Jobs with Justice organizers work as coalition leaders and partners and with state legislators to write and pass legislation to defend working people’s standard of living, fight for job security, support our immigrant population, and fight for equitable education funding. For the current legislative session these are the bills we are actively engaged in moving through the legislature and signed into law.
“An Act relative to the scheduling of employees” (H. 1546 & S. 412), The Massachusetts Fair Workweek Bill, allows workers in restaurants, retail establishments, and the hospitality industry the chance to build stable lives for themselves and their families, because for many, erratic work schedules make stability almost impossible. Hours can be assigned arbitrarily at an employer’s discretion and changed with no advance notice, leaving workers to cope with fluctuating paychecks and constant problems coordinating child and elder care, second and third jobs, and further education or professional development. Women, people of color, and low-wage workers are the most impacted. MassBill Fact Sheet (pdf), Fact Sheet (pdf, Español pdf)
A single payer health care system covers everyone under a publicly financed insurance plan. Medical care would be free at the point of service. All doctors and hospitals would be accessible to any resident without the restrictions currently imposed by insurance companies and employers. Fair, progressive taxation would replace premiums and co-pays.
The tipped minimum wage system impacts millions of women and restaurant workers across the commonwealth. Gender discrimination, sexual harassment and sexual assault should not be “on the menu” in Massachusetts’ restaurants — and it's time for the legislature to act.
This bill would enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license or identification card, regardless of immigrant status, while keeping our Commonwealth in full compliance with REAL ID requirements.
The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the impact of longstanding state and local involvement in deportations--undermining testing, treatment and contact tracing efforts in immigrant communities, and impeding access to court and police protection. State action is urgently needed to restore trust in our public institutions and ensure that everyone can seek medical care, emergency assistance, and protection without fear of deportation.
The Debt Free Future Act:
Guarantees free public higher education as a right for all residents of Massachusetts through a universal grant program.
To be eligible, students must:
be a Massachusetts resident or have attained a high school diploma or its equivalent in the commonwealth;
be admitted to and enrolled full-time or part-time in a Mass. public college, university, or other public vocational program; (c) maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above.
In order to provide children with an equal start in life, strengthen our economy in a way that also reduces racial, gender, and income inequality in our state, and meet the needs of working parents and the 21st century workforce; Massachusetts families need affordable, accessible, high-quality early education and child care.
The Massachusetts AFL-CIO convenes the Wage Theft Coalition. The MA AFL-CIO’s mission is to improve the lives of working families—by working for economic, social and racial justice in the workplace, in our communities, our state and in our nation. Our vision is of a fair and just society that benefits all working people, not a system that’s rigged in favor of the wealthy few.
