Universal School Meals: Good Politics and Good Policy

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were able to offer meals to all students at no charge through the pandemic-related child nutrition waivers offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

Massachusetts chose to extend it and then last year voted to make it permanent, using funding from the Fair Share Amendment.

A new report by the Food Research and Action Center highlights the positive impacts of universal school meals. As the report notes, the research is clear: participation in school meals improves academic achievement, attendance, and student behavior at school; decreases childhood food insecurity; leads to children eating more fruits, vegetables, and milk; and reduces visits to the school nurse.

As the chart below shows, breakfast participation in Massachusetts went up by 25% from 2018-2019 numbers, and lunch participation went up by 16% from 2018-2019 numbers.

We will continue to see these benefits from universal school meals — a reminder that they are both good politics and good policy.

Say No to Uber and Lyft’s Power Grab

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Chair Friedman, Chair Peisch, and Members of the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We would like to submit testimony to go on record in opposition to

  • Initiative Petition No. 23-25, H4256, An Act defining and regulating the relationship between network companies and app-based drivers for purposes of the General and Special Laws,
  • Initiative Petition No. 23-29, H4257, An Act establishing that app-based drivers are not employees, and network companies are not employers, for certain purposes of the General Laws,
  • Initiative Petition No. 23-30, H4258, An Act defining and regulating the relationship between network companies and app-based drivers for certain purposes of the General Laws,
  • Initiative Petition No. 23-31, H4259, An Act establishing that app-based drivers are not employees, and network companies are not employers, for certain purposes of the General Laws,
  • Initiative Petition No. 23-32, H4260 An Act Establishing that App-Based Drivers Are Not Employees, and Network Companies Are Not Employers, for Certain Purposes of the General Laws.

Massachusetts has very clear standards for determining independent contractor standards (the “ABC test”), and Big Tech companies like Uber and Lyft have been in flagrant violation of them.

As a reminder, those three parts are (1) that the work is done without the direction and control of the employer, (2) that the work is performed outside the usual course of the employer’s business, and (3) that the work is done by someone who has their own, independent business or trade doing that kind of work. None of these apply to gig economy work. For example, there would be no Uber and Lyft without their drivers; the claim that their companies are merely an app is a clear fallacy intended to evade the law.

Knowing that they are in violation of the law, these companies want to change it, rather than adhere to it. They are planning to spend possibly hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure that the law does not apply to them and that they, themselves, can rewrite it in order to bolster their own profits and power over workers. Indeed, they have already spent $6.6 million, most of that on signature collection for the five different versions they are putting forth. They apparently have the money to go all-out for this question but not, as they would have you believe, enough to do right by their workers.

These measures would deny app-based gig workers a living wage, benefits, legal rights, and anti-discrimination protections. The impact of these laws extends beyond just the gig economy sector itself. The ability to define away terms like “employee” and “independent contractor” sets a dangerous precedent, enabling companies across sectors to gut labor rights. Will we see restaurants claiming that the “restaurant” is only the physical building and physical infrastructure, relegating all employees to independent contractor status? Or hospitals claiming that the “hospital” is just the brick-and-mortar building, rather than the doctors, nurses, aides, and other health care workers that make it run? The list goes on.

That is not the future we want to live in, and we hope it is not one you want to live in either.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

SHNS: Sunshine week meets shade on Beacon Hill

Colin Young, “Sunshine week meets shade on Beacon Hill,” State House News Service, March 15, 2024.

As Sunshine Week got underway, Progressive Massachusetts pointed out that the Massachusetts House has taken fewer than half as many recorded votes so far this session than it had in any of the previous six legislative sessions. The House took 202 roll calls by March 11, 2012; 297 roll calls by March 11, 2014; 206 roll calls by March 11, 2016; 313 roll calls by March 11, 2018; 164 roll calls by March 11, 2020; and 155 roll calls by March 11, 2022, the group said.

So far this legislative session, the House has recorded 81 roll call votes.

The trend has been similar, but not quite as dramatic, in the Senate. Progressive Massachusetts said the Senate had taken 186 roll calls by March 11, 2020, then 135 roll calls by March 11, 2022, and had taken 114 roll call votes so far this session as of the start of the week.

“So much of the legislative process occurs behind closed doors, and recorded votes are a critical opportunity for legislators to show the public where they stand. When the House refuses to bring up votes until they are unanimous and when legislators withdraw their amendments without discussion or debate, we lose out on opportunities to make progress on the many critical challenges facing the commonwealth,” Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, said.

LTE: High rents have young people putting Boston in the rearview mirror

Jonathan Cohn, “High rents have young people putting Boston in the rearview mirror” (letter), Boston Globe, March 15, 2024.

Last year, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce said that Massachusetts needed to cut taxes on businesses and the rich because otherwise people would flee the state. They won a generous tax package, but cutting the tax on the estates of multimillionaires and the tax on day traders and speculators won’t change the minds of young people about where to live.

Indeed, the chamber’s own new study (“ ‘Alarming’: 1 in 4 young people eye leaving Boston,” Business, March 13) shows that one of the main reasons young people consider moving away is that rent is far too high. It’s the fourth-highest in the country.

Zoning reforms that the chamber supports can make a small dent, but we also need to invest more money in affordable housing and to strengthen tenant protections. Boston has proposals to do both, with home rule petitions to create a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing and stabilize rents. Other municipalities do so as well, and the governor’s housing bond bill has language around the former. I’d welcome the chamber’s support for such clear solutions to an urgent problem facing the region.

Jonathan Cohn

Policy director

Progressive Massachusetts

Happy Sunshine Week! (Don’t Mind the Clouds…)

Happy Sunshine Week!

Sunshine Week is an annual collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, government, and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government. We could use some of that sunshine in Massachusetts.

We are supporting two bills this session that would advance such a vision of open government:

  • H.3040 / S.2024: An Act to Modernize Participation in Public Meetings, which would phase in a requirement for hybrid meeting access for state and local public meetings and provide grants to municipalities to boost technical capacity
  • S.1963: An Act to provide sunlight to state government, which would promote transparency in state government by removing the Governor’s exemption from public records law and requiring committee votes and legislative testimony (with appropriate redactions) to be public

Find out if your legislators are currently on board with these bills, and then write to them to urge them to support such basic measures to expand civic participation and promote good government.

Email your legislators
 
Sunshine Week Statistic: Roll Call Votes This Session

Has the legislative session felt somewhat slow to you? Well, one statistic that stands out is the sharp decline in roll call votes (i.e., formal yea / nay votes during a debate): in the MA House, state representatives have taken only about half the number of recorded votes this session as in recent ones.

So much of the legislative process occurs behind closed doors, and recorded votes are a critical opportunity for legislators to show the public where they stand. When the House refuses to bring up votes until they are unanimous and when legislators withdraw their amendments without discussion or debate, we lose out on opportunities to make progress on the many critical challenges facing the commonwealth.


Total Number of Roll Call Votes by Session

Line Item Veto Override: a vote taken by the Legislature to reject the Governor’s veto of a specific budget appropriation. Since veto overrides require a 2/3 vote, this recorded votes are mandatory; the Legislature cannot take a voice vote (i.e., call of yea’s and nay’s).

Quorum call: a vote that is simply a call of the roll for attendance reasons and to ascertain if sufficient legislators are present
 

“Cutting Through the Noise” | The Grassroots Connector

Jonathan Cohn, “Cutting Through the Noise,” Grassroots Connector, March 13, 2024.

Let me tell you a secret about your state legislature (and I’m certain it’s true of any). Your legislators don’t hear from constituents all that often. Yes, they’ll get calls about constituent services requests, and if you live in especially active districts, their inboxes may get flooded some days. But most legislators do not hear about policy from their constituents on a regular basis.

If we want better and bolder policy, we need to change that. And that’s one of many reasons we’ve been hosting phone banks at the relaunched Activist Afternoons in Cambridge on the first and third Sundays of the month.

We have been calling constituents in key legislative districts to ask them to call their legislators about important issues (and we can patch them through to an office immediately if they’re interested!) This year, we have been making calls about the Real Estate Transfer Fee, a proposal to enable cities and towns to levy a small fee on high-end real estate transactions in order to raise much-needed revenue for affordable housing. We are also backing the Gas Moratorium bill, which would put a pause on gas infrastructure expansion so that we aren’t entrenching unsustainable fossil fuels.

Odds are, you get too many emails with different action alerts (and too many fundraising emails), so it’s easy for things to get lost in the mix. That’s why these calls help. Many times, the voters we call are aware of the issues and eager to take action. But sometimes they aren’t aware but happy to learn of how they can make a difference. And too many people assume that their legislators are doing good work off in the distance when, in fact, they need to hear from constituents regularly. Calls from constituents urge them to pay attention to things they may have overlooked and give them positive reinforcement when they are doing good work. Phone bankers cut through the noise and make taking action easier for the people they call.

What is also exciting about these phone banks is that every time we train a new phone banker, or build the skill and comfort level of a returning phone banker, we are helping future campaigns, especially critical ones in the fall. Since we are calling a favorable list (our own list from Progressive Mass), people can have their first phone banking experiences with friendly voters, get used to the rhythm of phone banking, and relieve initial fears about talking to people they don’t know.

With Activist Afternoons, we also recognize that activism is always more fun when it’s social. We get to share our experiences on calls—celebrating wins, laughing at bizarre calls or answering machines, and enjoying each other’s company. And with our every-other Sunday regularity, people know that they can drop in when their schedule frees up. We’ll be there waiting — you just need to come with a good attitude, a phone, and a laptop.

Have a Local Newspaper? Make Your Voice Heard.

Massachusetts faces a growing affordable housing crisis, and we can see it everywhere in the Commonwealth.

The only way to tackle that housing crisis is with a multi-pronged approach of protecting tenants from displacement, increasing housing production, and investing more in affordable housing.

We need bold action from the Legislature this session.

Governor Healey’s housing bond bill (the Affordable Homes Act) offers a strong foundation. But it can be improved in key ways so that it can do more to deliver on a vision of affordability for all.

Here’s one way you can help.

If there’s a local paper in your community (Don’t know? check here.), you can write a letter to the editor or an editorial to talk about why you care about bold housing action this session and what that looks like.

Never written one before? Don’t worry — we can provide a template for you to use with key talking points that you can customize for your community.

Whether you’re a first-time writer or a pro, let us know if you’re able to write one, and we’ll follow up with more information.

Write an LTE in your community

Urge Your State Senator to Vote YES on the EARLY ED Act!

Last week, the MA Senate released the EARLY ED Act, a bill that provides a comprehensive framework for making high-quality early education and care accessible and affordable in Massachusetts! This bill would:

  • Make the state’s Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) operational grant program permanent, providing a stable source of funding for child care providers
  • Expand eligibility for child care financial assistance to many Massachusetts families
  • Boost compensation for early educators by creating a career ladder and providing scholarships and loan forgiveness
  • Take numerous other steps to make high-quality early education and child care more affordable and accessible to Massachusetts families

This bill is an important step towards achieving the full Common Start Vision of high-quality, accessible, and affordable early education and care for all families in Massachusetts.

Write to your state senator in support of the bill.

Activist Afternoons is continuing this weekend!

Join us at 4 pm at St. James Church in Porter Square!

We’ll be making calls about key progressive legislation at the State House, like raising the minimum wage to $20 and enabling cities and towns to pass real estate transfer fees in order to raise dedicated funding for affordable housing.

Bring a laptop, a headset (if you want), and a smile!

RSVP for Activist Afternoons

Progressive Mass 2024 Gala

Come celebrate the great achievements and contributions of progressive leaders from across the state and be inspired for the work ahead as we all push the progressive movement forward.
 
We are thrilled to present our Progressive Leadership Award to:
 
  • No Cost Calls / Keeping Families Connected Coalition
  • State House Employee Union
  • State Representative Vanna Howard
  • Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj
  • Former Newton City Councilor Holly Ryan

Join progressive activists from across the Commonwealth for an inspiring evening.

Progressive Mass Gala
Sunday, April 28th, 7:00-8:30pm
Zoom link upon RSVP

Get your ticket ($35) here: https://tinyurl.com/pmgala2024

Join the Host Committee!

  • Progressive Friend: $500
  • Progressive Advocate: $1K
  • Progressive Champion: $2.5K
  • Most Valuable Progressive (MVP): $5K

Become an Organizational Sponsor!

  • Progressive Ally: $500
  • Progressive Mobilizer: $1k
  • Progressive Partner: $2.5k
  • Progressive Champion: $5k
  • Progressive Visionary: $10k

If you have questions about joining the host committee, please email development@progressivemass.com.

Join the Supporters Circle by donating $250 and get a ticket to the Gala, a Progressive Mass tee, and recognition at the Gala!

If you would like to attend the Gala but are unable to purchase a ticket, please email us at grassroots@progressivemass.com.

Help spread the word about the Gala to your friends and neighbors! You can find the Facebook event page here.

Let’s Leave Subminimum Wages in the Past

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Chair Friedman, Chair Peisch, and Members of the Committee:  

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We strongly support the elimination of subminimum wages, and passing ballot initiative NO. 23-12, An Act to require the full minimum wage for tipped workers with tips on top, would accomplish that.

We are appreciative of recent efforts by the Legislature to improve living standards for working people across the Commonwealth, but tipped workers have not been able to benefit fully from recent minimum wage increases. The tipped minimum wage in MA rose to $6.75 per hour last year as a result of the last increase. $6.75 per hour. A living wage in Massachusetts, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, is $27.89—just for a single, childless adult. That means a tipped worker would need to collect three times their wage in tips just to achieve a living wage.

Although employers are supposed to guarantee that workers get the full minimum wage with tips, this has never been common practice, and wage theft is rampant in the industry. The tiered wage system allows this to happen.

Moreover, sexual harassment remains widespread in the restaurant industry. As our country continues to grapple with the problem of sexual harassment and sexual assault across industries, we must face up to the fact that unequal wage systems create the breeding ground for such inappropriate and predatory behaviors.

The tiered wage system has its roots in the legacy of slavery and persists because of the way society views certain occupations – particularly those disproportionately held by women, people of color, and immigrants – as less deserving of good pay and benefits than others. Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington all already pay the full minimum wage. Massachusetts should join them.

Thank you for your work on this committee, and we urge you to do right by workers and advance this.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts