MASSter List: “Massachusetts sees fewer competitive races than any other state, advocates say democratic process ‘suffers’

Erin Tiernan, “Massachusetts sees fewer competitive races than any other state, advocates say democratic process ‘suffers’,” MASSter List, May 2, 2023.

“The fact that we so rarely have contested elections here in Massachusetts does a disservice to the democratic process,” said Jonathan Cohn of Progressive Massachusetts, noting Beacon Hill’s reputation for top-down management and back-room dealmaking.

Legislate Every Day Like It’s May Day

Happy May Day! May 1st marks International Workers’ Day, a day commemorating the struggles and gains made by workers and the labor movement.

Labor organizing in the US was behind the achievement of the weekend, of workplace safety laws, of the minimum wage, of the social safety net, of paid leave, and of so much more and has been crucial to any campaign for a fairer economy and a more robust political democracy.

And the fight continues.

Here are just a few things the Massachusetts Legislature could do this session to strengthen workers’ rights:

  • Raising the minimum wage to $20 per hour to bring it closer to a living wage, and then indexing it to inflation so that its value doesn’t erode over time
  • Strengthening enforcement of wage theft laws and holding companies accountable for wage theft committed by subcontractors
  • Extending collecting bargaining rights to State House staff
  • Requiring employers to publicly report their wage data, to provide information essential to measuring our progress toward racial and gender wage equity

Can you write to your state legislators today about the importance of such a pro-worker agenda this session?

Legislate every day like it's May Day