The Massachusetts AFL-CIO this week released a preliminary list of endorsed
candidates and issues for the 2000 elections. Affiliated locals are asked to
use these endorsements as a guide when making individual union endorsements.
The major priority of the state federation is to defeat the Cellucci-Swift
tax cut and the so-called "Free the Pike" initiative, both of which are
fiscally irresponsible proposals that will put jobs and essential services
at stake.
At the legislative level, the state labor movement has a great opportunity
to increase the number of labor-friendly officials holding seats in the
state House of Representatives. Again, affiliated locals are urged to
support the strong group of candidates on the endorsement list and work to
help these candidates to secure open seats or to unseat incumbents.
Also, the state AFL-CIO will play an active role in the re-election campaign
of labor's champion, Sen. Ted Kennedy. While his seat looks safe at this
juncture, it is important that all labor activists be prepared to take
action should the need arise this fall.
If you have not received a copy of the state AFL-CIO's endorsement list and
would like one, please contact FayeRuth Fisher @ 617-227-8260 x 11 or email
her at ffisher@massaflcio.org.
HELP MASSACHUSETTS BE THE FIRST STATE WITH A PAID FAMILY LEAVE LAW
Our elected legislators have an opportunity to make Massachusetts the first
state in the nation to pass paid family leave legislation, allowing working
parents to collect unemployment benefits for 12 weeks after the birth of a
newborn or the adoption of a new child.
Time, however, is of the essence. With less than a month left in the
legislative session, we need to call on every state representative and
senator and ask for support for An Act to Provide Unemployment benefits for
Family and Medical Leave Recall (S61/H1890), commonly referred to as the
"Baby UI" bill.
If you haven't yet, please pick up the phone and call your state senator and
representative and urge him or her to pass this important legislation. If
you don't know who your representative is and you have access to a computer,
go to www.state.ma.us/sec/ele and enter your address and zip code. Please
call today - It will make all the difference for working families!
HELP PASS OF THE DOMESTIC PARTNERS HEALTH BENEFITS BILL (S2048)
Municipal employees in Brookline, Cambridge, Northampton and Springfield
need your help! These employees currently have access to health insurance
for their domestic partners and children. Because of a recent court ruling,
unionized employees could lose these health benefits unless S2048 passes in
the House. Employees in Boston have already lost their benefits as a result
of this ruling. S2048 allows municipalities and requires the state to offer
health insurance benefits to employees' domestic partners, both gay and
straight.
Please call your representative today and tell them we want a vote on the
Domestic Partners Health Benefits bill this year. No worker or family should
lose health insurance benefits. Vote yes on S2048! For more info, contact
Carolyn Federoff @ (617) 565-5411.
SEIU LOCAL 509 WINS AT UMASS LOWELL: Grant and contract-funded employees,
both professional and non-professional. at UMass Lowell voted 54 to 30 to
join SEIU Local 509 on June 22. Congrats!
EVENTS/HAPPENINGS:
COMMUNITY FORUM ON CONTRACT STRUGGLE AT WINGATE AT WILBRAHAM: 7 p.m.,
Thursday, July 6 at St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, 7 Maple St.,
Wilbraham. Update on contract struggle, which has continued for well over a
year, at Wingate nursing home, owned by Democratic fund-raiser Gerald
Schuster. For more info, contact Rev. Robert Stuart, Wilbraham United
Church @ (413) 596-2511. Father Joseph Soranno, St. Cecilia Roman Catholic
Church @ (413) 596-4232 or Jim Gander, SEIU Local 285 @ (413) 586-7886.
INFORMATIONAL PICKET FOR A FAIR CONTRACT: 12 - 3 p.m., Friday, July 7 At the
Peter Pan Bus Terminal, 1776 Main Street, Springfield. Show your support for
the Peter Pan bus drivers and mechanics, members of Amalgamated Transit
Union Local 1512, who have been negotiating with the company for six months
without success. If you can't attend the rally, please call Peter Pan Bus
Lines and voice your support @ (413) 781-7970.
JOBS WITH JUSTICE NATIONAL CONFERENCE: July 20-23 at UMass Dartmouth. JWJ
annual meeting to focus on myriad topics including the right to organize,
community and global campaigns for economic justice, living wage campaigns,
workers' rights boards, anti-sweatshop campaigns and immigrant rights. For
more info, call 617-524-8778.
RELIGION AND LABOR PRE-CONFERENCE @ THE JWJ NATIONAL CONFERENCE: 9:30
a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Friday, July 21 at UMass Dartmouth. Organizers, activists,
clergy, and community leaders will join rank and file members at workshops
around how unions can benefit from the support of religious communities, and
how religious communities can grow through their work for economic justice.
For more info, contact Tom Levinson, Jewish Labor Committee @ (617)
510-4270, or email him @ levinson@mailcity.com.
MASS AFL-CIO COPE FUNDRAISER: 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 14 aboard
the M/V Provincetown II, docked at the World Trade Center. Tickets are $125
each or $500 for five. PAC money and general treasury money are both
permissible. (Please note that state campaign finance laws limit PAC
contributions to $500.) For more info, contact Rich Rogers @ (617) 227-8260.
Can we email you the Weekly Labor Reader? If you have an email address and
would like this correspondence emailed instead of faxed, please send your
email address to dcamara@massaflcio.org. We are in the process of expanding
our email address lists.