“HOUSE SPEAKER RON MARIANO recently announced that he was asking the House Rules Committee to take a look at the rules around “unregistered, or vaguely-affiliated, advocates and coalitions.”
Mariano’s pronouncement created confusion – and some concern – among public policy advocates. But it has also highlighted the complex nature of lobbying on Beacon Hill, with an assortment of coalitions, nonprofits, lobbyists, and members of the public all making their voices heard, under often confusing regulations.”
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“WESTFIELD, Mass., Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses of Baystate Noble Hospital and Baystate Home Health, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, will hold a safe, socially distanced Light Brigade action in downtown Springfield on Wednesday, January 27 calling on Baystate Health to reach fair contracts with the nurses that respect and value the care they have provided patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Noble nurses, along with Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and community supporters, have also delivered a public petition with more than 1,000 signatures urging Baystate Health CEO Dr. Mark Keroack to agree to a fair contract with Noble nurses that values the care they provide and improves and preserves local, quality care. That petition can be seen at bit.ly/supportnoblenursesand media can request a copy of the petition by emailing jmarkman@mnarn.org.”
Read More“The dawn of the new year brought a some good news for Massachusetts workers, with another increase in the minimum wage and, more importantly, the implementation of guaranteed paid family and medical leave.
The changes, negotiated as part of the so-called "grand bargain" in 2018, will certainly bring at least a modest boost to the fortunes of workers across the state struggling with the financial and health challenges brought on by relentless coronavirus pandemic.”
Read More“Some say the minimum wage is not high enough.
‘Sure it was a win, but it’s not enough,’ said Alicia Fleming, co-executive director of Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, said of the wage increase set to eventually reach $15 per hour. ‘People deserve and need so much more.’
Lily Huang, Fleming’s co-director at Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, echoed that sentiment in a recent statement from Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition that gathered signatures to get a $15 minimum wage question on the ballot.
‘While many white-collar workers have spent the pandemic sheltering in their home offices and seeing their savings accounts grow, hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers have spent the past nine months struggling to afford protective equipment, food, and rent while working on the frontlines to keep others safe,’ Huang said.”
Read More“IT’S BEEN A TOUGH YEAR for low-wage workers, who were hit hard by the pandemic – losing jobs and income and facing housing and food insecurity.
But in Massachusetts, changes in state law that go into effect January 1 could bring at least slight relief. The minimum wage is set to rise next year, and the state’s paid family and medical leave program will go into effect as well.”
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“In its annual report, The Boston Foundation (TBF) decided to profile leaders of social justice and public service from across the city.
One of those remarkable leaders profiled was Gloribel Beatriz Rivas, who serves as a legislative aide to Rep Adrian Madaro.
Legislative Aide Gloribel Beatriz Rivas was featured in The Boston Foundation’s annual report celebrating those working for social justice.”
Read More“WORCESTER — Respondents to a recent family survey about the Worcester public schools' switch to remote learning this year reported having trouble structuring their child’s learning time, being stressed by their economic and living conditions, and, in the case of single parents, getting little support for their situation.
But that feedback, in a report released this week by the Worcester Education Justice Alliance, Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, and the Parents Union of Massachusetts, is a snapshot of what local parents were dealing with in the spring, after Worcester’s sudden shift to distance learning with the arrival of the pandemic, and before the schools’ more focused efforts on and larger investments in supporting remote classes this fall.”
Read More“WESTFIELD, Mass., Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses of Baystate Noble Hospital, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have scheduled a safe, socially distanced informational picket on Wednesday, October 21 at 12 p.m. outside the hospital.
Noble nurses, along with Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and community supporters, have also launched a public petition at bit.ly/supportnoblenurses urging Baystate Health CEO Dr. Mark Keroack to agree to a fair contract with Noble nurses that values the care they provide and improves and preserves local, quality care.”
Read More“WESTFIELD, Mass., Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses of Baystate Noble Hospital, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, filed unfair labor practice charges on Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after Baystate Health refused for months to respond to information requests from the nurses about councils, committees, boards and local trustees Baystate claims to rely on for public input when making decisions about hospital services.
Baystate has also refused to provide information to nurses about the impact of the Noble ICU closure in August 2019, data about staffing on the 2N/tele unit that merged last year and information nurses need to fully understand Baystate's proposal to eliminate an important overtime standard.”
Read More“In response to the statewide push to reopen schools for in-person education, the recently formed Coalition to Safely Reopen Schools, has issued its position statement citing a number of issues that need to be addressed to ensure that schools can be reopened without jeopardizing the health and safety of students, staff, or the communities schools serve. As a result of that analysis, the Coalition is calling for a phased approach to reopening, with no in-person learning unless and until those issues are resolved.”
Read More“HOLYOKE — The sound of drivers approvingly honking their horns filled the intersection of Beech and Northampton streets Thursday as protesters held signs with a simple message: “birthing access = racial justice.”
The protest was a response to Holyoke Medical Center’s plans to close its Birthing Center by Oct. 1, despite the fact that the state Department of Public Health has deemed those services essential to the community. The group Coalition for Birthing Care Access organized the demonstration to urge HMC’s leadership to reverse course and keep the Birthing Center open.”
Read More“EASTHAMPTON — When Stephany Marryshow and her family moved into the Treehouse Foundation community in the city in 2005, it was because her mother wanted to provide her four children with the best opportunities possible.
But Marryshow stood on the lawn outside of the building that houses the city’s police station on Saturday afternoon and recounted some of the ways she and her loved ones experienced racism while living in the city: A seventh grade teacher asking her brother if he was in a gang or had ever been shot at, a postman asking her mother if she lived in the ‘projects on Pleasant Street’ and being pulled over, herself, by the police ‘way too many times.’”
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