Jewish Labor Committee Opposes the Nomination of CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder to be the United States Secretary of Labor
News and Updates from the New England Jewish Labor Committee
Yesterday, the DC Council passed the Universal Paid Leave Act. More than 200 organizations, including Jewish United For Justice, worked tirelessly in conjunction with supportive legislators to win this progressive legislation.Under the new law, all private-sector workers will be eligible for 8 weeks of paid paid parental leave (for biological, adoptive and foster parents), 6 weeks of paid family caregiving leave, and 2 weeks of paid medical leave.Only three states currently offer paid family and medical leave: California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. It's time for Massachusetts to join that list!
Tell us your about experiences!The Paid Family and Medical Leave Act is one of the three priorities of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition for the upcoming year. Right now, as a member of the coalition, we're helping to collect stories of people who have experienced the need to take family or medical leave from their employment. This includes, but is not limited to: taking care of a family member; a personal injury or illness; adoption, fostering, or birth of a child.We encourage you to tell your story if you had a positive experience with paid time off OR if you suffered because of a lack of paid family and medical leave. Please submit your story here. Your story will help us to educate legislators and members of the public and move them to support of the PFMLA.
A survey of Boston-area residential apartments reveals that many residents of Callahan's properties are dissatisfied with the construction quality of their units. Residents expressed particular concern with noise and the quality of materials in their units, writing comments such as "[c]an clearly hear upstairs neighbor walking. Entire apt. vibrates and rattles. Doors rattle from walking in apt."An organization called Tenant Consumer Protection Services, which has been generating surveys about consumer satisfaction in new residential apartment construction, produced the survey.The survey included responses from Callahan-built residences in Malden, Chelsea, and Chelmsford, and asked residents to rate various topics (such as construction quality, noise level, value for money) on a scale from "very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied." It also allowed space for general comments or concerns.A resident of Chelmsford Woods Residences wrote "paint seems to strip off walls too easily. If there is a spot and it is washed, the paint comes off. Particularly, bathroom paint comes off." Another requested that they "use better quality materials so things last longer & don't break so quickly." Others complained that the windows are extremely drafty and poorly insulated, and one wrote that they had to sleep with ear plugs in every night due to noise.A resident of One North of Boston, in Chelsea, wrote that "building construction is cheap and does not protect from outside excessive noise."At 480 Main in Malden Square, residents complained again of excessive noise, writing "[for] the problem of noise, I can hear my neighbors snore..." and "[t]he walls are so thin and there is no sound-proofing, so I can hear my neighbors talk at 4am! Totally unsatisfied with this situation here." Another respondent wrote "and now they are talking of increasing rent...I am very dissatisfied..."Callahan's business model relies on undercutting legitimate bids by hiring subcontractors who illegally misclassify their workers as independent contractors. Some of Callahan's subcontractors also have a long record of lawsuits and safety violations. The survey results confirm that cutting corners impacts the final product in the case of these residences.via CallahanTruth.com and the New England Carpenters Union
Sign up to receive news and action alerts from the New England Jewish Labor Committee