When Big Corporations Pay Their Fair Share, We All Win

The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have been rolling back critical funding for climate initiatives at the state and local level. But the fact that they deny the realities of climate change to appease their billionaire backers doesn’t make the climate crisis any less severe.

With such federal retrenchment and sabotage, we need states to step up. Here’s one way: make sure the major polluters who caused the climate crisis start paying up to fund the solutions.

The very companies who lied to the public for decades about climate change are benefiting while all of us, especially the most vulnerable, bear the cost.

The Make Polluters Pay bill (H.1014 / S.588), which just had a hearing on Tuesday, would require these major polluters to pay a one-time fee based on their historic emissions to fund climate-resilient infrastructure upgrades.  

That means more money for restoring coastal wetlands; upgrading roads, bridges, subways, and transit systems; preparing for extreme weather; energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits; supporting the creation of self-sufficient clean energy microgrids; and addressing urban heat island effects through green spaces and urban forestry.

New York and Vermont have already passed such a bill. Let’s make MA next.

Can you write to your state representative and state senator in support of the Make Polluters Pay bill?

Email Your Legislators

Protect Our Care with Corporate Fair Share Town Halls

It’s time to Protect Our Care with Corporate Fair Share. The Trump administration is taking away healthcare from working families and seniors so they can put more money into the pockets of billionaires and big corporations. Here in Massachusetts, we could lose as much as $3.5 billion in federal aid that pays for health care, education, and food access for hundreds of thousands of people. We simply can’t afford the harm that will cause.

That’s why the Raise Up Mass coalition is holding a series of regional Protect Our Care Town Halls across the state to tell our legislators: it’s time to make big corporations pay their fair share in taxes—and stop the cuts. Chances are we’re holding one near you! Can you join us?

Find a Town hall near you

Here’s what’s at stake. Up to 350,000 people in MA could lose their health care and/or food assistance because of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. More than one million students could be hurt by cuts to PreK-12, colleges, and child care. The money from these cuts to state funding is flowing directly to big corporations and billionaires, while our communities are stuck with the cost of hospital closures, hungry students, and long ER lines.

Help Get Rent Control on the Ballot

The Homes for All Mass coalition is spearheading an effort to get rent control on the 2026 ballot. Want to help collect signatures? Attend an upcoming signature collection training.

Just Say NO to New Pipelines and New Prisons

As the Trump administration rolls back progress on climate action, we need states like Massachusetts to be bolder. And that means not entrenching polluting fossil fuel infrastructure.

Eversource Gas is holding an Open House and Listening Session on August 7th at 6pm to take a concrete step towards getting their permits and building a toxic and dangerous pipeline expansion project from Longmeadow to Springfield.

Springfield Climate Justice Coalition is once again calling on organizations in Western Mass and beyond to stand with them as they send a powerful message to the Healey administration, elected officials and Eversource Gas: “We do not want Eversource to build a polluting pipeline that would run through environmental justice residential neighborhoods, and dangerously close to schools and community hubs in Springfield!”.

RSVP In Person (if you live in Western Mass): https://bit.ly/InPersonRSVP

RSVP Online (open to everyone!): https://bit.ly/ZoomRSVPaug7th

If you join in person:

The Springfield Climate Justice Coalition is organizing a dynamic outdoor event before the Open House, calling public attention to the dangers of this project and Eversource’s deceitful and self-serving intent in building it. We will gather at 5:15 pm sharp in Stearns Square (one block north on Bridge St) for a street theater performance and call to action, followed by a mini-march to the Eversource Open House at the UMass Center at Tower Square, 1500 Main St.

The Open House (6 to 8 pm) will consist of a short presentation by Eversource, followed by Q & A. Eversource will be providing food and child care, as well as language interpretation in Spanish and Russian. We need the place packed with opponents of this dangerous project, raising all the questions Eversource wants avoided. Wear red!

If you join online:

Tune in at 5 pm to the livestream of the Springfield Climate Justice Coalition’s dynamic outdoor event before the Open House. Then take action together, writing to our elected officials to pass S.2290 / H.3547 “An Act preventing gas expansion to protect climate, community health and safety”. Eversource will begin their powerpoint at 6:30pm, which we will encourage folks to log into. This is open to everyone who cares about our climate future!

RSVP In Person: https://bit.ly/InPersonRSVP

RSVP Online: https://bit.ly/ZoomRSVPaug7th

Healey Wants to Spend $360 Million on a New Prison. Tell Her No Way.

For years, our friends at Families for Justice as Healing have been organizing against a proposed $50 million new women’s prison to replace MCI-Framingham.

How has Governor Maura Healey responded? By proposing a $360 million new women’s prison.

Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and girls have been clear: what we need is not a new prison, but greater programming for those currently incarcerated, better reentry programs for people when they return to community, and greater community investments in housing, health care, education, and economic security and opportunity.

Think of how much that $360 million could do if it went instead to keeping communities safe and ending cycles of incarceration and harm.

Join FJaH in telling Governor Healey to stop the $360 million new women’s prison with the action toolkit at bit.ly/FreeHerMA.

Call daily between 9am and 5pm only – (617) 725-4005

Email any time using this form: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office Sample Email/Script:

“Hello, my name is _________________ and I am your constituent. I oppose your plan to build a $360 million women’s prison. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on prison construction is not investing in people’s wellbeing and will not make our communities safer. Our communities need this money for housing, healing, healthcare, treatment and more. We could actually make Massachusetts a model for the rest of the country by releasing many more women and implementing alternatives to incarceration rather than building yet another prison.”

Let Your Legislators Know: MA Wants Rent Control

Massachusetts has a housing crisis, and we need every tool in the toolbox.

Too many working-class individuals and families are being priced out of their communities and the Commonwealth entirely due to ever-growing rents. But Beacon Hill can take action.

Join Homes for All Massachusetts tomorrow for a rally in the State House (Grand Staircase) the State House at 11:30 am before the 1 pm hearing on rent control at 1 pm in Gardner Auditorium.

Here’s what you need to prepare:

  1. RSVP for rally here
  2. Find the testimony guide here
  3. Email written testimony here: jointcommittee.municipalities&regionalgovernment@malegislature.gov
  4. Email your state rep and state senator in support.

Healey Wants to Spend $360 Million on a New Prison. Tell Her No Way. For years, our friends at Families for Justice as Healing have been organizing against a proposed $50 million new women’s prison to replace MCI-Framingham. How has Governor Maura Healey responded? By proposing a $360 million new women’s prison. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and girls have been clear: what we need is not a new prison, but greater programming for those currently incarcerated, better reentry programs for people when they return to community, and greater community investments in housing, health care, education, and economic security and opportunity. Think of how much that $360 million could do if it went instead to keeping communities safe and ending cycles of incarceration and harm. Join FJaH in telling Governor Healey to stop the $360 million new women’s prison with the action toolkit at bit.ly/FreeHerMA.

Call daily between 9am and 5pm only – (617) 725-4005 Email any time using this form: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/email-the-governors-office Sample Email/Script: “Hello, my name is _________________ and I am your constituent. I oppose your plan to build a $360 million women’s prison. Spending hundreds of millions of dollars on prison construction is not investing in people’s wellbeing and will not make our communities safer. Our communities need this money for housing, healing, healthcare, treatment and more. We could actually make Massachusetts a model for the rest of the country by releasing many more women and implementing alternatives to incarceration rather than building yet another prison.” Share Your Fair Share Story On November 8, 2022, Massachusetts voters passed Question 1: the Fair Share Amendment. We chose a fairer tax system, guaranteeing that the richest one percent will pay more to fund our public schools, colleges, roads, bridges, and public transit. Now, Fair Share is at work, already funding more than $6 billion in transportation and public education investments—with more to come. See a list of Fair Share investments to date at fairsharema.com. How is the Fair Share Amendment positively impacting your life, family or work? Are your children receiving free school meals, or learning in a newly-renovated school building? Are you riding a regional transit authority bus for free, or paying a reduced fare on the MBTA? Are you attending tuition-community college, or receiving state financial aid to make public college more affordable? Are you driving on newly paved roads, or riding on subway trains that are faster? Are you receiving child care financial assistance, or sending your child to a child care program that’s benefitted from new grants to child care providers? Is your city or town receiving more money for local roads and schools? (hint: if you live in Massachusetts, the answer is YES!) Raise Up Massachusetts is collecting stories about the many ways the Fair Share Amendment is making a difference in the lives of Massachusetts residents. If you have a story about how Fair Share is positively impacting your life, family or work, please share it with us here.
SHARE YOUR STORY
Progressive Mass’s New “Power Lunch” Series What comes after calling your state rep and state senator? Getting others to do so as well. Join Progressive Mass for our “Power Lunch” phone bank series (Thursdays at noon), where we will be building our collective power in service of a better Commonwealth for all.

In solidarity,
Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts

Trump Wants to Gut Labor Law. Here’s How to Keep Workers Protected in MA.

Trump’s pro-oligarchy, anti-democracy pals who wrote Project 2025 were clear: they want to destroy the National Labor Relations Act, which is the foundational law passed during the New Deal to protect private sector workers’ rights to unionize.

Trump and his cabinet officials are hard at work at implementing their promised rollback of labor laws, leaving working people poorer and less safe.

Here in Massachusetts, we can make sure that—no matter what happens at the federal level— workers are protected in Massachusetts. That’s why we’re supporting legislation from the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, known as the Protect Labor Act, that would ensure that these labor protections exist in MA no matter what.

These protections include a presumption of employee status to ensure workers have access to wage, hour, and benefits protections; a ban on captive audience meetings; protections from anti-union “right to work” laws; and more.

Can you email your state legislators in support of protecting labor rights in MA?

Let Beacon Hill Know: MA Doesn’t Need New Prisons

Although the Legislative session here in Massachusetts has been off to a slow start, I was delighted that one of the earliest hearings was for the Prison Moratorium bill.

This bill would put a five-year pause on new prison and jail construction, a recognition that we should be investing in jobs and education and not in incarceration.

The first step is getting the bill out of committee, and the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight needs to hear from people like your state senator and your state representative. The House is operating on a 60-day timeline for reporting bills out of committee, and that deadline is fast approaching.

Can you write to your state legislators in support of passing the Prison Moratorium?

The Legislature voted for the Prison Moratorium back in 2022, but Republican Governor Charlie Baker vetoed it. It advanced out of committee last session but never made it to the floor for a vote. Let’s get this unfinished business done early.

Massachusetts SHOWED UP to Rallies This Weekend. What Can You Do Next?

It was inspiring to see all the photos of Massachusetts out in force this weekend: whether at Boston’s Pride for the People or the “No Kings” rallies from communities small and large, across every corner of the Commonwealth. I love seeing the creativity in people’s signs and the collective power on display of people showing up.

And we will need those numbers, that energy, and that creativity if we want to pass important policies to fight back. Good policy is possible, but it doesn’t happen unless your state representative and state senator hear from you—and often.

With Massachusetts being targeted by ICE raids that terrorize communities and make us all less safe, we need our State Legislature to take action in support of disentangling state and local law enforcement from ICE.

With a federal government attempting to criminalize dissent, we need to shore up privacy rights and combat new aggressive and invasive forms of surveillance.

That’s why we need Beacon Hill to pass the Safe Communities Act, the Dignity Not Deportations Act, and the Location Shield Act.

Can you write to your state rep and state senator in support of these key bills?

EMAIL YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS

The Safe Communities Act (H.2580 / S.1681) would end the voluntary involvement of our public safety officials in civil immigration matters.

The Dignity Not Deportations Act (H.1588 / S.1122) would prohibit sheriffs from voluntarily renting beds to ICE and ban agreements to deputize state and local law enforcement to ICE.

The Location Shield Act (H.86 / S.197) would prohibit companies from selling, leasing, trading, or renting location data. Your privacy should not be for sale, and your location is your business.

Can you write to your state rep and state senator in support of these key bills?

In solidarity,

Take Action: Fight for Critical Investments and Policy in the State Budget

Right now, the Massachusetts House and Senate are negotiating a final budget for the next fiscal year. We know that a budget is a statement of values, and we need to be sure that the FY 2026 budget is reflecting our values of a more just and equitable Commonwealth.

Here’s what to ask from your legislators:

  • Immigrant Legal Defense Fund: Please advocate for House language dedicating $5 million for a new legal defense program to provide immigration legal services to eligible low-income immigrants and refugees without access to legal representation (House line item 4003-0124).
  • Banning Broker’s Fees: Please advocate for Senate language to require that residential rental broker’s fees be paid by the contracting agent (typically, the landlord), ensuring that renters are not burdened with unexpected and extraordinary costs.
  • Access to Counsel: Please advocate for House language allocating $3 million to ensure that tenants facing eviction have access to counsel (House line item 0321-1800).
  • Emergency Assistance for Families: Please advocate for the Senate’s larger appropriation of $225 million for Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), which prevents displacement by providing short-term emergency assistance to keep families stably housed.
  • Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program: Please advocate for the House’s larger appropriation of $258,111,840 for the MRVP, which provides long-term rental subsidies to approximately 10,000 low-income households for use in the private housing market.
  • No Cost Calls: Please advocate for House language allocating $10 million for the Communications Access Trust Fund for no cost communication in prisons and jails (House line item 1595-6153).
  • Universal School Meals: Please advocate for the House’s larger appropriation of $190M allocation for School Meals for All.
  • Fully Funding Our K-12 Public Schools: Please advocate for the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance priorities of closing the Chapter 70 inflation gap of $465 million, fixing the charter school reimbursements with the House funding level of $199 million, increasing funding for school building program, and preserving the House inclusion of a grant program for community schools.

Can you write to your state representative and state senator to ask them to advocate for key funding and policy in the FY 2026 budget?

“DC Attacks, MA Fights Back: The White House vs. Housing for All” Links & Follow-ups

Thank you so much for joining this evening for our forum “DC Attacks, MA Fights Back: The White House vs. Housing for All”! And thank you again to our amazing speakers! 

If you missed it or wanted to rewatch any of it, the video is available here: https://youtu.be/zGz5C9IUUyY.

Our speakers referenced a few bills at the MA State House: 

Real Estate Transfer Fee (H.3056 / S.1937): An Act granting a local option for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing
Rent Stabilization (H.2328 / S.1447): An Act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants 
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (H.1544 / S.998):  An Act to guarantee a tenant’s first right of refusal

Find out if your legislators are already co-sponsoring these bills by looking at our Scorecard website. If they already are, thank them, and if not, urge them to do so. You can find sample email text (as well as more info) for each bill in the links above. 

We also spoke about housing issues in the FY 2026 budget being negotiated right now. Write to your state legislators in support of key budget priorities here.

Take Action: Here’s What Government Efficiency Actually Looks Like

We’ve heard a lot about “government efficiency” over the past few months.

Whenever Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or any of their lackeys in Congress use it, they are using code words for cutting valuable programs that serve the public, as opposed to corporate profit.

But there is an actual meaning to the word. Here’s an example.

Our criminal record sealing system is stuck in the last century.

Individuals seeking to seal records need to mail or deliver petitions to the Commissioner of Probation who processes them manually, one-by-one. This creates backlogs, with several months passing before people hear back when they have already waited years for the opportunity.

Moreover, many people do not know when their records are eligible for sealing, and only learn they might be eligible for record sealing after they lose the prospect for a job, housing, or other opportunity due to their record.

Record sealing has well-documented benefits, but these benefits in economic opportunity are only possible if people can get their records sealed.

That’s why we’re a strong supporter of Clean Slate legislation that would create an automated record sealing process. Automating record sealing means fewer bureaucratic obstacles and more opportunity. It’s a win-win.

We testified at the State House on Tuesday in support of the Clean Slate bill. Can you write to your legislator today too?

MA Needs to Stand Up for Immigrant Communities

Over the past couple weeks, we have seen increased ICE presence in Massachusetts. ICE has been kidnapping people off the streets, harassing bystanders, and terrorizing communities.

The LUCE hotline has been doing amazing work to keep people alert and to document what’s happening. Bookmark https://www.lucemass.org/if you haven’t already.

Although we can’t stop everything ICE is doing in Massachusetts, we should not be making their work easier. We need our state elected leaders to pass legislation to limit the scope of ICE in Massachusetts and to better support our immigrant communities.

Here are four actions you can take:

Thank you for all you do, and hope to see you on the 28th!

In solidarity, Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts

FOUR STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY

(1) Email Your State Legislators about Immigrants’ Rights Bills

We’re proud to be supporting the following bills:

  • Safe Communities Act (H.2580 / S.1681), which would end the voluntary involvement of our public safety officials in civil immigration matters
  • Dignity Not Deportations Act (H.1588 / S.1122), which would prohibit sheriffs from voluntarily renting beds to ICE and ban agreements to deputize state and local law enforcement to ICE
  • Immigrant Legal Defense Act (H.1954 / S.1127), which would ensure that immigrants navigating our complex immigration courts have legal representation

We need our state legislators to be co-sponsoring these bills and building support with their colleagues to bring them to the floor.

EMAIL YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS

(2) Email Your State Senator about the FY 2026 Budget

The Senate released its draft budget proposal last week, and senators will vote on amendments next week. Unfortunately, the Massachusetts State Senate did not include funding for the Immigrant Legal Defense fund. State Senator Adam Gomez filed Amendment #847 to the budget to provide $10 million in funding for public and private-funded programs to provide no-cost immigration legal defense to immigrants in Massachusetts who are at imminent risk of deportation, especially those held in federal immigration detention.

RAPID RESPONSE: Join MIRA on Thursday, May 15th at 10AM at the 4th Floor Cafe in the Massachusetts State House for a lit drop in support of Amendment #847, the Immigrant Legal Defense Amendment. Please email organizing@miracoalition.org to confirm your attendance.

Can’t go? Email your state senator in support of the amendment.

EMAIL YOUR STATE SENATOR

(3) Email Governor Healey to Demand Action

Join the Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts in calling on Governor Healeyto

  • Support state legislation, to terminate every state contract funneling money and resources into the deportation machine, and ban new contracts (including the Dignity Not Deportations Bill – H.1588 & S.1122). This includes terminating the existing 287g contracts with the Department of Corrections, and doing everything in your power to end the Intergovernmental Service Agreement with Plymouth County Correctional Facility
  • Restore COVID-19 era remote participation in our courthouses
  • Create a reparations fund for families and communities shattered by these kidnappings, detentions, and deportations

EMAIL GOV. HEALEY

(4) RSVP for Our Lobby Day

We’ll be holding our annual lobby day on Wednesday, May 28. We’ll be lobbying forkey bills in our legislative agenda, especially bills to raise revenue and to protect our immigrant communities.

Showing up is essential to build the momentum and sense of urgency that propel bills forward into laws.

Progressive Mass 2025 Lobby Day

Wednesday, May 28
10:00 am, Massachusetts State House (Room 428)

RSVP TODAY