VOTER BALLOTS reflect voters’ positive attitudes toward paid sick days policy according to a recent study by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.  The NORCstudy shows that 75% of the public supports guaranteeing workers a minimum number of paid sick days.  The study also shows that over 3 times as many voters are likely to support a candidate who is in favor of paid sick days legislation than not.

Held on Thursday, State House – Coalition members lead by moms and kids from MomsRising will meet at the Grand Staircase to deliver stories from moms across the Commonwealth who desperately need paid sick days before the school year begins.

The advocates cheered as Governor Patrick signed the Neighborhood Stabilization Bill at the site of a Brockton home newly renovated by local affordable housing group.

Congratulations to all who worked hard on this bill.  Great strides for tenants; new education on reverse mortgages; increased time for workouts.

An act to update and streamline the  State Employment Agencies is in Senate Ways and Means

Action Required: Please call Senator Panagioutakos, 617-722-1630 and urge that the bill be released for debate in the Senate.

Background: The Commonwealth’s Employment Agency (EA) Law (G.L. c. 140, §§ 46A-R) currently leaves large gaps in coverage and protection, and has different requirements for similar businesses.  Depending on whether an agency works to place employees in permanent or temporary positions, or whether agency fees or charges are paid by the job applicant or the employer client, licensing, record keeping, and other requirements vary greatly.  At the same time, Massachusetts workers employed by certain temp agencies are being denied their basic rights.  The new EA Law will streamline provisions that burdened the industry, place all employment and staffing agencies on a level playing field, simplify requirements imposed by the Division of Occupational Safety (DOS), and incorporate the protections of the Temporary Worker Right to Know bill which carried the same bill numbers, S. 680.

For Workers: The bill provides much-needed protection for workers in temporary jobs.  Since many temporary jobs are low-wage and characterized by high turnover, these workers constitute some of the most vulnerable members of the workforce. Frequently, workers are sent off not knowing where they are going, what they are doing, who they are working for, what they will be getting paid, or anything much more than a nickname for a contact person.  Only after they begin working, do they discover charges for transportation, meals, or necessary safety equipment.

Incorporating the Temporary Worker Right to Know legislation, the new law will require agencies to provide written notice of key details of job assignments- the name of the agency, the work site employer, the type of work to be done, disclosure of who the employer is, wages, and the details and costs of transportation, equipment, and meals provided by the worksite employer. It also requires disclosure of how to reach DOS, the right to workers’ compensation, a copy of the contract to be given to the applicant, as well as a receipt for any charges paid by the applicant.

For Businesses: Currently, employment agencies that charge fees to applicants must go through a full licensing process.  Other agencies, doing essentially the same business, are exempt from the licensing requirement and   must simply register to operate.  Under the new EA Law, all employment and staffing agencies will be subject to the same process, a less burdensome registration process.  Employment agencies will no longer go through a hearing process before starting their business, nor will they be required to submit their forms and/or contracts to DOS for prior approval.  The new EA law will also make it easier for businesses to transfer their registrations, by eliminating the need for pre-approval of transfer and allowing a simple registration.  The law will provide clearer definitions of key terms, enabling businesses to better understand their rights and responsibilities.  Additionally, the new EA law will simplify record keeping requirements.

For the Commonwealth: Required annual registration fees from all employment agencies will remain in place.  Additionally, a streamlined and simplified registration and enforcement process will ease the burden on DOS by eliminating the cost of unnecessary hearings and inspections allowing DOS to focus on those agencies that attempt to circumvent the law.

For further information, please contact: Tim Sullivan, Mass. AFL-CIO, 781/324-8250; Isabel Lopez, MassCOSH, 617/825-7233; Yessenia Alfaro, Chelsea Collaborative, 617/259-6659; or Sherley Cruz or Monica Halas, Greater Boston Legal Services, 617/603-1533 or 617/603-1666..

For 100 years, Massachusetts has had a special relationship with the Savings Bank Life Insurance company so that basic life insurance policies were available to people of all income levels.   That special relationship is no longer regulated under this new statute which has been signed by the Lieutenant Governor  (acting on behalf of the Governor while the Governor was out of state).

The final bill not only wipes out the “gender neutrality” requirements that have been characteristic for over twenty years, but wipes out the requirement that the company fulfill  “special responsibilities,” such as the regulations that guarantee that the company provide low amount life insurance policies.  (The Governor’s Office says the company has promised to continue offering these same policies; JALSA and other organizations will monitor.)
Notwithstanding the special responsibilities,  this company has enjoyed great profits for the sale of this insurance in Massachusetts.

We thank the many individuals and organizations that worked to the last moment urging the Governor’s staff to recommend a veto.  Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful.   As on many other occasions, equity for women was sacrificed for other goals.

Read  our letter to the Governor.

This no-cost proposal will help save resources by preventing the public safety hazards that surround foreclosed properties, stabilizing property values, and preventing the housing instability that unnecessary evictions cause.

Foreclosures are devastating our communities in Massachusetts – The Federal Reserve reports that more than 33,300 Massachusetts homeowners are delinquent on their home loans due to a combination of high unemployment, negative property equity, (where the homeowner owes more than the value of the home) and risky lending.  As of February, 2010, an additional 30,700 Massachusetts homes were already bank-owned or in the foreclosure process.
The Warren Group, an independent publisher of real estate data, said there were 1,283 foreclosure deeds filed in Massachusetts last month, up nearly 120 percent from the previous year. Through the first five months of 2010, the number of completed foreclosures was nearly double last year’s pace.
A Foreclosure Bill (H. 4595) is in the House Ways and Means Committeethat will help tenants and homeowners. It has already passed the Senate unanimously. This no-cost proposal will help save resources by preventing the public safety hazards that surround foreclosed properties, stabilizing property values, and preventing the housing instability that unnecessary evictions cause. The Bill does the following: 1)      Provides eviction protections to tenants in foreclosed properties who are in good standing and continue to pay rent. 2) Establishes a framework for negotiations between lenders and homeowners to work together to create a mutually-acceptable loan modification. Participating in loan modification negotiations would be voluntary but lenders that do not participate will have to wait 150 days to foreclose on the property (up from current 90 day right to cure).  This provision sunsets in 2016. 3)  Creates an abandoned and foreclosed property registry to track distressed properties. 4) Encourages redevelopment of foreclosed properties by providing a local option to exclude nonprofits from property taxes during the term that the nonprofit rehabilitates the home and converts it into affordable housing. 5)  Criminalizes mortgage fraud. 6)  Requires counseling in order to receive a reverse mortgage.  A reverse mortgage is where a senior homeowner receives a loan on their home equity and the loan is paid back when the homeowner sell the home or passes away.

JALSA thanks CHAPA andd MAAPL for their continuing leadership on this legislation.

For more information on the bill, click on Fact Sheet

Immediate Action Needed – Friday July 9
Important civil rights issue in Senate Ways and Means
Please call members of Senate Ways and Means and Senate leadership about Senate 726 – An Employee Protection Act
In recent years, we’ve seen new efforts to eliminate various workplace protections.  One of these techniques is to require employees to sign waivers, as they start a job, promising to put all workplace disagreements to arbitration panels of the employer’s discretion.  Of greatest concern are waivers that have not been previously discussed in the job interviews, ones that are not part of negotiated agreements between employers and employees — that suddenly show up the first day on the job – sandwiched in between the health insurance documents and other office policies.
Many workers would not assume that such waivers could mean giving up their basic job rights, such as the right to make a discrimination claim before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
A bill to prevent such prospective waivers from being enforced in relation to claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or violations of public policy, is now pending and is in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.  JALSA e-mail readers are asked to contact Senate leadership and members of the Ways and Means Committee and ask their own Senators to speak to members of the Committee, indicating the importance of this legislation.
The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Tollman.

JALSA Task Force on Environmental Justice:

Green Jobs: the Big Picture.  Making the Connection between Jobs and Training

Recent issues pertaining to the qualifications necessary for solar jobs have highlighted the need for getting the big picture about green jobs.  What training is required for all the positions that a green economy could generate, considering the entire supply chain involved?  Creating the training that’s needed is part of creating the infrastructure that brings green companies to this area, as well as enhancing the chances that green jobs will play a role in revitalizing local economies.

We met with:

Greg Watson, Senior Advisor for Clean Energy Technology, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and

Travis Watson, whose work with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative is to bring local residents and trade unions together to work out ways that the goals of unions and local residents seeking jobs can mesh.