Lucila Lozoya is a child care worker and mother of three. When there was a COVID surge at her workplace, her boss did not have the best response, she said, which caused more positive cases.
“During this time, our employer never gave us federal paid sick leave, making decisions about our health and feeding my family even more difficult,” she said. “Finally, I decided not to go back to work because of the multiple cases there.”
She needed the time off to get surgery to treat her cancer.
“Never in my life had I gone through such difficult and extreme financial situations,” Lozoya said. “We almost lost everything.”
The experience made Lozoya realize that paid sick leave is a human right.
“I am very proud of being part of the essential workers that have been at the front of this pandemic and that we continue organizing to improve our working conditions,” Lozoya said.
She is also community leader with El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos.
She said Burqueño families have been fighting to get paid sick leave since 2015. The pandemic impacted many low-income, working families like hers, Lozoya said, especially when it came to health and financial stability.
Lozoya was speaking at a virtual news conference celebrating New Mexico’s statewide sick leave law that applies to all private employers called the Healthy Workplaces Act, which went into effect Friday.
She was joined by other workers, organizers and state lawmakers including Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) who carried the...
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