Before wrapping up this year's legislative session, the Legislature took action on several of our key priorities that helped move our issues platform forward:

Nursing home wage pass-through

Thanks to 1199ers’ tireless advocacy, the Legislature overrode Governor Baker's veto restoring funding to raise wages for thousands of nursing home workers across the Commonwealth! In response to the override, Massachusetts Executive Vice President Tyrék D. Lee, Sr. issued the following statement:

“The Legislature took decisive action to protect funding that raises wages for thousands of Massachusetts nursing home workers. Quality care is directly linked to quality jobs, and this funding is essential to ensuring quality long term care for seniors, people with disabilities and their families. We thank Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and their members for their continued commitment to investing in our state’s nursing home workforce. We will remain vigilant throughout the implementation phase to ensure this money goes directly to the workers who deserve it.”

ICYMI: Check out this Boston Globe editorial praising nursing home workers for the quality care they provide and calling on the Legislature to make these wage increases permanent. We couldn't agree more!

Paid Family and Medical Leave

The Senate passed the Paid Family and Medical Leave bill that allows workers to take leave to care for themselves and their loved ones. We will continue to work with our allies through the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition to build on this momentum and move the bill forward when the Legislature meets next year. In response to the Senate’s action on the bill, Massachusetts Executive Vice President Tyrék D. Lee, Sr. issued the following statement:

"We applaud the Senate for advancing groundbreaking legislation that will allow workers to take job-protected leave to care for themselves and their loved ones. As healthcare workers, we strive every day to provide quality care to our patients and consumers. But far too often, we can't provide that same care to our families for fear of losing our jobs. We should never be forced to make the difficult decision between the people in our care and our families who need us too. Paid family and medical leave is critical to ensuring quality care and quality jobs – and it's the right thing to do for all working families."

Equal Pay legislation

Governor Baker signed historic legislation into law to promote equal pay for men and women doing similar work. Once again, Massachusetts leads the nation - this is one of the strongest equal-pay measures in the country! In response, Massachusetts Executive Vice President Tyrék D. Lee, Sr. issued the following statement:

“The new equal pay law takes a monumental step forward to lift up working families, address income inequality and ensure that equality in the workplace remains a fundamental right. We applaud the advocates who have worked tirelessly over many years to achieve this victory.”