Thank you to all our members who worked hard to oppose the three ballot questions.   We were successful in defeating the two most important issues, preserving the state affordable housing statute (NO on question Two), and opposing an irresponsible effort to wipe out a significant part of the state budget (an effort to cut the state sales tax in half – NO on question Three).   Thank you for all your work on these issues.

Great piece in Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel showing only positive impact from Milwaukee’s new Paid Sick Day Law.  Not only has it not cost employers the increased funds the scare tactics warned, the opposition is now asking these same business owners for contributions in order to get rid of this program which was initiated via a ballot issue in 2008.

The Dream letter (link here) (signed by Jewish organizations across the country, including JALSA) was sent this morning to Senate Offices to  convey the Jewish community’s support for the DREAM Act. Please show your support for this important legislation by writing your senators.  You can do so easily via the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

Sheila Decter, Executive Director

Asian American communities celebrate success at legislative passage of Boston’s home rule petition requiring bilingual ballots.  The Chinese and Vietnamese communities worked hard for their victory notwithstanding the opposition from the Secretary of State.  JALSA was delighted to be a part of the coalition working to help make the bilingual ballot a reality.

http://www.senatorchangdiaz.com/bilingual-ballots-boston-signed-law

Great idea by Joan Vennochi in the Boston Globe:

Let’s bring the presidential wives or even former President Bush and current President Obama to the site of the proposed mosque to end the hate:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/08/26/amid_ugly_mosque_debate_follow_first_ladies_lead/

Ground zero protests are fanning the flames of bigoted hostility toward Muslims akin to anti-Semitism and communist witch hunts. JALSA believes the hot rhetoric is an affront to cherished American values of religious freedom and tolerance of diversity.

Look at this video of a Brownshirt-like responses at “No Mosque Here” rally: http://www.balloon-juice.com/2010/08/22/black-muslim-same-difference/

See our JALSA statement on controversy around Muslim community center planned for lower Manhattan and links to articles of special merit.

Hope you’ve all seen the decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Federal District Court in the case involving the Genocide curriculum guide.

JALSA had joined a brief with members of the Armenian community to support the earlier decision and the right of the school department to determine what ought to be in the Curriculum Guide. JALSA had encouraged passage of the original legislation which directed that students study genocide in school, with the selection of possible courses of study from several historical events including the Armenian Genocide, the Cambodian Killing Fields, the European Holocaust, the Irish Hunger Famine, the Middle Passage of the Slave Trade, etc. JALSA believed the Curriculum Guide set out possible directions for the course of study, but did not prevent teachers or students from bringing additional materials to the classroom. The notion that elimination of material (provided by Turkish challengers to the understanding that the massacre of Armenians by the Turks during WWI was genocide) by the Commissioner of the Department of Education in the Department’s suggested list of resources was not a prohibited limit on freedom of speech. (more on this case coming)

Legislative Session Over

JALSA-Supported Legislation that passed

CORI Reform   (Bill signing 10 a.m. Friday, August 6 – Freedom House)

A bill to Stabilize Neighborhoods – Foreclosure/Eviction Help

National Popular Vote for President

Bilingual Home Rule Petition for Boston

School Nutrition Bill

Statewide Food Policy Councils

JALSA-Opposed Legislation that passed

Loss of Gender Equity in Savings Bank Life Insurance

Privatization Aspects of the Education Reform Bill

JALSA-Supported Legislation that did not come to a vote

Employee Protection Act preventing waivers of civil rights

Paid Sick Days

Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill

Gun Control – Limit of one purchase each month

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..