For more than a year, President Obama has been calling on Congress to pass legislation to guarantee all workers can take time off when they're sick.

Since our legislators show no signs of moving forward with that, Spokane, Washington is refusing to wait any longer. Last week, that city broke in the New Year by passing their own sick-leave legislation.

The new measure will require small businesses to give workers the chance to earn three paid days off every year, and employees at larger businesses will be able to earn five. Although that may not seem like much, a few days can make a world of difference to someone who can't afford to stay home without pay when they're not well.

With the addition of Spokane's new law, there are now 28 cities in our nation that guarantee paid sick time, but that leaves a long, long way to go.

We are the only developed nation that doesn't give all workers the right to stay home when they're sick. Call Congress today and tell them to take a cue from Spokane and end this embarrassing statistic once and for all.

-Thom

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... This Mom's Race To Legalize Marijuana (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

The Daily Stack

Article: "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day" by Wikipedia.

Video: NBC News-YouTube Democratic Debate (Full).

Speech: "I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Speech: "Beyond Vietnam" by Martin Luther King Jr., 4 April 1967.

Article: "What Would Martin Think" by R. Kenyatta.

Article: "Obama's approval rating grows following memorable week" by Jennifer Agiesta.

Article: "Bradley Birkenfeld" by Wikipedia (UBS whistleblower).

Tweets: "" by Alvaro Bedoya.

Article: "MLK’s speech attracted FBI’s intense attention " by Tony Capaccio.

Video: Bernie Sanders Confronts Alan Greenspan, 2003.

Article: "Fairness Doctrine" by Wikipedia.

Article: "3 winners and 2 losers from Sunday night's Democratic presidential debate" by Dylan Matthews.

Article: "Gillibrand bill revamps family medical leave" by Ramsey Cox, January 24, 2014.

Law: "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (2020).

Tweet: "Lester asks if Hillary will take advice from her husband. It seems like a sexist cheap shot." by Thom Hartmann.

Tweet: "Thank You Hillary!!!!!!!! Flint Thanks You!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only You Mentioned It!!!! And U Spoke The Truth! Biggest Applause Of The Night!" by Michael Moore.

Tweet: "And yes, thank you Bernie. Yesterday you became the first presidential candidate to demand the Governor's resignation." by Michael Moore.

Article: "Bernie Sanders calls on Gov. Rick Snyder to resign over Flint water crisis" by Roberto Acosta.

Site: Tim Canova For Congress (FL-23).

Speech: "1964 MLK Speech on Civil Rights, Segregation & Apartheid South Africa", London, December 7, 1964.

Article: "Susan Sarandon Endorses Bernie Sanders" by UglyGreed.

Article: "Donald Trump takes Liberty, courts Christian crowd" by Jeremy Diamond.

Article: "The Destruction of Progressive Wisconsin" by Dan Kaufman.

Article: "How much would Bernie Sanders’ health care plan cost the middle class?" by Linda Qiu.

Article: "Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement" (TPP) by EFF.

Law: "Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act", 1993 (Brady Bill).

Site: Hunter School

Article: "Medicare for All: Leaving No One Behind" by Bernie Sanders.

Article: "Medicare for All" (pdf) by Bernie Sanders.

Article: "The One Weird Trait That Predicts Whether You’re a Trump Supporter" by Matthew Macwilliams.

Article: "Oxfam says wealth of richest 1% equal to other 99%" by BBC.

Speech: Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech - Oslo, December 10, 1964 by Martin Luther King Jr.

Article: "Martin Luther King Was a Democratic Socialist" by Peter Dreier.

Article: "Banks look to retain junior talent by boosting bonuses" by Laura Noonan and Alistair Gray.

Article: "Flint Sends Overdue Notices to Residents Who Aren’t Paying for Their Water, Which Is Poison" by Ben Mathis-Lilley.

Article: "Trump, you just got owned by a hardware store!" by kpete.

Article: "Parents of Daughter Killed by Mass Shooter Hit with $203,000 Fine for Lawsuit Against Ammo Company" by Lawrence Bonk.

Article: "U.S. Federal Individual Income Tax Rates History, 1862-2013 (Nominal and Inflation-Adjusted Brackets)" by Tax Foundation.

Article: "FactChecking the Fourth Democratic Debate" by FactCheck.org.

Article: "Thomas Piketty Ran The Numbers On Income Inequality. Here’s What He Found" by Bryce Covert.

Article: "Anaheim School Board Calls for Statewide Moratorium on Charter Schools" by Anaheim Union High School Board.

Article: "Under-the-Radar Supreme Court Case Poses Profound Threat to Unions Nationwide" by Sarah Lazare.

Article: "The First City To Guarantee Paid Sick Leave In 2016" by Bryce Covert.

Article: "Private Probation Companies Have Created A Two-Tiered Justice System. This Congressman Is Fighting Back" by Bryce Covert.

Do you have all the info you need to vote for @BernieSanders? Find it here.

Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

I'll be speaking to Mike Lofgren, former congressional staff member who served on both the House and Senate budget committees, author of The Party is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted and The Deep State

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Please support the Hunter School, a unique therapeutic boarding school for young children diagnosed with ADHD, Anxiety, Sensory, Mood and related conditions...

Should Bernie Sanders attack Hillary Clinton?

Vote here!

Single Payer Showdown P1 - The Cost Of Single Payer Health Care

Single Payer Showdown P2 - Single-Payer Is More Business-Friendly

Rumble - GOP Talked How Wonderful To Be Rich In America

Rumble - Another Superficial GOP Debate

Full Show 1/15/16: Trump More than Doubles National Lead

Tonight’s Rumble dissects last night’s superficial Republican presidential debate with Redacted Tonight host Lee Camp, The Objective Citizen’s Hughey Newsome, and The Daily Caller’s Scott Greer. And tonight’s special health care panel looks at the differences between Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s health care plans with Physicians For a National Health Program’s Dr. Robert Zarr, Healthcare Now-Maryland’s Dr. Eric Naumburg, and Public Citizen’s Vijay Das.

Thom Hartmann on Economic & Labor News: 1/18/16

Burger King Workers in Denmark Make $20 an Hour!

How Corporate CEOs are Feeding the Market Bubble...

WARNING! Scary Economic Times Ahead...

Update on Benghazi Committee Ethics Complaint...

Representative Alan Grayson Joins Thom Hartmann

Republican Debate: Fear, Fear and Tariffs...