Juneteenth added as paid holiday in Lehigh County
Commissioner says it’s symbol of ‘doing the right thing’
Lehigh County employees will get off for June 19 starting next year after county commissioners on Wednesday officially established Juneteenth as a paid holiday to recognize the date Black Americans consider their day of freedom.
“This holiday serves as a huge symbol and it’s extremely important,” Commissioner Zakiya Smalls said.
Said Commissioner Marc Grammes, “It comes down to doing the right thing. We have an opportunity to uplift people. We have to, in my opinion, make things better for individuals.”
The vote to amend the county Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual was 5-3 with commissioners Smalls, Grammes, Geoff Brace, Dave Harrington and board President Amy Zanelli voting yes. Commissioners Percy Dougherty, Bob Elbich and Dan Hartzell cast no votes.
Juneteenth marks the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. While President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, slaves in Galveston, Texas, didn’t find out until June 19, 1865 — two months after the Civil
War ended.
The anniversary date went on to become a day of celebration, marked by family gatherings, prayer and eventually parades and festivals.
In 1980, Texas became the first to recognize it as a paid state holiday. Since then it’s been recognized as an official state holiday or observance in all but three states: Hawaii, North Dakota and South Dakota.
In passing the bill, Lehigh joins a growing group of governmental bodies that are further declaring Juneteenth as a paid employee holiday — a move spurred by protests calling for racial justice following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
New Jersey, New York and Virginia adopted bills making Juneteeth a paid holiday for state employees. Allegheny and Montgomery counties did the same for its employees, with Chester County designating it as a floating holiday.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh also will mark the holiday starting next year.
Pennsylvania’s bill establishing the holiday — signed into law in June 2019 — does not provide for a paid holiday. Gov. Tom Wolf used his executive powers to give 73,400 state employees “a special paid holiday” this past June 19.
Currently, Lehigh’s 2,030 employees get 11 holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In voting no, Dougherty cited the $488,500 in “lost work” for closing the county for a day and the $150,000 it would cost in overtime for employees who can’t take off because of the nature of their duties.
He also worried about requests for more holidays.
“I hate to be the naysayer, but I think we are opening up the door to Latino holidays and even St. Paddy’s Day to Irish Americans,” he said.
Further, he noted that Cedarbrook employees get Flag Day off as a trade for the Friday after Thanksgiving. Having June 14 and 19 off would be a strain.
Hartzell said he originally supported the designation but has since changed his mind. Among his reasons, is giving employees 12 days off in a year.
“It’s more than generous,” he said.
Elbich said the $150,000 in overtime could be better spent giving money to needy children to further their education.
But supporters said the county’s no-tax-hike budget can absorb the overtime cost and the county needs to be a leader on the holiday.
“This is an opportunity for us to acknowledge a holiday that exists that is important to so many people,” Harrington said. “It’s time folks come to terms with the history of our country … to understand there are important dates out there that might not be as well-known as others.”