Steckloff: I Was Fired for Running out of FMLA During Cancer Treatment. Now, I’m Fighting Back—for All of Us.

It takes a downright evil person to shame someone for missing work to get cancer treatments. Recently, my opponent’s campaign has been spotted going door-to-door peddling lies about me and my previous employer. The key part he missed? Those absences were to get lifesaving treatment for aggressive breast cancer, and they were only unexcused because I, like so many other cancer patients, ran out of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Wayne State fired me shortly afterward, and I filed a lawsuit against them to advocate for myself and for other people who have been terminated due to health issues.

Politics can be a dirty business and smear campaigns seem to be the new norm. But this is not the worst thing I could go through. I survived cancer. I can survive whatever they have to throw at me.  What's worse is knowing that other people are facing the same battles I did, with the same ineffective policies in place that leave them vulnerable when they need protection the most. Whether you're fighting for your life due to cancer or COVID-19, you shouldn't have to worry about being fired, losing your house, or putting food on the table while your entire existence is on the line. Our workers deserve better.

I never meant for my cancer diagnosis to dominate my campaign, but it has started a conversation that we desperately need to have—especially in the middle of a pandemic. We must stop treating health care as a luxury, and start making it more accessible, affordable, and no longer dependent upon staying with a single employer. For me, losing employer-sponsored health insurance without the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in place would've been devastating. No one wants to cover you when you have cancer, and going without coverage during a life-threatening illness sets you on a path to financial ruin. Getting sick shouldn't put you into poverty. Health care shouldn't be a job perk, it should be a human right. And, as we watch Trump’s administration dismantle the ACA, it’s clear that we're one of the only industrialized countries in the world that just doesn't get it.

In order to have good jobs in our communities, however, we have to understand the perspectives and challenges facing our small businesses, too. COVID-19 has shown us the razor-thin margins that so many of our smaller businesses operate on, and how difficult it is to bounce back once sales have slumped for a long time. It begs the question of why we burden our entrepreneurs and small businesses with providing Americans with health insurance in the first place. I can see why companies don't want to keep insuring someone who's not working due to illness, even if it’s the only ethical thing to do. I also see why, pre-ACA, an estimated 30% of self-employed entrepreneurs went without health insurance. With so much talk about how higher taxes "stifle innovation" and keep people from creating jobs, why aren't we talking about the major expense that can discourage businesses from expanding their staff or paying better wages, or can even sideline people’s entrepreneurial dreams in the first place? 

We can’t wait for the federal government to fix things for us. It’s time for Michigan to create a state-run public health insurance option that improves the affordability and accessibility of care but gives citizens the flexibility they want. When we stop trying to profit off of people’s health, we can streamline costs, increase the number of people served, and make our communities healthier in the long run. We can also give people the freedom to change jobs or start businesses, and attract new residents and employers to our state. It’s a win-win for all of us, and no matter what the skeptics claim, it’s possible. 

Health insurance is just one of the issues I want to tackle in Lansing, though. I’ll work to revamp our economy post-COVID-19 so our small businesses can thrive again and our residents can re-energize their careers. We’ve never seen anything like the impact of this pandemic on our economy, so we’ll need innovative solutions to get us back to normalcy.   We also need to take care of our public schools and make sure they receive our valuable tax dollars instead of private, for-profit institutions. Finally, we need to continue the dialogue that’s happening around justice and equity so all Michiganders, no matter their race, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender identity, etc., feel like they can build the lives they dream of here. 

There are times when you simply can’t deny reality any longer. Receiving a cancer diagnosis is one of them, and throughout my treatment, I saw the reality of both how fragile life is and how ineffective our healthcare systems and worker protections are in actually taking care of people. A pandemic is another, and the past several months have shown us how broken parts our economy, our so-called social safety net, and our sense of community all are. Creating a society that is fairer, more empathetic, and more equitable won’t be easy, but it will absolutely be worth it. I’m ready to lead us forward and fight to make things right, and I’ll start by bringing us back together. I hope you’ll join me.