction against it last week.

Sheehy said Milwaukee is not ready for the ordinance.

"It would've put the city in a position it wasn't prepared for," Sheehy said.

Bravo brought up statistics, studies and success stories to help support her position favoring the ordinance. She said not having paid sick leave especially affects families, women and health concerns.

She said sick restaurant and other food industry employees cause a health risk to customers and should not be forced to come into work. She also brought up statistics about how many children missed medical appointments because their parents were at work and thus unable to take them to the doctor.

"Of the 20 richest countries in the world, 19 are for paid sick leave," Bravo said. "We are not."

But Sheehy said Bravo used anecdotal examples to support her stance.

"I wouldn't trade what we have for the economies in those other countries," he said.

Two other cities, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have passed a paid sick leave ordinance. Both sides discussed the San Francisco ordinance.

Sheehy said the Milwaukee provision lacks flexibility, whereas San Francisco has a different economy and a more flexible ordinance.

He said passing the ordinance will drive Milwaukee's larger exporting companies out of the city.

"Our job is to keep Milwaukee competitive in a global market," Sheehy said.

Employers will view the ordinance as an employee benefit, he said. Benefits cost money, so Sheehy said employers might reduce the cost of other benefits in order to maintain balance.

But Bravo said the ordinance benefits the companies and that most businesses wouldn't spend the money it costs to move out.

The ordinance took the direct legislation route by city voters instead of the normal legislation route such as going through the common council.

"We figured, why not have the people decide?" Bravo said. "But now people are saying, 'What happened to my vote?'"

Sheehy touched on the fact that some Milwaukee business owners live outside the city and were not able to vote on the ordinance.

He said the main problem with the ordinance is that it conflicts with existing state laws and the state's governance of wages, which is the reason for the injunction. He said there was no chance that the ordinance would have passed had it taken the normal legislative route.

Both Sheehy and Bravo said they are not concerned much about workers abusing the privilege, but for different reasons.

Sheehy said he was not concerned much about workers abusing it because if they have nine paid sick days, they're going to use them.

Bravo, however, said people will save their sick days and probably won't use all of them. She said it's up to the management to prevent employees from abusing it.

"We are going to prevail," Bravo said.

Bravo and Sheehy did agree that employers need to treat their workers well, and they said they would work together to compromise specific rules and guidelines if the ordinance stands.

Both workers and business owners in the audience voiced their opinions on the matter.

Marta Weber, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee senior, said she attended the debate because she helped in the campaign for the ordinance. UW-Milwaukee is exempt from the ordinance, but Weber said it's great that Marquette students would be affected.

She said students get sick a lot and aren't always able to make it to work. She also said food industry employees shouldn't have to work when sick. She used herself as an example since she works at a coffee shop without paid sick leave.

Anything has the potential for abuse, but the ordinance is needed, Weber said.