[[{“value”:” Project 2025 calls for a dramatic weakening of employment and labor law, as well as a counter-mobilization of the working and middle classes against the labor movement. By Henry De Groot The Threat of Project 2025 Much has been written in the last few weeks about Project 2025. But what does it mean for the labor movement? As the increased threat of a second Trump term and what that entails fosters widespread concern about potential authoritarian measures, article after article points to the concerning content of the 900 page Project 2025: Mandate for Leadership.  Project 202 ..read more

[[{“value”:” The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not represent the official position of Working Mass. This article was originally published on Stansbury Forum. By Rand Wilson When I heard that Bernie Sanders was going to run for president in 2015, I became a “born again Democrat.” Through my experience of the Bernie campaign, I have completely embraced Tom Gallagher’s “Primary Route” political strategy of working inside the Party to move it to be more oriented to labor and the left. But being a Democrat doesn’t mean I always support the party — far from it. I’ve be ..read more

SOMERVILLE, MA — The events of the week of June 16 sadly demonstrated how Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s indecision and poor communication continues to harm and de-prioritize public employees, the staff critical to keeping our city and its services running. The Somerville Municipal Employees Association is Somerville’s main city union and they have been without a contract for more than 700 days and hasn’t had an across-the-board raise since 2021. On Tuesday, June 18, SMEA publicly demanded that the City Council freeze upper management compensation at fiscal year 2024 levels until Mayor Ballantyne ..read more

[[{“value”:” This article republished with permission from SupportSMEA.org. It reflects events as of June 19th. By Daniel Wong Marianne Walles, a vice president of SEIU Local 509 and 2019 Somerville mayoral candidate spoke at the event. Photo credit: Rand Wilson SOMERVILLE – On June 18, 2024, the Somerville Municipal Employees Association – the main city union – publicly demanded that the city council freeze upper management compensation at fiscal year 2024 levels. Ed Halloran, President of SMEA asked for this freeze because they wanted management to “share the burden, share the pain” until M ..read more

[[{“value”:” By Nick Lavin BTU paraprofessionals hold a banner during their June 4th rally. Across the state, school districts are slashing teaching and support staff positions. Hundreds have already been laid off across the state with more to come, while 70% of Boston schools might see cuts. It is in this context that the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) is bargaining for its next contract. Yet the union is excited to take on the District for fully-funded schools and programs as they demonstrated last Wednesday at their rally of almost 1,000 educators, staff, and community supporters. The recent ..read more

[[{“value”:” By Vanessa Bartlett BOSTON — Last Friday, members of Youth Jobs and Power Union (YJPU) rallied with other community members in front of City Hall to demand that Mayor Michelle Wu accept the budget amendments added by the Boston City Council to increase funding for youth jobs, housing and other community support programs.  The budget amendments passed by the City Council in a 10-3 vote would have allocated an additional $2 million for youth jobs and $2.25 million for rental assistance and land trusts. They would also have shaved $3 million from the mayor’s proposed $50 millio ..read more

[[{“value”:” By Matthew Walsh Cafeteria workers in Lawrence, MA are “always the last in everything,” said Arelis Pujols. Pujols is a cafeteria worker at the Frost School in Lawrence, and she has seen cafeteria workers passed over for raises, professional development stipends, and improvements to paid time off, among other benefits. Pujols is also a steward on the bargaining committee of Lawrence Cafeteria Workers (Local 3, NCFO, 32BJ/SEIU) that is preparing for contract negotiations with Lawrence Public Schools. Formal contract negotiations have not yet been initiated, but time is of the esse ..read more

Boston, MA — It is the chapter leadership for Boston DSA, the 2024 – 2025 Coordinating Committee. Happy Pride month!! Here are some upcoming events related to queer liberation. DSA QUEERS FOR PALESTINE: FUNDRAISER & SOCIAL To celebrate pride month, a group of LGBTQ+ DSA members are to host a party Saturday, June 8th from 8 pm to 1 am at the Democracy Center in Cambridge. There will be food and music. The event will double as a fundraiser for Al Qaws, an organization working in support of Palestinian LGBTQ+ people, and the Boston chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement.  **You don’t ..read more

[[{“value”:” By Liam MacLean BOSTON — Tenants and supporters gathered on Saturday outside of an apartment building in Allston-Brighton to protest the refusal of their landlord, Fineberg Management, to engage in collective bargaining with the tenants.   “We are standing up together because individually, divided, the best we can do is beg. But together, we collectively bargain,” said Dan Albright of the Fineberg Tenants Union (FTU) and DSA. The protest was organized by the FTU with support from the Greater Boston Tenant Union (GBTU) and called attention to the continuous and arbitrary ..read more

[[{“value”:” By Vanessa Bartlett Graduate workers from BUGWU, Residence Life workers, and graduates from the class of 2024 picketed BU’s commencement ceremony on Sunday. Boston University’s 151st all-school commencement ceremony was disrupted by a walkout and picket organized in concert by both the Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU, SEIU-509) and the BU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (BU SJP).  The class of 2024 has been through their fair share of trials. In 2020, they came into college during the height of COVID-19 pandemic precautions. This year, they were ..read more